Scanner Price Accuracy Code

I just recently learned about something called the "Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code" (SPAVC). That sounds like quite a mouthful, but it can lead to some pretty big savings. The way the SPAVC works is that if an item under $10 is scanned and the price that shows up at the till is not the price that matches the one on the shelf you get the item free! If the item is over $10 than you get $10 off the price of the item.

Some retailers will try to get away with just giving you the lower price of the two (the shelf price or till price), but you should request to have the item free of charge. This worked for me the other day at Valu-mart when I was purchasing some juice. The price on the shelf was $2.99, but when I got to the till it scanned in at $3.99. I asked the cashier about the price discrepancy, she then called a clerk to check the shelf price. I was indeed correct so I got the juice free!

This may not seem like huge savings but it adds up. According to a recent study, approximately 2% of items scanned are mispriced (Marketplace 2009). If you are spending about $500 a month on groceries this can amount to $360 is savings each year. Here is a short list of major stores in Canada that participate in the act:

Shoppers Drug Mart
Pharma-save
A & P
Loblaws
Sobeys
Metro
Costco
Home Depot
Canadian Tire
Toys r Us
Wal Mart
Giant Tiger
Best Buy/Future Shop

Be sure to check out this CBC Marketplace video on the SPAVC:

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2009/how_not_to_buy_a_puppy/busted.html

Also check out this related article:

always-double-check-your-grocery.html

Here's a bonus video about getting free stuff online: