Liquidation sales are now underway at Sears Canada stores across the country as the troubled retailer prepares to go out of business.
But some Canadians say they are discovering price hikes, rather than discounts, on certain items.
READ MORE: No deals at Sears? Here’s why prices can be higher during liquidation sales
Elizabeth MacMillan posted a picture on Facebook of a price tag that she claimed shows a Sears Canada price tag with a sticker displaying a new, higher price.
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“Be very careful and check your prices before buying. I looked at four different items I nearly bought a few weeks ago before the liquidation and all of them had their prices changed and were now higher,” she wrote on her post.
“Almost every item I looked had the original price tag cut or taken off and then a sticker added.”
She told Global News she took the pictures at the Sears in Stratford, Ont.
People replying to the post shared similar experiences.
Asked to comment on those consumer reports, Sears Canada said the intent of the sale is to lower prices and move inventory as quickly as possible. Any cases of prices going up would be an “odd exception.”
“If there are some cases of regular pricing that may have gone up, then would be odd exceptions, a system error, and not reflecting the spirit of what we are trying to do,” Sears Canada spokesperson Vincent Power said. “We’ll try to make any situation right by our customers if such an issue comes up.”
WATCH: Calgarians call Sears liquidation sales ‘not that great’
He said customers who have complaints should take it up with the store manager.
It wouldn’t be the first time consumers found higher prices at a liquidation sale. Back in 2015, a Global News price check found significant prices hikes on several products at Target stores in Toronto in the lead-up to Target’s retreat from Canada. Many prices were altered on Jan. 15, the very day Target Canada filed for bankruptcy protection.
Sears Canada received court approval to begin completing liquidation of all its stores on Oct. 13, marking the end of an era for the 65-year-old chain. Stores began their liquidation sales on Oct. 19.
A joint-venture group – which includes Hilco Global, Gordon Brothers Canada, Tiger Capital Group and Great American Group – is running the sales at 74 remaining department stores and eight Sears at Home stores, a step towards Sears Canada closing its doors for good.
Since then, some stores have seen chaos and confusion, with some in a state or dilapidation with mountains of clothes, shoes and other products scattered all over the place.
The liquidation sales were advertised as offering discounts of between 20 and 50 per cent, though a note said some exceptions would apply.
– With files from Global News and the Canadian Press
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