Placed order, got confirmation, merchant now wants double the money

[TengerJoe]

Placed an order last night for 20 of these at 98 cents each.  Got a confirmation email.

This morning the merchant sent an email communicating an intent to breach (what I thought was a contract).  The new price is competitive with other merchants, but I'm not sure what to do -- okay the 2X increase in price; cancel the order; or protest this behavior.  Generally with an brick-and-motar store I have declined to pay more than the price that was listed on the shelf or on the packaging.  Always thought this sort of thing was illegal?

Anyone have any experience with this kind of thing?  Suggestions?

order #100015408 placed on May 8, 2017 10:54:53 PM EDT

Hello,

Thank you for placing an order with us.
We are sorry to inform you that the ANC-FS-5H-14 wasn’t updated on our website.

This item has a new part # ANC-932-107-14 and the price is 1.90 each.

Please let me know if you would like us to update your order.

Sincerely,

**removed**
Tooldex Industrial Supply Co.
Email: **removed**
Website: 

[DPCreations]

Protesting won't help.  What do you think you could really achieve with a protest.

Was there anything on the web site where you purchaseds which stated the seller had a legal obligation to sell at the listed price?  Was there any information on the web site which stated that the seller could not cancel the order?

Realistically<

You can accept the increase and pay.

or

You can request the seller cancel and refund all.

For the seller it's strictly  business decision.  For you it's simply buy at the higher price or not buy.

[TengerJoe]

>>What do you think you could really achieve with a protest.<<

Better customer service overall we every buyer refused to go along with merchants not honoring their advertised prices.  

Should I now look at every website, every newspaper ad, every airline ticket as what?  Something that can be changed by the whim of the merchant?

That seems to be where we are today, perhaps because almost all buyers go along with, and have gone along with for years, false, deceptive or misleading advertising (illegal under federal law, and, yes, not really worth pursuing I suppose).  In the extreme we get United Airlines level of customer service.

At the other extreme another merchant, responding to a 3 or 5 star review of a radio I purchased on Amazon (I was okay with it, tuning knob stopped working, but also had up and down buttons for tuning) is sending a new one at no charge and doesn't want the old one back. 

[DPCreations]

OK.  Protest away.  Enjoy your life.

[sharpiemarker]

Then obviously you should cancel the order if it is not to your liking.  Free market.  You don't have to buy from the merchant and the merchant don't have to sell to you. If they made an error on their site, then you can make an error and not buy.

[TengerJoe]

How am I making an error by not buying?

Would I have the right today, say, to tell the merchant I made an error on my calculation of my credit card balance?

Call me dense, or call me a retired professor of marketing/advertising, but I'm fairly shocked at the responses of the two volunteer advisors here.

They can change the price (make an error) and then I make an error by deciding not to buy at 2X what we had agreed to?  

Clearly I'm out of touch!

[sharpiemarker]

Maybe I am just not concerned.  If the merchant will not oblige, I will cancel the order.  Don't need the stress.

And I meant figuratively speaking, you can make "error" too by not buying and taking your business else where.  

"Would I have the right today, say, to tell the merchant I made an error on my calculation of my credit card balance?".

You can't make an error on that.  The merchant puts the charge amount through.  Do you mean you're going to tell your card issuer to change amount of the charge?  Have at it.  We are just stating opinion because your post really doesn't have anything to do with PayPal policy or how PayPal works, that if the merchant does not oblige, then buy from someone else who is more obliging.

This is a user to user forum.  PayPal staff are those with the "Mod" badge and PayPal logo next to their names and they occasionally respond but they mostly monitor the forums.  The advisor badge is how the forums rank users according to number of posts.