A discussion about retailing, retailers, and merchandising

I'd like to offer many thoughts on this topic which, as most human beings are well aware, raises the cost of goods purchased for all.

One of my personal pet peeves is mis-marked merchandise. There's really no reason for it. It also provides a sharp shoplifter with a built-in method for extraction from a difficult situation.

You know there are people "out there" who will "case" a store, right? C'mon, you know...

Once they're through with your store they'll be within their rights when they point out that your goods weren't priced correctly and there'll be no prosecution.

Of course, even more dramatic, and much more destructive situations can result from mis-marked merchandise.

Here's an example; 

Memo To Circuit City

This is a story from the Consumerist about a very foolish store manager (imho). It speaks to a shopper's experience at a Circuit City store in Ohio.

This customer took the time the previous night to research the price and availability of a product. The following day, at the store, "when he went to go get the product off of the shelf the price was posted wrong on the shelf. He took it up to the register and the lady that waited on him said that will be $184.99 with $25.00 rebate."

He disagreed because the posted (mis-marked) price on the shelf said the product was $69.99. A discussion followed after which the store manager was summoned. The store manager "proceeded to say no we don't have to honor it and so on. I stood there demanding the price and he kept refusing to give it to us at the price that it was marked..."

Bad move. 

I cannot speak for Circuit City but using my experience, I can imagine that Circuit City is more than able to absorb the excess $115 loss without hurting their bottom line very badly. But, imagine how many of these items might have already been lost due to another "shopper's" efforts. Then imagine the bad word of mouth this simple to get past situation no doubt caused from a bloggers posting and the young man telling all his friends, who told all their friends... etc.

It's not worth the loss folks, let them have it and immediately fix the wrong pricing to avoid any more losses!