When you walk into a clearance aisle, you expect discounted items, right? In a now-viral video, Walmart employee Celia Cook pulls back the curtain on a seemingly deceptive practice she uncovered in her store.
The video opens with Cook panning down the clearance aisle and then focusing on a box of 40-count, 30-gallon Hefty Recycling Bags. The bright yellow clearance tag reads $9.77. But she points out that it isn't actually a clearance item.
Then she pans to the next item, a box for a 5-piece Twin Your Zone Mermaid Bedding set. "Here's what an actual clearance sticker looks like. Notice it has a "was" amount." The sticker shows a clearance price of $9 on an item that previously sold for $34.94.
She also clarifies in the video's caption that "this is not to say that they might not change the price, but often this sells before an actual clearance price drops."
@powerpellets *this is not to say that they might not change the price, but often this sells before an actual clearance price drops. #walmart #clearance ♬ original sound - Celia Cook
The comments on the video, which has amassed 54k views so far, are a window into both how Walmart employees and customers see this issue.
Employees such as user 'Wesker's Urobussy' share that "as a Walmart employee, I'll tell you right now that if someone can't find the right labels they'll use what they can find." This is supported by another user who shared, "I work at Walmart. The associate probably was too lazy to get the correct price printer."
One clearly exasperated customer said, "Been saying this for ever."
Another customer shared that they "like to double check on the app for the sketchy stickers" to make sure that it's actually a discounted price.
Whether this is actually a deceptive practice or just customers not understanding clearance might also include discontinued items at full price, it's something every consumer should be aware of.
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