I needed a new sheitel for a long time but delayed getting one, since I couldn’t justify the money it would cost to get a nice new sheitel. Last week, I saw an advertisement that one of the local sheitel machers was having a half-price sale on all the $1,000 wigs. I went in to look at what was available and found a beautiful piece. I purchased the sheitel and my friend, who is also a sheitel macher, cut it for me.

Yesterday, the seller called to tell me that the wig I bought was not one of the sheitels that was on sale. She doesn’t know how it got placed with the sheitels that were on sale, but this particular piece was from the line that is normally sold for $1,800 – and it was not part of the sale. The sheitel macher now wants me to pay her the remaining balance of the correct price of the sheitel.

Q: Am I obligated to pay her an additional $1,300?

A: The first issue that must be clarified is the determination of what halacha applies in this circumstance. At first glance, it seems that this is a case of ona’ah. The prohibition of ona’ah is to exploit another person’s ignorance in a business transaction. In the event that a merchant charges one-sixth more than the market price, or if the customer pays less than one-sixth of the market price, the transaction can be cancelled.

Applied to our case, it seems that you unknowingly exploited the sheitel macher when you purchased a wig worth $1,800 for only $500. The truth is, however, that this transaction is null and void for a more fundamental reason. Ona’ah is an issue that is relevant when the object that was to be sold was not properly priced. The issue in this case is that the seller did not intend to sell this particular sheitel. This is a form of mekach taus – mistaken transaction – and is not binding in halacha. Once it is determined that a transaction was a mekach taus, the buyer has the right to cancel the transaction. Furthermore, according to some opinions, even the seller may cancel the deal before the buyer accepted the deficiency (C.M. 232:4, S’ma 12).

What this means for you is that the sheitel macher cannot demand that you pay her the remaining balance on the sheitel; you can just return it to her and ask for a refund of the money you already paid. Furthermore, since you handled the sheitel in a normal manner before the mekach taus was discovered, you are not obligated to pay for the loss of value that resulted from having the sheitel cut (see Choshen Mishpat 232:13).

For a follow-up question in issue #36 click here