Back-to-school specials may not be so special

SAN DIEGO – It’s that time of year again when moms, dads and school children are looking to stock up on school and office supplies at a bargain price. Shoppers should be alert when paying for these bargains to make sure they are actually getting the lowest advertised prices.

From July 2010 to June 2011, inspectors from the County’s Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures (AWM) scanned more than 26,000 items at 1,600 retail stores and found 25 percent of the stores had pricing errors. Inspections showed that overcharges varied with the type of store.

While the average overcharge a...