# Just under a penny? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 16, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323 "2009-04-16T19:55:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/1 "2009-04-16T19:55:19Z")
I’d been ignoring the sign for a year, since it was advertising discounted hardwood flooring and I’m more of a ceramic tile guy. But at such a great price, I just had to act. I could resell the stuff and maybe turn a nice profit. So I took a real close look at the sign. “All Hardwood Flooring In Stock 0.99 cents/sqft”. Except instead of spelling out “cents” it was that “c” with the vertical line through it. There were two 2’ by 3’ signs in front of the warehouse, plus a 3’ by 8’ permanent banner above the door. All had identical wording and punctuation, just different font sizes. I went up to the desk and asked the pimpled kid, “Is everything really just under a penny a foot?” He looked up from his Maxim and replied “huh?” I repeated, “Is all hardware flooring really just point ninety-nine cents a square foot?” He craned his neck to look at the sign outside, and answered “Yep, just like it says.” I called my boss and requested the next day off for personal reasons. Early the next morning I rented the biggest box truck available, a 26-footer. I drove it to the flooring warehouse where the same pimpled kid helped me load up. The manager had the key to the forklift, and he was out for the day, so the kid and I spent all morning and part of the afternoon loading 30,000 square feet into the truck by hand. When the truck was full, I handed the exhausted kid $300 in cash, plus another Ben Franklin note to cover sales tax, and told him to keep the change. He stared at me in shocked silence as I climbed into the truck and drove away. I guess he’s not used to such a big tip. It only felt right - he had worked so hard, and the hardwood was such a great deal. I got home with the truck at the same time as two of my neighbors. They and their teenaged sons quickly unloaded everything into my garage for me. I was too sore to hardly move. I then went inside to list the merchandise on eBay and craigslist for $0.75 per square foot. When I returned the truck that evening a cop was waiting for me, along with the manager of the hardwood flooring store. By the time I got out on bail, all the hardwood had been removed from my garage. Did I do anything wrong? Who is the real criminal here? ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/2 "2009-04-16T20:08:44Z")
Am I really the first to post [this](http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/2006/12/verizon-doesnt-know-dollars-from-cents.html)? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/3 "2009-04-16T20:15:45Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > Am I really the first to post [this](http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/2006/12/verizon-doesnt-know-dollars-from-cents.html)? You’re the FIRST PERSON TO RESPOND. Why wouldn’t you be the first person to post it?!? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/4 "2009-04-16T20:20:26Z")
Well, there seems to be a bit missing from the story. After you met the cop, were you arrested, and on what charge(s)? Who removed the hardwood from your garage? Did they have to break in to the garage to remove it, or did someone else living at your house allow them in? ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/5 "2009-04-16T20:28:05Z")
Is this hypothetical? Hope you got pictures of the signs. Good luck with that one in court. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/6 "2009-04-16T20:28:28Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Well, there seems to be a bit missing from the story. After you met the cop, were you arrested, and on what charge(s)? Who removed the hardwood from your garage? Did they have to break in to the garage to remove it, or did someone else living at your house allow them in? Yea, I know. The story was already wordy enough. The whole point is, if someone advertises a product for .99 cents, is it legal and/or moral to pay .99 cents rather than .99 dollars? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/7 "2009-04-16T20:37:16Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > Yea, I know. The story was already wordy enough. > > The whole point is, if someone advertises a product for .99 cents, is it legal and/or moral to pay .99 cents rather than .99 dollars? OK, going with what we have, as far as you can tell the pimpled kid, who helped you load the wood onto the truck and accepted $400 as payment for it, is an agent of the store. So between you, as far as you could tell, you formed a valid contract for the sale of goods. Is the manager of the store alleging that the pimpled kid is not an agent of the store, and was not authorised to sell goods to you? If so, where were the other store employees during the hours when the store appeared to be open, and you were loading onto the truck? Or is he alleging that you just made up that part about the pimpled boy, and you loaded the wood yourself, without paying for it? If that’s the allegation, I hope you’ve kept a receipt. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/8 "2009-04-16T20:53:08Z")
I might add that there’s a different question, not addressed in the scenario in the OP. If a firm advertises something at “0.99 cents per unit” but really means “0.99 dollars per unit”, and you want to buy a quantity at the (mistakenly) advertised price, can you force them to sell at that price? And (as with many legal questions) I think the answer is, “It depends.” What it depends on is partly on what jurisdiction you are in, because some places have consumer protection laws about false and misleading advertising, and partly on how obvious it is that the advertised price is a mistake. I can’t remember the details, but a while ago there was a case of an airline advertising a particular international flight at an extremely low price, and then wanting to cancel the booking of people who had bought at that price. My view on that was that, given how widely airline fares vary, how could you possibly know that a particular fare was so low as to be an obvious mistake. So, once the airline’s booking system had accepted the booking, the airline should not be able to cancel the contract. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/9 "2009-04-16T21:11:07Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I might add that there’s a different question, not addressed in the scenario in the OP. If a firm advertises something at “0.99 cents per unit” but really means “0.99 dollars per unit”, and you want to buy a quantity at the (mistakenly) advertised price, can you force them to sell at that price? And (as with many legal questions) I think the answer is, “It depends.” What it depends on is partly on what jurisdiction you are in, because some places have consumer protection laws about false and misleading advertising, and partly on how obvious it is that the advertised price is a mistake. > > I can’t remember the details, but a while ago there was a case of an airline advertising a particular international flight at an extremely low price, and then wanting to cancel the booking of people who had bought at that price. My view on that was that, given how widely airline fares vary, how could you possibly know that a particular fare was so low as to be an obvious mistake. So, once the airline’s booking system had accepted the booking, the airline should not be able to cancel the contract. Well, I certainly won’t deny that the store’s intent was to sell for $.99, regardless of the large black-on-yellow “.99 cents” signs making all intelligent viewers cringe. What penalty should the store have to pay for this eyesore? Since we don’t tax stupidity, I think a truckload of mechandise lost to a greedy entreprenuer is a fair punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/10 "2009-04-16T21:19:15Z")
