# How Much Does The Scanned Price vs. The Shelf Price Have To Be Off Before You Dispute With The... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 16, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014 "2017-02-16T23:00:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rucciface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ba9def/32.png) [@rucciface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rucciface)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/21 "2017-02-17T17:14:37Z")
Just this morning, I disputed a mis-ring that would have cost me $.90. Ordinarily, I don’t like to call out other people’s mistakes and I’ll let things slide, but this particular cashier at my corner store has mis-rung that item the past few times and it finally bugged me enough to correct her. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/22 "2017-02-17T17:55:32Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I’d dispute it for anything, because that’s the only way to keep stores from screwing us by displaying one price but charging another. Beat me to it. I can’t check every item that goes through. Who knows how many times they’ve cheated me, either accidentally or on purpose. I can only hope not any at all. In the unbelievable category, we had a ~$100 line item show up on our register tape, and no one could say how it got there. They cashier and the manager seemed honestly perplexed, but there it was. Would have been bad to miss that one! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/23 "2017-02-17T18:26:30Z")
Generally the price difference would have to be greater than $1 for me to act, however, if a store has a consistent habit of ringing up prices differently at the cashier station, then there needs to be constant complaints - kind of like the customer-complaining version of a class-action. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/24 "2017-02-17T18:38:10Z")
In my case, the guy’s dispute hinged on the deli manager telling him he could have it for $2.21 (how he arrived at that price I have no idea) because the sandwich was a day old and about to be thrown out. I don’t think it was a matter of the store trying to screw him, nor the guy trying to screw the store. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/25 "2017-02-17T18:38:21Z")
I used to work on POS systems for a supermarket chain (Point of Sale, not Piece of Shit) and I will call out any discrepancy because it is doing them a favor especially in Massachusetts where such things are heavily regulated. Funny story, we used to hire the most ornery senior citizens to go through our stores and find price mismatches even if it was just a discrepancy between the shelf and the sticker on the product. They got an hourly wage and got to keep one of each product that they found a discrepancy on and many of them were really good at it. Why hire an expensive auditing firm when you already have an inexpensive army of them just waiting for any excuse to get out of the house? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/26 "2017-02-17T18:39:53Z")
I know some stores have a policy that if there is a price discrepancy, the customer gets the lower price. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/27 "2017-02-17T21:00:25Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > … the sandwich was a day old and about to be thrown out. Geez, this means if he’d been a little more patient, he could have gotten the sandwich for free. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/28 "2017-02-18T00:54:52Z")
My wife always pays attention and calls them on it. Very few items have price stickers, but if there is a discrepancy between the shelf label and the bar code, she will call them on it. They always check and give her the lower price. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/29 "2017-02-18T12:33:39Z")
If I notice, I’ll say something. However, unless it was something I only bought because of the price, I’m unlikely to remember the exact price when something rings up, and, if I’m keeping a running total, it’s gonna be approximate, with an approximate tax . So a small-ish discrepancy would usually slip right past me in practice. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/30 "2017-02-18T12:55:21Z")
The store I go to, if I dispute the price, the cashier will just take my word for it and ring it up at the price I stated. Now, I don’t know if that is store policy or if the cashiers are doing it because I know them so well. Some of them for nearly 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/31 "2017-02-18T12:58:38Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > Not only would I not dispute it, I’m pretty sure I’d never even notice it. I’m just not that price conscious. It would have to be pretty egregious for me to notice ($20 for a sandwich I expected to cost $10, say). This is me. Sometimes I will return home from the store, from getting gas, whatever and the Mrs. will ask how much something was. My response infuriates her: “I have no idea”. mmm ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/32 "2017-02-18T13:24:03Z")
Around here there’s a chronic problem with some Quickie-Marts where they charge sales tax on tax-free items (many food items). Of course they don’t actually forward the extra to the state. They get away with it because too many people aren’t paying attention and making a stink. Businesses will rip you off if you let them. (In any case, these people are already paying a hefty convenience “tax”.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/33 "2017-02-18T14:39:10Z")
