A Middle Schooler’s Two Table-Tennis Paddles Cost 140,000 Won...Stationery Store Says “No Refund” [What Do You Think?]

[Financial News] Claims have emerged that a stationery store sold two table-tennis paddles to a middle-school student for 140,000 won without displaying their prices, then refused the parent’s request for a refund. The products were reportedly sold for more than four times their online price of about 16,000 won each.

According to the online community Bobaedream on the 7th, a post went viral on the 6th claiming that “a first-year middle-school student bought table-tennis paddles without price tags at a stationery store, and 140,000 won was charged.”
According to Person A, his son, Boy B, stopped by a stationery store in Dongtan, Hwaseong City, to buy table-tennis paddles, table-tennis balls, and ballpoint pens for a school physical education class. Person A claimed that the items had no price tags and that no prices were provided before payment.
The receipt listed the paddles as “miscellaneous goods.” Two paddles were charged at 70,000 won each, bringing the total, including the other items, to 149,800 won.
After receiving a card-approval notification, Person A called his son to confirm what had happened and requested a refund 17 minutes after the payment. The same model was selling online for about 16,000 won, Person A found.
However, the store owner refused the refund, citing a notice at the bottom of the receipt stating that sports goods cannot be exchanged or returned. Person A’s wife reportedly called again that same day, but received the same response.
Person A said, “The payment was processed without any price display or notice,” adding, “The child only learned the price after looking at the receipt once the payment had been completed.”

Person A also asked the stationery store’s headquarters to mediate the following day. The headquarters reportedly recommended a refund, saying the sale price was high, but explained that it could not force the franchisee to comply because franchise stores are free to set their own prices.
Person A said the 1372 Consumer Counseling Network also advised that an in-person store transaction is difficult to cancel unilaterally unless the parties reach an agreement.
Another person claimed to have experienced something similar at the same store. In a comment, Person C said, “Do they still run that stationery store like that?” and added, “My son came home with a danso and recorder that he had bought at extremely high prices, so I immediately asked for a refund, but they said musical instruments could not be refunded.”
Person C continued, “I sent my son on errands because I wanted him to choose his own school supplies, but every time he went there, the prices were so high that I thought the owner was going too far.”
Person C added, “How would elementary or middle-school children know whether something is expensive or fairly priced?” and said, “I don’t want to fight with the owner, so I end up having to keep a closer eye on my child.”
Person A replied, “I also asked my son to do it because I wanted him to prepare his own school supplies.”
People who read the story responded with comments such as, “Does it make sense to sell something to a child without even displaying the price?” “First, report the store to the district office for violating price-display rules,” and “Charging 8,000 won for a single table-tennis ball is absurd.”
[email protected] Minseo Seong Reporter