Readers may have come across the story of Harvard "professor" Ben Edelman, who went nuclear and threatened multiple civil actions and referrals to regulatory authorities over being overcharged by $4 for take-out Chinese food.

If not, here's the story from the Boston Globe:

Ben Edelman, Harvard Business School Professor, Goes to War Over $4 Worth of Chinese Food

There’s More: Edelman Did This Before, And Worse

Who Is Ben Edelman, Sheriff of the Internet?

Nothing Does More for a Small Business Than Being Attacked by a Harvard Business School Professor

Most notably, the $4 overcharge resulted from Edelman consulting an online menu which the restaurateur conceded was not current. Though the restaurateur cited various disclaimers posted online with the internet menu prices, Edelman, in his email exchange with the restaurateur, said such disclaimers could not be used to justify the pricing discrepancy.

On this point is where we see most relevance for retail suppliers. Transparency of retail suppliers' online pricing has already proved to be a regulator concern in neighboring Connecticut, where new rules for online price disclosures (for both suppliers' own sites and the PURA-run rate board) have recently been adopted.

Although, as noted by the Globe, Edelman's disproportionate reaction to an overcharge (and offering of a refund) is engendering support for the restaurant, we cannot see the same reaction had Edelman been writing to a retail supplier rather than a local small business.

The episode should serve as a warning to retail suppliers, especially those in Massachusetts, that offering service means you may run across a Sheriff with an axe to grind