One woman claimed I had given her a penny less in her change. A penny. Fortunately, one of the other cashiers had a penny sitting on her register and, once she stopped laughing, gave it to me. Another woman came back to the register claiming I hadn’t given her the $10 in change and her receipt. I got the manager to run the tape, which clearly showed me handing them to her, and she dropping them at the exit. We found the receipt, but not the $10. She left without apologizing. BITCH! ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/34 "2017-02-18T15:24:38Z")
The guy disputing the price couldn’t know how long it would take for that dispute to be resolved. I’ve worked multiple retail jobs and I will say something anytime a price rings up wrong, for less or more. Have to fix a problem when and where you find it, or else many more people’s time and money will be wasted in the future. If a store gets a reputation for being untrustworthy their customers won’t come back. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/35 "2017-02-18T16:02:43Z")
Fifty cents or so? For an extra dime it is too little to argue about if it is a one time thing. Even the principle is not worth the elevated blood pressure. Are you going to stop eating there? Write a letter? Dehumanize the cashier? I agree the business is inconveniencing the customers, not the person per se. But not entirely, and not everyone in line is going to see it that way. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/36 "2017-02-19T13:59:19Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > Not only would I not dispute it, I’m pretty sure I’d never even notice it. I’m just not that price conscious. It would have to be pretty egregious for me to notice ($20 for a sandwich I expected to cost $10, say). Pretty much this. If I grab two of something because there’s a BOGO and they both ring up at full price I’ll usually notice that. I buy a lot of fresh produce and often the young checkers don’t know the code for artichokes or whatever. Sometimes they don’t even know what veg it is. I mostly watch those because really silly couple-dollar mistakes happen when they don’t know an artichoke from a Napa cabbage. Sometimes in the aisle I’ll agonize over the $0.79 store brand canned tomatoes vs. the $0.99 name brand. But by the time I get to the register I’ll have no idea whether $0.79, $0.89 or $0.59 a can was the right price for whichever one I picked. No, that isn’t very consistent. But it’s what I do. Re **Shag** ’s story from the old days: I haven’t seen a physical price tag on a grocery store item other than meat and red-tag closeouts in years. Shelf tag vs. item tag discrepancies simply can’t happen because item tags don’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/37 "2017-02-19T14:41:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Re **Shag** ’s story from the old days: I haven’t seen a physical price tag on a grocery store item other than meat and red-tag closeouts in years. Shelf tag vs. item tag discrepancies simply can’t happen because item tags don’t happen. It was an oddly retro Massachusetts state law to price mark every item until the early 2000’s or so and it was enforced. We had to spend a lot of time, money and effort to make sure all the stores stayed in compliance and the senior citizens army reserves was one of the most effective solutions. I have been out of the corporate retail industry since 2000 and I think the law has changed since then because I don’t see that many stickers around anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/38 "2017-02-19T14:44:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Re **Shag** ’s story from the old days: I haven’t seen a physical price tag on a grocery store item other than meat and red-tag closeouts in years. Shelf tag vs. item tag discrepancies simply can’t happen because item tags don’t happen. They do in Massachusetts. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/39 "2017-02-19T14:46:55Z")
> [@ASGuy](#): > > One of the first “rules” I was taught as a cashier was if a difference in price exists, the lower price prevails. And then you immediately change the tags, labels, whatever. Yep. That’s policy at my store. Also, if there’s a mistake in tagging - for example, a sale sign wasn’t taken down at the end of a sale - then the customer noting the mistake gets the lower price and the management sends minions scurrying to fix the mistake so we don’t have to give anyone else a lower price for the item. It’s not always a matter of a store out to screw the customers, in a store like ours with hundreds of thousands of items simple human error can account for some of the mis-matches. Regardless, the customer shouldn’t be penalized for the store’s mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014/40 "2017-02-19T14:57:22Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’m a store cashier. People actually put a lower price sticker on items, then argue when the bar code rings up higher. Yeah, we get that, too. Worst case I saw was a flatscreen TV with a $12 clearance tag on it. Um… no. At least I wasn’t in on that argument. Another annoying thing is the people who come to the shoe department, try on new shoes, put their old shoes in the box, put the box back on the shelf, and walk out with the new shoes for free. Yes, yes, there are security tags on things but thieves are pretty clever at defeating them, especially when the stocking staff forgets (or is just too lazy) to put the higher quality ones on things like the expensive workboots. I have sympathy for people who have a problem at checkout like the wrong price coming up, but I really despise the thieves and cons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-the-scanned-price-vs-the-shelf-price-have-to-be-off-before-you-dispute-with-the/780014.md?page=3)