Is It Proper To Take Advantage Of A Price Mistake
(e.g., Buy A Plane Ticket For $100 When The Airline Had Meant $500)?
If it is clear that a price mistake has been made and the company is Jewishly owned, then taking advantage of the price mistake is considered ona’at mamon and would be forbidden (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 227:1).
If the company is not Jewishly owned then there are many reasons to still argue that we should not take advantage of the price mistake. The Shulchan Aruch and Rema rule that one may profit from “ta’ut akum” – certain financial mistakes of an idol worshipper (Choshen Mishpat 348:2). Nevertheless, we should not take advantage of the price mistake if by doing so we would cause a chillul Hashem or if by not doing so we would cause a kiddush Hashem (Ibid., Be’er Ha’Golah 348:5).
I would rather err on the side that chillul or kiddush Hashem is at play in most instances. Additionally, the Meiri famously holds that many of the Talmudic discriminatory practices against idol worshippers, like “ta’ut akum,” do not apply to modern day gentiles. As such, according to the Meiri, we would not be able to take advantage of the “ta’ut akum” leniency. Moreover, taking advantage of a price mistake would seem to violate the midot of emet and yashrut and as such would not be proper.
That being said, it is not always clear when something is a price mistake. Most items and most services do not have a set price. For one reason or another, a company may charge different prices for a particular item or service, perhaps in order to fill up seats on a plane or to get rid of an overabundance of items that it has. As such, many situations which seem to be price mistakes might not be price mistakes at all. In these situations, we may certainly take advantage of an apparent “price mistake.”
– Rabbi Jonathan Muskat is the rabbi of the Young Israel of Oceanside, a rebbe at Shulamith High School, and a pastoral health care liaison at Mount Sinai South Nassau.
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Generally, the laws of ona’ah – fraud – apply only between a seller and a buyer (see Aruch Hashulchan, Choshen Mishpat 227: sk 36). However, where there is an agent either for the seller or the buyer involved such fraud does not apply. Frequently airline tickets are sold by an online booking company’s ticketing agent, as such there might not be a direct buyer-seller relationship. Even in dealing directly with the airline, if they posted the price, and a customer takes advantage of that posting why would the onus be on him?
Nevertheless, where such would involve chillul Hashem, we as the Chosen People always have to be cognizant of the way we are viewed by the outside world. I remember hearing from my rebbe, Hagaon Rav Shmuel Brudny, zt”l, one of the roshei yeshiva of the Mirrer Yeshiva, that if something seems wrong and will be viewed as such by others it is wrong.
As is plain to see such a case might not engender fraud, but as always it is proper for one to seek out the counsel of one’s moreh hora’ah, who, without question, will offer proper guidance.
– Rabbi Yaakov Klass is chairman of the Presidium of the Rabbinical Alliance of America; rav of Congregation K’hal Bnei Matisyahu in Flatbush, Brooklyn; and Torah editor of The Jewish Press. He can be contacted at [email protected] and [email protected].
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This is an interesting area because from the strict aspect of halacha there would seem to be nothing wrong with it, assuming that the owners of the company were not Jewish. This would be in the category of ta’ut akum, and from a strict halachic perspective one would be allowed to take advantage. However, and this is a very big however, the question a person always has to ask themselves is: how does Hashem want me to act? In this case the bigger question really is, why does hashem want me to work for a living?
Hashem is infinite and can provide for me in any manner or form, even without me working. Nevertheless, part of being a Jew is earning a living, a parnasa. One must be a 24/7, 365 day a year Jew, not only a Jew in the beit midrash or shul. Hashem expects me to act in a specific manner all the time, and a key aspect of this, of avodat Hashem, is earning a parnasa. Just as putting on tzitzit or tefillin is a mitzvah, so too is earning a living.
The question then is how does Hashem want me to earn this living. This would certainly seem to be in the category of things that are not in “v’asisa hayashar v’ha’tov” (Devarim 6:18). We are obligated to go beyond the strict letter of the law. This case is certainly the type of thing that one should not engage in because it is not proper, not nice. I understand that it is a mistake, they understand that it’s a mistake. And what I am doing is taking advantage of a mistake, which isn’t yashar, isn’t straight, isn’t proper – and therefore shouldn’t be done.
– Rabbi Ben Zion Shafier is founder of The Shmuz and author of 10 Really Dumb Mistakes That Very Smart Couples Make (available at theshmuz.com).
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There are two ways we can ask and answer this question: 1) Is it halachically permitted to take advantage of this price mistake; and 2) Is it morally proper to do so.
There is a halachic issue of ona’at mammon which prohibits selling or buying an item for 16% or less than its standard market value (Choshen Mishpat 227).
Does this apply if a product does not have a set market value, but instead often has a range of prices, like airline tickets? The Beis Yosef says ona’ah does not apply in such cases, while the Bach and Shach say that it does. The Pischei Choshain argues that if there is a clear mistake in the price, ona’at mammon does apply, even if there is no set market value. Therefore, while there is halachic standing to rely upon to purchase the ticket, it seems unadvisable to do so.
The bigger question may be, however, is it the right thing to do? Is taking advantage of a person’s or company’s mistake a noble virtue? Does it bring more G-dliness into our society, or does it create a more selfish and exploitative culture?
These are not always easy questions to ask when a $100 airline ticket pops up, but may be precisely where the balance between letter of the law and living a “Torah values” life lies.
– Rabbi Elliot Mathias, chief operating officer of Aish HaTorah, is the former Aish New York executive director and founder and CEO of Hasbara Fellowships. Rabbi Mathias works to bring AishVision2030 to life, mobilizing the cooperation and collaboration of its branches, affiliates, and partners all around the world.
