Is OTHER wrong in the post ? POST : My wife and I recently booked a 3 week trip to go to Europe this summer and have been getting new stuff in preparation. This past weekend we went to the mall to find new shoes that would be ergonomic, low profile, yet fashionable to match the few articles of clothing we’ll be bringing. Keep in mind, we’re trying to save as much as possible at this point.

We first stopped by a sports shop, saw some Nikes that almost fit the bill. I should mention upfront that when I buy stuff in-store, I occasionally check online reviews to see what the general consensus is. These first pairs we looked at apparently wear out pretty easily. So we passed on them.

After a few different other stores and no luck, we stumbled across Vans. Right away I found a pretty awesome pair of kicks that looked great. We were greeted by a super personable associate that had the exact same pair of shoes on. He told us they were comfortable and would hold up to the kind of trekking we would be doing. He grabbed me a pair and my wife a pair of the female version. He was right. They fit great and wouldn’t look awkward if I was wearing either jeans or shorts. He continued to help us out, showed me socks that would look good with the shoes, gave us more info on the shoes.

I checked out the price for both our shoes, $115 CAD each. Not bad. Could be worse, could be better.

Me, being my inquisitive self, checked out the reviews on Google to see what they said. The overall average score for the shoe was 92%. But as I was scrolling through the search results, I stumbled upon a listing of the exact same shoe for $79.99 CAD through a different retailer. This wasn’t intentional, it just happened and it struck me odd the prices would be so jarringly different.

I showed my wife, didn’t make a big deal of it. The associate asked me if I had any questions. This is pretty much where I should’ve stopped and thanked him for his help and left, but I made the mistake of asking if they price-matched other retailers. The guy was confused. Why would the Vans store have to price-match their own product? So I showed him. He said no, and seem pissed. Told me that this specific retailer wasn’t allowed to be selling the same product at that price.

I started to feel bad. We either try to save $40 or buy the pair from the sales associate. I asked if they made commission, but he didn’t outright say. By this point, my wife and I had decided on these shoes. So we decided to get her shoes at here and buy mine online.

As we walked away, I asked my wife if IWTA in that situation. She didn’t say anything and just shrugged. Still feel like I should’ve tipped the guy for helping my wife and I, but we never carry cash on us.

This post is probably a non-issue. But wanted to get your guys’ take on this. Would you guys have done the same thing? AITA? I’ve also been in retail positions were I did and didn’t make commission. I’ve even sold shoes at one point too. Definitely felt bad about this though.