I think it’s so obnoxious when I go into a little shop and nothing has a price tag. I hate it with the white hot passion of a thousand suns. Are you seriously gonna make me ask you about the price of every little thing I might consider purchasing? Or would you prefer that I bring a bunch of stuff to the register and then decide if I actually want it as you ring it up? And it honestly doesn’t matter if I can afford it (although the lack of clearly labeled prices are particularly rude to people who maybe can’t). No matter how much money I have I will never feel good about getting ripped off so the asking price will always be a factor.
I was recently in a local needlepoint supply store where they had nothing labeled. Needlepoint supplies vary wildly in price. You can get thread for a dollar or for $20. Canvases can cost 5 bucks or hundreds. From their website I saw that this store had needle minders (little decorative magnets to hold your needle when you take a break, they usually look like enamel pins but with magnets instead of the pin and clasp). Well they had $7 needle minders and $75 needle minders. So someone will wander in and see a cute 1 inch Snoopy magnet, think it’s a cute impulse purchase and then get hit with $75 + tax and have to either smile and go along with it or have to back out. It’s just a piss poor customer experience.


I see this as an issue of trust and reputability. Typically, items will have a UPC printed on them, a tag with a price on it, or in an area with a posted price. If I don’t see any of those, and especially if it is on something not easily found on the internet, then I see no way to know if what I am holding is worth what I am willing to spend on it. And more importantly, if the person at the register is ripping me off or not.
If the purse I pick up does not have anything on it that indicates it could be $500+, then I’m wasting my time by hunting someone down to give me a price check. This is especially true with designers that have low, mid, and top tier products, ranging from maybe $100-$3000+.
I’ve only encountered “no price tag” shops a few times. And each time, I’ve walked out.
Whether inefficient, lazy, or pretentious, it’s an insult to consumers.