Price comparisons are my thing.

I’m a firm believer in shopping around to find the best price, and online is often the easiest way to do that.

When I order online, I use the SMS notifications that tell me when a package has been shipped, when it should arrive, and when it has been left at my door.

But a recent experience with a purchase and delivery was a surprise.

I placed an online order for three items from Walmart.com. Two of them were to be delivered on one day and the third item on a different day.

On a Friday I received a text message saying that the first two items had been shipped and a tracking link. The text message came at 6:17 am

Pretty early for a text message.

The next day, a Saturday, I received a similar SMS notification for the other article. This came at 6:09 am

6:09 am on a Saturday? What’s going on?

We asked Walmart and several other popular retailers about their text messaging policies.

Best Buy, Wayfair, Lowes, Amazon and Target did not respond to questions about when they send text messages. Home Depot responded that it sends messages to customers who opt to text between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Walmart also had an answer.

“Our automated text notifications are designed to provide our customers with timely updates on order and delivery status,” a spokeswoman said, noting that customers opt in to the updates. “Delivery schedules begin as early as 7 a.m. – when items arrive. Notifications are sent in advance of when an item would arrive so customers are kept up to date on the item’s arrival.”

We decided to go for it, but Walmart doesn’t think 6am is too early?

“As you know, customers can subscribe to these messages. We want to make sure customers are informed about the delivery time,” the spokeswoman said. “For example, during the holidays, I often send gifts for my nieces and nephews directly to my brother’s house. With an early text message, I can let my brother know that a gift is arriving so the surprise isn’t spoiled.”

Does this mean Walmart can text me at 3am?

“No, the news is broadcast from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. local time,” she said.

It turns out that these messages probably don’t fall under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which says retailers can’t send text messages before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the text recipient’s time zone.

The TCPA covers two types of messages, says Stanislav Mamonov, associate professor in the Department of Information Management and Business Analysis at Montclair State University.

These include so-called commercial messages, which include, among other things, marketing and sales intent texts, as well as transactional messages, which include, among other things, order and delivery messages.

“TCPA restrictions on consent, opt-out and time limits only apply to commercial messages,” Mamonov said. “In the example you cited, the messages appear to be transactional and therefore not subject to TCPA time limits.”

David Opderbeck, a law professor and co-director of the Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology at Seton Hall University, said many believe it is time for Congress to change the TCPA because it was created in the age of landlines.

“Congress could create an updated framework for text messaging as well as marketing and customer communications content generated by artificial intelligence, among other things,” he said.

He noted that the U.S. Supreme Court significantly limited the TCPA in Facebook v. Duguid in 2021 by ruling that its protections also cover devices made before the invention of cell phones.

“In a footnote, the court also apparently left open the question of whether the TCPA even applies to texting,” Opderbeck said. “There is a litigation going on across the country right now about exactly what the court meant in Facebook v. Duguid. So it’s too early to say there isn’t a potential problem with Walmart texting you, but there’s a very good chance they’re no longer covered by the TCPA.”

Then there’s New Jersey’s Do Not Call law, which focuses on “unsolicited telemarketing sales calls,” Mamonov said, but because the messages were an order, they didn’t fall under the law.

Mamonov said if you don’t want to opt out, you can always turn off notifications from a specific sender – if you can figure out which number the messages are coming from. “SMS will still be delivered, but at least the phone won’t beep/vibrate,” he said.

You should also review the user agreement you agreed to when placing the order, as receiving transactional messages generally requires your consent, Mamonov said.

If you are unable to opt out or unsubscribe from unwanted text messages, or if you have complaints about them, you can file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, the federal consumer protection agency. If you are on the Robinson List, you can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission to be on the safe side.

And I know. I could put my phone on silent when I sleep. But I’m a mother of three. The phone is always, always on.