Target has its own special variety of math, where putting an item on sale means raising the price, and buying in bulk means that you pay more per unit. This strange method of calculating prices isn’t exclusive to Target, though: you can find it at other retailers, too.

For example, Carol found this example on some batteries at Walmart and posted it to Consumerist’s Facebook page.

It always comes back to Target, though. Ilana submitted this example, where one of the prices listed has to be wrong. Has to. right?

Howard noticed that you can buy two separate brushes for less money than a two-pack of the same brush.

Target has reminded us in the past that when you see issues like this, if you have time you should take a moment and point the discrepancy out to an employee. If you want to buy the item, you could get a discount for your trouble. If you don’t, think of it as doing something nice for future shoppers who come along.

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