Customers have misused Wal-Mart's price match promotion to obtain $400 PlayStation 4 consoles for less than a quarter of the retail price using third-party sellers on Amazon. The company announced on Nov. 13 that it would price-match select online retailers, including Amazon.com. However, any Amazon member with a registered selling account can create authentic looking pages and list items "for sale" online. Consumers need only take a screen capture of the page and show it to a cashier at checkout in order to request the price match. Wal-Mart's online price match policy states, "We're committed to providing low prices every day, on everything. So if you find a current lower online price from an online retailer on an identical, in-stock product, tell us and we'll match it." Few employees appear to have verified the legitimacy of these online deals as many customers were able to purchase gaming systems for $90. The scam seems to have been initiated after Sears accidentally listed several Nintendo consoles on its site for $60, according to Consumerist, a consumer advocacy site. Members of Twitter and Reddit communities have posted pictures of receipts documenting that Wal-Mart had accepted these fake Amazon listings.
IN-DEPTH
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--- Sarah Whitten, CNBC
