EXOD843 Jewish law imposes obligations upon consumers as well. Thus, we may not ask a storekeeper the price of an item if we have no intention of buying it (Mishnah Bava Mezia 4:10). While comparison shopping is, of course, permitted, raising a storekeeper's hopes with questions about the price is a form of "oppressing with words" (ona'at d'varim), and is forbidden. For example, if you intend to buy a product over the Internet, but want to see the item first, you may not go into a store and pretend to be a potential purchaser so that the storekeeper will demonstrate the product for you. Such deceptions involve a person in one or more lies, and constitute a violation of the biblical prohibition "Keep far away from falsehood."