> [@Elyanna](#): > > Is this hypothetical? Uh oh, I think I may have made myself some enemies. The store is real and the sign is real. You can see it from the TRAX train in South Salt Lake, and it’s been there for years. The details of the story may be a bit, uh, embellished. Here’s one on a smaller scale, infinitely less interesting, but 100% true: I was at Hollywood Video last week. My four-year-old pointed to the candy dish on the counter and asked for a piece. I replied sure, put a penny on the counter and you can have four. The cashier glared at me and quickly put the candy dish as well as the .25 cent sign out of sight. So I told my distraught kid, sorry but it looks like the sale just ended. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/11 "2009-04-16T21:44:52Z")
In my experience lumberyards such as this make you pay before loading the merchandise in your truck. So you wouldn’t be able to get away with this scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/12 "2009-04-17T00:20:38Z")
[Get a New Stereo for 299 Bananas!](http://www.snopes.com/business/deals/bananas.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/13 "2009-04-17T12:07:34Z")
IANAL, but my guess is that intent would play a large role here. Did the store _intend_ to deceive by advertising a falsely low price? It seems not. Yes, the sign is cringe-worthy and technically incorrect, but it’s also fairly obvious what it really means to say. On the other hand, did you _intend_ to take the product at what you knew full well was 1/100 of its intended price? It seems so. I wouldn’t bet 0.99 cents on your chances in court. I’ll also add that, unless you were truly dealing with bumpkins here, I find it pretty unlikely the store personnel would let you leave the premises without actually finalizing the sale and generating a written receipt. At that point, if you were to raise a stink and insist that they were legally obligated to sell you the product at the inadvertently incorrect price on the sign, well, then you’d just be a douche. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/14 "2009-04-17T14:10:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In my experience lumberyards such as this make you pay before loading the merchandise in your truck. So you wouldn’t be able to get away with this scenario. > [@Wheelz](#): > > I find it pretty unlikely the store personnel would let you leave the premises without actually finalizing the sale and generating a written receipt. In the story, he did pay for the goods. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/15 "2009-04-17T14:27:03Z")
This thread got me to thinking about weird signs. Like the one for the lingerie store that said “50% off all items.” I think it would have been better if it said “Our lingerie is half off.” So last night I saw a car that advertized presciption drug delivery. The name of the company was lettered onto the rear of the trunk. It said PELHAM HEALTH CARE. Actually, it didn’t. It said PELHAM EALTH CARE. In between the first and second words was the Honda logo. It bent my brain a little. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/16 "2009-04-17T15:14:18Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > … At that point, if you were to raise a stink and insist that they were legally obligated to sell you the product at the inadvertently incorrect price on the sign, well, then you’d just be a douche. I confess, I’m a douche. But a douche on a mission to educate businesses about the difference between a fraction of a dollar and a fraction of a cent. When my mission is complete, maybe I’ll crusade against the inappropriate use of apostrophes. If only I could find a way to make that endeaver profitable as well. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/17 "2009-04-17T16:30:54Z")
Back when I knew the laws about pricing, in that state and for that industry, pricetags and signs were binding, except for major mistakes. I can’t remember exactly how major mistakes were defined, perhaps more than X% of the intended price, but the bottom line was a $5.99 item mistakenly marked at $4.99 meant the store had to sell it for $4.99, but a $5.99 item marked at $0.59 was not binding. And IMO, there’s enough just confusing and poor communication out there that it’s a crazy use of resources to go after signs that are perfectly well understood, even if technically incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/18 "2009-04-17T17:39:21Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > I confess, I’m a douche. But a douche on a mission to educate businesses about the difference between a fraction of a dollar and a fraction of a cent. When my mission is complete, maybe I’ll crusade against the inappropriate use of apostrophes. If only I could find a way to make that endeaver profitable as well. You could be like that guy who travels around the country correcting signs with grammatical or spelling errors. But then he might have stopped doing this after he got into trouble for correcting a historic sign in a national park. [Here](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2652883/Grammar-vigilantes-go-to-war-on-error.html) is an article about the story. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/19 "2009-04-17T17:41:42Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > In the story, he did pay for the goods. In his story, he loaded the truck and then paid for the merchandise. Most, if not all, stores make you pay first. And in this case, the store would not have completed the sale once they knew how much he wanted to pay. ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323/20 "2009-04-17T21:51:48Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > I confess, I’m a douche. But a douche on a mission to educate businesses about the difference between a fraction of a dollar and a fraction of a cent. When my mission is complete, maybe I’ll crusade against the inappropriate use of apostrophes. If only I could find a way to make that endeaver profitable as well. I suggest going after jewelers. In our local mall at one time, there were four jewelry stores in the center, and each had spelled “jewelers” differently–jewellers, jeweler’s, etc. sigh. No idea how to make that one profitable either, however. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-under-a-penny/493323.md?page=2)