Rogelio Villarreal, a Mexican man, stumbled upon a pricing error on Cartier’s website, offering gold-and-diamond earrings for 237 pesos ($14) instead of the correct price of 237,000 pesos ($14,000). Villarreal successfully ordered two sets of earrings after months of back and forth with Cartier and Mexican officials who supported his claim that the company should honor the advertised price. He eventually received the earrings at the significantly lower price and shared an unboxing video online. Despite the public attention he received for this win, Villarreal expressed fatigue at being known solely for the earrings.
Villarreal’s case stirred up controversy in Mexico during a politically charged time leading up to the country’s June 2 presidential elections. Some critics accused him of taking advantage of Cartier’s mistake and labeled him a thief or suggested he should return the earrings or pay taxes on them. Villarreal, a medical resident, felt that after facing hardships and never having much luck, he was finally able to purchase two sets of $14,000 earrings for a fraction of the price, and he even gifted one set to his mother. Despite criticism, Villarreal felt a sense of satisfaction at not being the underdog for once in his life.
Jesús Montaño, a spokesperson for Mexico’s consumer protection agency, Profeco, confirmed Villarreal’s account of his struggle to obtain the earrings at the advertised price. Montaño stated that Villarreal had filed a complaint in December, leading to a conciliation hearing scheduled for May 3, but he had already received his purchase by that point. In terms of the ethics involved, Montaño emphasized that companies are obligated to respect the published price and rectify any mistakes in pricing, asserting that it is not the consumer’s fault when such errors occur.
Cartier did not respond to requests for comment on the incident involving Villarreal and the pricing error on their website that led to the sale of the earrings at a significantly reduced price. Villarreal’s persistence in pursuing the correct delivery of the earrings paid off, ultimately allowing him to secure a luxury item for a fraction of its true value. Despite facing criticism and backlash from some observers who viewed his actions as unethical, Villarreal maintained that he had simply taken advantage of a pricing error made by the high-end jewelry company and claimed his right to receive the earrings at the advertised price set by Cartier.
