Sears Customers Have Been Finding Suspicious Price Markups During The Liquidation Sale

"Be very careful and check your prices before buying."

Sears Canada's liquidation sale is promising huge savings for anyone willing to brave the crowds.

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Some Sears stores have gotten absolutely trashed in the process.

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But some deals might not be worth the hassle. Customers have been finding items that were apparently marked up before the liquidation sale.

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"Be very careful and check your prices before buying," Facebook user Elizabeth MacMillian said in a Facebook post that showed an apparent price hike on an item at Sears Canada.

"I looked at 4 different items I nearly bought a few weeks ago before the liquidation and all of them had their prices changed and were now higher to offset the 'discount'. Almost every item I looked had the original price tag cut or taken off and then a sticker added."

Her post has been shared more than 30,000 times, with others providing their own examples of suspicious price changes.

This comforter was listed as $40 more than the original price tag underneath.

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Here's a jacket that went from $50 to $70.

Tara Ruparelia / Facebook / Via Facebook: elizabeth.macmillan.54, Tara Ruparelia / Facebook / Via Facebook: elizabeth.macmillan.54

Lots of people commented to say they had seen similar shenanigans at other stores that had liquidation sales, like Target and Zellers.

Others brought up the multimillion-dollar payouts to senior Sears Canada managers, saying it left them unwilling to shop there.

"It's to help ensure those upper management folk get their bonuses while they stiff thousands of hardworking front line employees out of a job," said one commenter.

Sears Canada said customers were likely finding items "that were marked up some time ago," and that old price tags should have been removed by staff.

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"If a customer comes across such a scenario, the discount will be given off the lower price," spokesperson Vincent Power told BuzzFeed Canada.

Power said customers can get the lower price even if they only discover it after getting home, although he acknowledged the "inconvenience" of having to go back to the store.

According to the Competition Act, stores are not allowed to sell stuff at a higher price than what is advertised. The law makes an exception for when it's done in error.

According to Sears Canada, customers have been "thrilled with the bargains they are getting" and that the company is even hiring more staff to keep up with demand.