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An
amendment to a current Massachusetts
pricing law went into effect Dec.
15, 2003. The law being amended
stated that retailers needed to
"price an item individually
by means of a pricing tag or sticker
appended to the item, or by printing
the price on the product or its
packaging" (940 CMR 3.13-
Pricing and Refund, Return and
Cancellation Privileges). With
the new amendment, a retailer
can avoid fines with newly established
exceptions. Massachusetts Attorney
General Tom Reilly found it necessary
to introduce these exceptions
to protect retailers that were
getting bombarded by class-action
lawsuits. One of the primary exceptions
allowed non-food retailers to
install a price verifier and printer
for every 5,000 square feet of
selling space. Stores of less
than 5,000 square feet must have
at least one of these systems
to be covered by the exception.
With this new amendment, retailers
can avoid being fined for failure
to price individual products,
as long as they accommodate customers
looking to find aprice via one
of these well-marked |
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machines. To meet the requirements
of the law, these price-verifying
systems must: identify and display
the item by name or other distinguishing
characteristics display the
price of the item produce an
individual pricing tag for that
item provide a means by which
such pricing tag may be easily
affixed or appended to the item
or its packaging (e.g. an adhesive
pricing tag). Although this
new exception offers an alternative
pricing method for retailers,
the state also is being more
stringent with its monitoring.
The Massachusetts Department
of Weights and Measures has
received a grant double the
amount of last year for the
sole purpose of enforcing the
laws and administering fines
for non-compliance. Retail stores
with outlets in Massachusetts
are jumping on adopting technology
spelled out in the new legislation.
The millions of dollars paid
in fines, grants, legal fees,
and settlements justify the
investment in price verification
systems. Some Massachusetts
retailers have implemented pricing
verification systems using Symbol
Micro Kiosks™ and the
Zebra QL 320™ mobile printer.
This wireless system confirms
the price of a scanned item
via 802.11b and prints out a
label for the consumer upon
request on the QL 320. Using
the running charger, the printer
can be operated via AC power
while still offering wireless
connectivity. For a lower cost
solution, an Ethernet-enabled
Zebra desktop printer, such
as the LP 2824™, also
would be appropriate. This printer
would not have the wireless
functionality, but still meets
the requirements of the law
in a small footprint.
For
more information on the MB Tech
Systems Price Checker (Customer
Information Appliance) CLICK
HERE, or e-mail sales@dbk.com.
To
see the Massachusetts House
Bill No. 4636 ammending the
Piring Law CLICK
HERE. |
