If it had said “for ages 40 and under”, then you might have a case.
TonySinclair
If you don’t like the policy of the store near you, complain to the manager. Complaining because Dopers don’t sympathize when you are unwilling to make even the slightest useful step in rectifying the situation is a waste of everyone’s time.
Around here, it’s common for stores to have a deal for multiple items, but to pay more for individual items. Eg. 2 for $5.50, 1 for $3.25.
It’s often, but not always, marked on the store shelf.
And I’m sure they didn’t create this policy because of random complaints on the internet.
Well, when I was working in retail, sometimes they did it that way, and sometimes they had it where you had to buy the stated amount of items.
How are they not “honoring their discounts”? It says specifically that if you buy so many of said item, you get a discount. That’s it. You may not like it, but it’s perfectly fair.
I can see why you think it’s weird and inappropriate to charge more for 3 than for 4. However, loss-leader deals with highly specific terms like this are now ubiquitous at supermarkets. In that context, I don’t think you can really be too upset. Your dad didn’t overpay. He just didn’t get the super-duper special deal for which you have to jump through certain hoops.
I don’t have too much of a problem with supermarkets doing this, to be honest. The special deals are there primarily to get people in the door, with them making the loss back on other purchases. But there are many people for whom saving $10 on their grocery bill really matters, and these deals give them the opportunity to jump through the requisite hoops for each deal and save real money. For others who earn more, it’s less important, and they probably pay less attention.
You have a good general point about fine print penalizing older people or others with poor eyesight. But in this case, it sounds like the fine print did not contain any information that was not there in the large print. But how far can you really go with this kind of argument? Is the supermarket also discriminating against people who are bad at math, or just not very smart?
No, it isn’t. It’s perfectly legal, but it’s not perfectly fair.
Did you reimburse Pops for the amount he paid or for the reduced price?
This is the best answer.
They want to keep us off balance.
It’s not deception. It’s incumbent on us to be aware of what we’re being charged.
You can always reject the item when it rings up at a higher then expected price. Ask the cashier to void it off.
It costs them some time and a lost sale. Managers may rethink their policy.
How is it not fair? Because you don’t like how it works?
In a sense, he did. Another large chain grocery had the same pop for the same price, 4 for $11. But in their small print, it said “Limit 4.” They were indeed $2.75 each, and IMO that is what normal people would expect.
General comment, not addressed to Riemann:
And to save more pedantry, I know that what I expect and what is legal are two different things. But thanks to everybody who felt the need to point that out.
I shop mainly at Dillon’s (which is Kroger by another name), and while pretty much every sale price in the store is “with card,” as mentioned above their standard policy is that 4/$11 means $2.75/each, no matter how many you buy. Always. I’ve never seen them do it any other way, and now that they’ve trained me that this is their policy ( 
), if they ever change they WILL be hearing from me, loudly.
OTOH, at Walgreen’s 4/$11 means you have to buy 4 to get that price; any lesser number will be charged a higher amount. However, they always specify “4 for $11, $4.99 each” (or whatever the individual price is) on the same sign, in smaller but still very legible type.
I’d be curious what this store’s general policy is. If the general rule is more like Kroger’s, then I’d complain to the store management about why they varied for this sale. If the general rule is more like Walgreen’s, then they just get labelled as a store that demands reading the fine print before you buy anything–I know that going in. Since other stores, including both of my examples, do either honor the price regardless of quantity or put the variances on the signs, then if the store can’t even be bothered to do that, then I guess I can’t be bothered to patronize them.
Like a sap, I gave him what he paid. Having been educated by all the nice people in this thread, I see now that I should have explained to him like he’s ten years old that it was all his fault, and the store did not do anything illegal.
Every other sale on the front page of their ad was “$x.xx with card”, period. Like you, I am used to shopping at a Kroger-affiliated store, and they always divide the sale price by the amount bought. At worst, they round up a penny.
I wish now I had put it in the Pit. Some of my answers would have been more to the point.
Why have you not already responded to the point, do you feel IMHO requires you to be vague?
Or is it that throwing added vitriol at those who disagree w/ you will make you feel better about having gone out of your way to embarrass your dad over a simple mistake he made? You’ve already said you’d never want to meet any of us who don’t agree w/ you, do you want to make us feel bad, too? Go ahead, PM a mod for forum change so you can rage at internet people rather than making your dad feel better.
One grocery store chain around here does it the way you described in the OP; you must buy exactly what the ad says.
A different grocery store is always running a 10 for $10 sale; when in reality it’s $1 each, but they’re being ‘deceptive’ in trying to buy more than you otherwise would with the “10 for $10” phrasing.
Like Ethilrist said, Caveat emptor is kind of not new…
There are some consumer protection laws with regards to display of price for an item offered for sale.
For example, Arizona requires each item to be individually labeled with the sale price or:
That is a clear requirement that small print at the point of sale is not acceptable.
Other states may make other requirements. Check this NIST document (pdf link) on US pricing laws for a run down of various state laws.
I still haven’t got over that time Mrs Landingham paid sticker price for her new car. If this goes to the Pit, things could get ugly.
Aw man, now I have a sad.
Here’s how to avoid situations like this in future.
Pay attention when the cashier rings in your purchases.
This is what I do. I generally have an idea of what in my cart is sale priced, or marked with a half off discount sticker. I watch the price on the register screen. If I think it’s wrong I ask the cashier to check. Then I double check my receipt before I leave the store. If I find an error, I go to the customer service desk and ask them to resolve it.
There was no error – the customer simply misunderstood the sale.