Credit and Debt Blog

Consumers who check prices online before shopping may find that many items are priced substantially higher in the store than online. Forget about EBay or other online retailers. Big box retailers sell the same merchandise on their own websites for cheaper than in their stores.

I recently discovered this practice when buying an aquarium filter from PetSmart. The price was listed as $104.99 on their website at PetSmart.com. Shipping was free also. When I visited their retail store in Cary, NC, the price was $179.99. That is a difference of $75, or a 71% markup in the store.

After speaking with PetSmart customer service, the retailer agreed to match their online price. I just had to provide a printout of their online price. PetSmart is not alone in this practice.

Best Buy was sued by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal for taking this practice one step further. According to the lawsuit, Best Buy displayed a nearly identical website to its www.bestbuy.com website that was only viewable from inside the store.

While this in itself is not a violation of consumer protection regulations, Best Buy altered the prices to make it appear that their in store prices matched their online prices. In addition, the suit alleged that many salespeople at Best Buy claimed that it was the actual internet site located at www.bestbuy.com, and that they must have either misread the online price or viewed an expired offer.

As a result of the lawsuit, Best Buy added a disclaimer to their in-store kiosks that reads “This Kiosk Reflects Local Store Pricing.” The site still appears to be identical to their online internet site.

“The store’s minor changes to its kiosks – made in response to my investigation – are inadequate and incomplete,” Blumenthal said. “The in-store kiosks are still mislabeled ‘BestBuy.com,’ falsely leading consumers to believe they are connecting to the Best Buy Internet web site.”

These major retailers are not alone. To protect yourself, make sure that you always check the online prices from home anytime you want to make a substantial purchase.

The reason is that retailers know how easy it is to compare online prices, but that once you are in the store you have no real method of comparison. Make the effort to protect yourself, and you could save substantially.