A 27-year-old Rogelio Villarreal has seemingly procured a pair of $14,000 Cartier earrings for his mother for merely $14, thanks to a listing error on the company website.
What Happened: Villarreal, a surgery resident from Mexico, stumbled upon an Instagram ad for Cartier in December. Among the high-priced items, he noticed a pair of 18-carat rose-gold earrings with diamonds, listed for 237 Mexican pesos ($14). He purchased two pairs for his mother, as reported by The New York Times.
After the purchase, the price for the earrings was adjusted on the Cartier website to 237,000 pesos, equivalent to about $14,000, sparking a months-long dispute between Villarreal and Cartier, which gained attention on social media and even drew the interest of a Mexican senator.
Cartier made several attempts to cancel the order, the report said. When Villarreal would not cancel, company representatives reached out to him offering him a complimentary bottle of Cartier Cuvée champagne and a leather Cartier item as compensation for the canceled order. However, Villarreal filed a complaint with the Matamoros branch of the federal consumer protection agency and the agency has since made several attempts at mediating an agreement on the issue, the report added.
In late April, Cartier reached out to Villarreal saying that his order would indeed be delivered.
On receiving the earrings, Villarreal also posted a picture of the parcel with the caption, “Once upon a December.”
Social Media Reaction: The incident has sparked a debate on social media, with some users supporting Villarreal’s actions and others criticizing him for taking advantage of the situation.
Sonora state senator Lilly Tellez is on the latter side of the argument. It is wrong to take advantage of a mistake to the detriment of another person even if the law is on your side, she said.
“It is more important to be honorable than to have Cartier earrings,” she wrote.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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