Payless pranks customers, sells bargain shoes at designer prices — and it worked

Payless taught fashion influencers a lesson about shoes by opening a fake store that sold bargain retailer shoes at designer prices.

Payless ShoeSource held a launch party in Los Angeles for the bogus label Palessi and invited the fashionistas to sample the merchandise.

The company then posted a video of what happened on Facebook.

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The VIP shoppers paid as much as US$645 for shoes that sell from $19.99 to $39.99 at Payless. The store rang up $3,000 before Payless came clean with the reveal.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpfhdnYnIJh/

One shopper exclaimed, “Shut up! Are you serious?”

The pranked shoppers got their money back and were allowed to keep the shoes.

WATCH: Punked by Payless: Discount shoe retailer dupes ‘influencers’

1:45 Punked by Payless: Discount shoe retailer dupes ‘influencers’

Their reactions will be featured in a series of commercials.