Arguably, there’s nothing better than getting an unexpected discount when shopping, but what happens if it isn’t really a discount, and the cashier is actually involved?
There’s a lot that some don’t know about Nike, but did you know that adult Nike Shox retail for $135+?
In a viral TikTok that has garnered 873,300 views, @qinthestu1 shared how he managed to snag a pair for a lot less than that.
Filming a video in his car, he said, “Hey, the youth truly do not care about anything, but today, I found the advantage.”
He went on to say how he found Nike Shox on sale at the mall for $100. However, when he went to the cash register, the cashier rang the Shox up as $12.74.
“We both give each other this look, like […] she said, ‘Just hurry up. On my life, just hurry up,'” he added.
He then laughed, imitated the contactless card purchase sound, and said, “And I was out bro. Thank you.”
BroBible reached out to Nike via email.
How Did Commenters React?
In the comments, some users shared their own similar experiences. “The other day, the girl at Dunkin’ handed me my drink and said ‘Have a good day,’ and I said ‘Oh I haven’t paid yet,’ she goes, ‘I deada– do not care about this place,'” one recalled.
“No because this happen to me at McDonald’s, total was $19.69, I gave him a $20, he gave me like $16 and some change I did indeed keep it. I was down bad too,” a second recounted.
While a third shared, “I went to Goodwill with my cousin and we got $150 worth of clothes and homegirl changed the price to $15 and said ‘this is what it should cost.'”
Other former customer service workers admitted that they had acted similarly to the mall employee.
For instance, a fourth wrote, “When I worked at Ulta, I was the one picking stuff for shipping orders and the amount of free stuff I put in the boxes with a note saying ‘Merry Christmas’ because I didn’t bother putting stuff back lmao.”
And a fifth said, “I used to give ppl random [expletive] discounts just for being nice and when they said ‘Oh are you sure,’ I told them ‘Ya of course tbh I do not care about this job and I’m not even getting paid minimum wage and ion get hours for [expletive].”
What Does This Mean In Terms Of Consumer Rights?
When this happens, does the store normally have to honor the lower price? The answer is unclear. Legally speaking, AI business site Brain Corp claims there aren’t any specific federal laws on “accidental price discrepancies.” However, the site notes that the Federal Trade Commission “polices” bait-and-switch tactics and false advertising by businesses. Individual state laws also reportedly vary. This adds to the complexity.
For instance, another viral video filmed at a Rhode Island Walmart showed a TikToker who wanted to purchase expensive-looking power tools for the marked price of 3 cents. In this case, the law may arguably be on Walmart’s side. This is because, according to RI Gen L § 11-18-10. (2024), a false price listing usually needs to be “designed to be deceptive or misleading.”
However, the key part here is that a reasonable person wouldn’t believe that 3 cents is the right price. So, the idea of the lower price being “deceptive” arguably doesn’t apply here.
How Does This Apply In Cleveland?
State laws in Cleveland, which is where this TikToker is based, are broadly similar.
According to § 641.11 Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices in the Cleveland Code of Ordinances, “unfair or deceptive trade practices” are defined as anything that, along with the examples already listed in the law, “creat[e] a likelihood of deceiving or misleading the consumer.”
The Nike situation may not meet this criterion. This is because a reasonable person may not conclude that the Nike Shox are actually $12.74. The fact that it rang up that cheap on the cash register is, arguably, an obvious mistake. So, it can be said that the consumer, i.e., the TikToker, wasn’t “misled” or “deceived.” In turn, it might be difficult to argue that one was misled by the lower price. This means that the store could perhaps argue that it doesn’t need to honor the lower price of the item.
‘Control For The Working Class’
In a TikTok direct message exchange with BroBible, the TikToker said, “I posted the video because I felt like it was a needed blessing during crazy times in our world and I personally believe we need to appreciate things like that whenever we get the chance to.”
He continued, “The reception has been a combination of a lot of things. People finding the humor in the young employee’s response, other people that age agreeing that they aren’t paid enough to care about things they can’t control, and other consumers who have similar experiences of sales people turning these kind of moments into blessings for other people. A lot of folks saw it as a small win in a fight against capitalism, which I thought was a cool way to frame it. These larger corporations take enough money from us, so interactions like that are a brief moment of control for the working class.”
@qinthestu1 The kids are gonna be alright!
In terms of what happened next, he added that nothing else has occurred. “Just a bunch of fun stories and interactions in the comments,” he concluded. “Loving my new shoes and even more so since I got them for so cheap!”