Store won't honor the advertised price? Bait and switch and sale price rules in Nevada
In plain words: in Nevada it's a deceptive trade practice for a business to advertise something it doesn't intend to sell as advertised, to run out of a doorbuster without having said the quantity was limited, or to lie about a price or the size of a discount (NRS 598.0915). You can sue for your damages and attorney's fees (NRS 41.600), and you can report it to the Nevada Attorney General.
Is it against the law?
- An offer the seller doesn't really mean to fill, plus any of these:
- Refusing to show you the advertised item
- Running down the advertised item to push a pricier one
- Requiring another purchase, or a condition the ad didn't mention
- Taking your deposit, then switching the order to a higher-priced item
- Offering worse terms than the ad
- Advertising goods with intent not to sell them as advertised
- Advertising without enough stock for expected demand, unless the ad says quantities are limited
- False or misleading statements about a price, or the reason for or amount of a price cut
- "Free" offers with hidden costs you must pay to get them
- Selling used, refurbished or reconditioned goods as new
- Saying an item is a brand, model or grade it isn't
- Leaving out a material fact about the sale (NRS 598.0923)
- Using pressure or intimidation in the sale
- A doorbuster that sold out when the ad said quantities were limited
- Still worth asking for the price or a rain check
At the register
Getting it fixed
- A victim of a deceptive trade practice under NRS 598.0915 to 598.0925 can sue
- If you win, the court must award your damages, your costs and reasonable attorney's fees
- Small amounts: small claims court
- The Nevada Attorney General and the county district attorney can bring cases (NRS 598.0999)
- A court can impose civil penalties up to $15,000 per willful violation (NRS 598.0999(2))
- Up to $25,000 more per violation when aimed at an elderly person, and up to $15,000 when aimed at a person with a disability (NRS 598.0973)
When it's a crime
Knowingly and willfully engaging in a deceptive trade practice is a crime. If the loss is $1,200 or more but less than $5,000 it's a category D felony, rising to category C and B felonies for larger losses; smaller losses are a misdemeanor. The court can order the business to pay profits made from the practice and triple the damages it caused (NRS 598.0999(3)).
Something arrived in the mail you never ordered
Merchandise mailed to you without your request or consent is yours to keep as a gift, with no obligation to pay, and the sender can't bill you or send collection letters for it (39 U.S.C. 3009). Free samples marked as such and mailings from charities asking for donations are the exceptions to the mailing ban, but you still owe nothing for them. If it's a scam, see holiday scams.
Tickets, hotels and cars have their own price rules
Show tickets: ticket refunds and all-in prices. Hotel room rates: hotel guest rights. Rental cars: rental car fees. Car purchases: lemon law and used cars.
Read 2026-11-05 from Nevada Revised Statutes on this house's law shelf: NRS 41.600 (chapter 41, Rev. 4/15/2026); NRS 598.0915, 598.0917, 598.0923, 598.0973 and 598.0999 (chapter 598, Rev. 4/15/2026); and from the United States Code on the shelf (2024 edition): 39 U.S.C. 3009.