Following Arizona Beverages chairman and co-founder Don Vultaggio’s recent interview on TODAY with Savannah Sellers, where he talked about why he’s never changed the suggested retail price of the brand’s iconic 99-cent can, some social media users had a tall bone to pick with their local corner store.

Why are cans being sold for more than 99 cents?

Vultaggio’s interview went viral, with one portion garnering more than 17 million views on TikTok alone.

“We’re successful. We’re debt-free. We own everything. Why? Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent have to pay more for our drink?” he told Sellers. “Maybe it’s my little way to give back.”

Vultaggio said he doesn’t intend to raise prices “in the foreseeable future,” adding that his company is “gonna fight as hard as we can for consumers.”

Following the interview, a slew of Arizona fans took to social media to tattle on their local shops, many of which are selling cans for more than a dollar.

One X user posted a sign in a convenience store that reads: “Dear valued customer, Due to the rising cost of production, this store will no longer be selling Arizona cans at 99¢ effective August 1st, 2024.”

“Yo Sheetz,” posted one Threads user, “If the owners of Arizona Iced Tea are keeping the price of cans at $0.99 then why are you offering a member deal at 2/$3.00.”

“I saw the Arizona Iced Tea man say that his teas are never supposed to be more than 99 cents,” TikToker @realbrandonfromvegas says in a video with 1.7 million views. “Just so you know there’s a Shell gas station in Vegas doing $1.50. Putting you on, Tea Man!”

Even the official Arizona account seemingly admitted that they were being inundated with reports of above-99-cent prices.

“when someone tells me the social media guy that a gas station in Biloxi Mississippi is charging $1.15 for a can,” it posted on X. In the replies, many people responded with wildly different prices at their local shops.

“I got a shell gas station by me in Michigan that sell em for $2,” replied one X user.

“bestie almost every store in my area is overpricing. like 1.50ish,” wrote another.

“$1.25 at dollar tree.  DOLLAR Tree,” wrote one more exasperated X user.

So, I popped into my Washington, D.C.-area 7-Eleven and found that it was selling two cans for $2.50 and one can for $1.39.

Unfortunately for me and the rest of these Arizona iced tea fans, stores can set whatever prices they want for the goods they sell, even if a can of Watermelon Fruit Juice Cocktail has “99¢” printed on its side.

Stores often price competitively to avoid being accused of price gouging, but federal agencies don’t control how much your local convenience store or supermarket charges. This is something that Vultaggio himself concedes to.

“I hate to raise prices, I’m an old salesman and the worst day in a salesman’s life is when he has to go to a customer and say you have to pay more,” Vultaggio tells TODAY.com. “But on the other side of it, we’ve done all we can to hold the price.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t govern how store owners choose to price their products,” he continues. “The price is on the can. We do all we can to help retailers remain profitable, so stores can sell it for 99 cents.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com