Retail giant Walmart is apologizing after a customer noticed that a Black baby doll set cost almost $15 more than the white doll set. A Duke professor says that while racism does play a part in the price increase, economics is the real problem.
WCPO reports that Asheria Brown, a mother of three living in Kentucky, wanted to buy her oldest daughter a Kid Collection doll set from Walmart.
She decided to purchase the doll online from the store’s website and made a shocking discovery: the Black and white doll collections, with the same accessories and number of individual dolls totaling 48 pieces, had different prices.
The Black dolls and accessories ran for $39.97, while the white counterparts were sold for $25.00.
Brown shared, “They were 14 dollars and 97 cents more expensive than the white babies I saw in the store.”
“There are seven Black babies and there are seven white babies,” she continued. “But one set is $39.97; the other is $25.”
On Twitter, several users found other examples of price gouging around dolls. Some even more egregious than Brown’s case.
“@Walmart please tell me why the black doll cost more ??????,” asked one Twitter user of a doll set that appeared to cost nearly $40 more than the white version.
Another added about the same pricing discrepancy, “Now @Walmart, we are sick of this!!! Why is the black doll soooo much more expensive than the others”
“@Mattel and @Walmart why is the black doll more expensive? This is not my first time seeing this”
“This is crazy! Even if you are letting a third party use your stores why not at least make the price point comparable? Or better yet if you don’t have the same black doll find another third party who has it for the same or similar price?!
Read full story at Atlanta Black Star here.
