Ideally, a pawn shop simplifies the shopping experience.
All the items are used, so they’re cheaper.
On top of that, the supply is limited to what people have sold recently, so the struggles of infinite choice are eliminated as well.
But for one woman, the pawn shop experience suddenly grew very complicated and unfolded into a real headache.
She explained the ordeal in a post on the “Am I the A**hole (AITA)” subReddit. The Original Poster (OP), known as LookingLiving on the site, outlined the key details in the post’s title.
“AITA for refusing to return a computer I bought after the store called and told me that I paid the wrong price for it?”
OP described the situation’s casual beginnings.
“Last week, I went to a local pawn shop to sell some stuff. While I was there, I was window shopping and saw that they had a computer for $89.”
“I only really use a computer for youtube or websites and my laptop is pretty old so I tested this computer, everything worked so I bought it.”
But there was an unexpected development.
“The next day, I got a call and it was from the manager of the shop.”
“He was very rude from the start and told me that the computer was labeled incorrectly and told me (didn’t ask, rudely ordered me) to come in that day and either A.) return the computer or B.) pay the difference.”
“I asked that the difference was and he said over $800. I guess it was supposed to be labeled $899.”
OP found herself on the defense.
“I said I’d think about it and he said that if I wasn’t in by the end of the day, he’d just charge my card the amount.”
“I told him that he can’t do that and he said if I didn’t bring it in, or pay the difference, he was gonna ban me from the store and also call the police for theft.”
“I just said I’d think about it again.”
Then things escalated.
“I think he was mad cause the last thing he said to me was ‘listen, b***ch, either bring it in or go to jail, your choice.'”
“Or ‘you decide.’ Something like that. Then ended the call.”
OP then assessed the truth of the owner’s claims.
“I don’t think the police can even do anything cause the price sticker is still on the computer and I have a receipt of the transaction for the $89 and there’s probably also camera footage of me buying it and he must have a record of the purchase too.”
“It’s not my fault that him or an employee labeled it incorrectly and it’s not like I knew it was a wrong price when I bought it.”
“I just saw a cheap computer that worked and bought it.”
But when OP sought some friendly advice, the next steps remained unclear.
“I asked my friend who’s into computers to look at it and see if it’s actually worth that much or if this guy’s just trying to scam me or something and he said that the parts are pretty high end and expensive.”
“I don’t think I did anything wrong but my friend said that I should take it back so idk.”
Anonymous strangers on the internet were asked to provide feedback by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
By and large, Redditors took OP’s side.
They shared their rationale.
“NTA. You paid the price that was stated for the computer. Any screw up is their responsibility to handle on their own.” — FourLeafClover0
“NTA, you paid the price it said it was and they finalised the transaction.”
“They can’t just claim it costs 1000% more the next day – everyone would try to sell their stuff that way…’oh it’s $1 (until tomorrow, if you decide you like it and don’t want to return it, you’ll have to pay another $100′ – nope!” — yeIIowish
“NTA. He asked for a price; you paid it. End of story. Especially because of the rude behaviour, you owe him nothing.”
“Do keep the sticker and the receipt. :-)” — aQ1tmxMP
“NTA. It’s a pawn shop you almost never pay the actual amount for an item. I’ve seen $1000 jewelry pawned and receiving $40. Don’t return.”
“Imagine that the original owner sold it to them and probably got a $100 for it then wanted to sell it to you for $899. Scams all around.” — North_Tell_4144
Some added pragmatic advice to their feedback.
“NTA and I hope that they do call the police, because they will be told that they’re wrong. The transaction is over.”
“Call your credit card company asap and tell them not to allow any charges from that vendor.” — ISeeMusicInColor
“NTA. Absolutely do not take it back. If he had been polite and apologetic there might be an argument for giving the guy a break, but he was an absolute *%#+ to you.”
“Keep the price sticker and the receipt somewhere safe, and call your credit card company to ensure he can’t make further unauthorised charges to your card.” — justliketheotherone
“NTA. Their mistake not your problem. Don’t remove the sale sticker and tape the receipt to the computer so they don’t get lost.”
“Send a friend in to see if there’s a ‘all sales final’ sign and snap a pic. You might want to give your credit card company the heads up on this guy.” — Bansidehe13
Others advised going even one step further.
“NTA, personally I’d be calling the police to report that you were threatened by this person and now you don’t feel safe.” — Herdnerfer
“NTA That’s their fault not yours.”
“Call the police yourself and let them know what happened but the shop owner literally can’t do anything. You didn’t alter the price or anything, their mistake, their loss.” — kalkiki
“NTA. It’s unfortunate they made a mistake, but that isn’t your fault. If he does charge your card, you’re the one who needs to call the police.”
“It isn’t legal for you to be quoted one price and charged another; it’s even less legal for them to charge your card without your permission. I’m sure the guy is upset but this behavior is not normal.” — minervasbiscuittin
OP followed up after reading all the feedback and let people know what she planned to do next.
“Thank you all for the advice. I don’t think I’m going to return it and I am going to contact my bank about it, I wasn’t aware that they could prevent a transaction, I thought you’re just supposed to call after someone charges your card.”
We hope OP doesn’t run into troublesome situations like this one in the future, but if she does, at least she’ll be able to post to Reddit on her new computer.