Ariz. Admin. Code § 3-7-402

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section R3-7-402 - Retail Price Requirements; Initial Inspections; Violations and Exceptions

A. Retail price requirements. In addition to the requirements in A.R.S. § 3-3431, a person who offers, exposes, or advertises a commodity for sale or rent shall:

1. Price a commodity at the date and time that it is ordered by a customer;

2. Post a definite, plain, and conspicuous price on the commodity or adjacent to where the commodity is displayed;

3. If the price of the commodity is by weight, measure, or count, place the price per weight, measure, or count on the commodity or adjacent to where the commodity is displayed;

4. If a price is reduced by a percentage or a fixed amount from a previously offered price, place the reduction or reduced price on the commodity or adjacent to where the commodity is displayed;

5. Label each commodity offered for sale within a plant nursery with its identity and price, or post a sign with this information adjacent to the point of display; and

6. Ensure that the price of each item purchased is displayed visibly to the public at each check-out location.

B. Initial retail price inspections. The initial retail price inspection of a location is for educational purposes and administrative enforcement action will not be imposed for a violation identified during an initial inspection. An initial inspection is the first retail price inspection conducted at a location when no prior retail price inspections have occurred at that location under the current ownership.

Price verification.

1. Violations. Items sampled for price verification that scan at a price higher than the marked or posted price are considered over charges. An inspected location shall be found in violation if more than one overcharge is recorded in a price verification sample.

2. Violation exceptions. Items sampled for price verification that scan at a price lower than the marked or posted price are considered undercharges, and are not a violation.

D. Price posting.

1. Violations. The following are price posting violations:

a. No price is posted or displayed for an inspected item;

b. Less than 98% of the items sampled for price posting during a retail price inspection have a marked or posted price; or

c. A percentage or quantity discount is provided, but there is no price displayed for the item on which the consumer may calculate or compare the discounted price to the regular price.

2. Violation exceptions. The following are not price posting violations:

a. A price is posted or displayed as allowed in A.R.S. § 3-3431(L) and (N);

b. A price is posted on the shelf or on a hook in front of or behind a row of items at the farthest left side of all items with the same price for up to 3 feet of shelf space, or at the farthest left and farthest right side of the shelf or hooks displaying items of the same price. For items of the same price, the Universal Product Code ("UPC") may differ for the commodities with prices labeled in this manner, as long as the price posted is a generic price and does not refer to a specific product;

c. A price is posted in a location clearly visible to the consumer on a vertical display containing items of the same price;

d. A price is posted on the inside or outside of the door of a self-contained refrigerated cooler on or in front of the shelving units in a location clearly visible to the consumer;

e. Items contained in a clearly marked storage or restocking area where a customer must ask for employee assistance to obtain an item;

f. A price is posted on a hook in front of or behind a row of items but the price is clearly visible or a notice is clearly visible stating that the price is posted behind the row of items;

g. An item is located in an advertising display without a posted price but a notice is posted informing a customer to ask an employee for price information regarding an item contained in the display;

h. A menu-type sign at a point of display that lists the name and price of every item at the point of display in legible text. A menu-type sign may also be used to display single-item purchase prices in areas where space is limited, or used to display a price for purchase of multiple items and single-item purchase prices at the point of display as long as it is posted at, above, or adjacent to the point of display;

i. A point of display contains more than one item posted with the manufacturer's name or logo and the price and name of each item contained within the point of display is posted at, above, or adjacent to the point of display;

j. A price is posted only at each entrance to a store and the posted price is the price of each item displayed for sale within the store, or a price is posted at each entrance to a department within a store and the posted price is the price of each item displayed for sale within the department;

k. A notice states that there is an additional charge based on an item's size and the additional charge for each size is posted at, above, or adjacent to the point of display; and

l. An item that does not have a price displayed but is located in or behind a service counter and available only with the assistance of a sales associate as allowed in A.R.S. § 3-3431(M). If a price is displayed, it must meet the requirements of this Chapter.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R3-7-402

Adopted by final rulemaking at 23 A.A.R. 2280, effective 10/2/2017. Amended by final rulemaking at 29 A.A.R. 441, effective 3/5/2023.