Rogelio Villarreal knew nothing about the French jeweler Cartier, he said, when an ad popped up on his Instagram feed last December. He clicked on it, perusing the pages of bling and other luxury items, including handbags, watches and necklaces, each listed for thousands of dollars.
“I was amazed to see how much the necklaces cost and so on and I said: ‘Someday,' until I saw the earrings,” Mr. Villarreal, 27, wrote on social media . “I swear I broke out in a cold sweat.”
He bought two pairs. Later, the price for the earrings was adjusted on the Cartier website to 237,000 pesos — more than $13,000.
When Mr. Villarreal made no move to cancel the order, he started receiving phone calls from company representatives.
As “compensation,” the company then offered “a gesture from the house of Cartier” — a complimentary bottle of Cartier Cuvée champagne and a leather Cartier item, according to an email sent to Mr. Villarreal.
