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Merrick, NY—A serious copy error in a recent Macy’s circular ended up costing the department store quite a bit of money: about $432 per transaction, for a 14k gold and sterling silver necklace with diamond accents that was advertised for only $47—not the $479 it was supposed to be.

What a difference a single digit can make. The circular lists the “regular” price of the necklace as $1,500. The intended price of $479 represents a 68% discount off the regular price—but the erroneous price gave some lucky shoppers a 97% discount.

According to WFAA-TV in Dallas, TX, the price was advertised in a nationwide circular. Macy’s could not confirm how many of the pieces were sold before the error was caught, said the report, but at least in one Dallas store, the inventory sold out.

While nobody knows (or is telling) how the Macy’s error happened, it is a good reminder to manually proofread anything that goes out with your store name. That includes ad copy, emails, newsletters, correspondence, and even Facebook and Twitter posts. Don’t just rely on your spell-check feature alone, because while spell-check is helpful to pick up typos, it won’t pick up a word that’s been misused—for example, “their” instead of “there.” And of course it won’t pick up a wrong price.

A spokesperson from Macy’s told the TV station that corrective signage went up in both the fine jewelry department and on store entry doors as soon as the error was discovered, but that didn’t help one customer who arrived in the Collin Creek Mall store a moment too late to snag one of the necklaces. The customer before him had just bought out the store’s full stock of the piece, and while the salesperson did offer to sell him two and have them sent to his home, he later got a call from Macy’s, apologizing and canceling the order due to a price error. The store offered to process a refund, but did not offer to supply either the two necklaces he paid for or an alternative product.

Read more here.

Top image: WFAA-TV, Dallas