eBay 20% off Sale - The Usual Price Jack Has Started

picklewizard on 15/01/2018 - 09:34
Last edited 19/01/2018 - 11:42 by 2 other users

Surprise surprise… the price jack has begun.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Gigabyte-AORUS-GeForce-GTX-1080T…

I added this to my watch list on Saturday when it was $1190. Today, it's $1309.

Is this misleading conduct by the seller - inflating prices prior to a sale? I'm sick of this 'sale' bullshit. Is this something Consumer Affairs or the ACCC would be interested in?

Edit: seems Kogan got done for a similar practice so maybe it is something the ACCC would like to know about!

Edit 2: Here's the link to report it to ACCC: https://www.accc.gov.au/contact-us/contact-the-accc/report-a…

Edit 3: Company name: Austin Computers, ABN: 69780893412 - get reportin'!

EDIT 4: ARE YOU KIDDING ME, THEY RAISED THE PRICE AGAIN! IT'S NOW $1367.

Edit 5: As @nickxau pointed out, it's an obscene $1482 now, almost 22% higher than it was on Saturday.

Mod: We have removed the unobtainable deals (due to a price increase after being posted) and merged them below (5 in total), note that many were posted before this thread was made, so they will appear at the top of the comments section below. See original mod comment and discussion here. Please note that other unobtainable deals which were removed due to combining an existing sale (6 in total) which finished before this 20% off sale started weren't merged (not related to a price increase and never possible/available).

Update 19 Jan 11:40am: The eBay deal posting guidelines have been updated to reflect new requirement that deals requiring coupon codes can only be posted on the day the coupon becomes live.

General Discussion

Related Stores

eBay Australia
eBay Australia
Marketplace

Comments

        • callum9999 on 16/01/2018 - 13:55
          +2

          @dyl: If Austin computers, for example, are neither running nor promoting a 20% sale, how can they be held legally responsible for raising prices before the sale?

          It was a pretty simple point, no idea what you're struggling to grasp there…

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 13:56
          +2

          @callum9999:

          Are they participating in the 20% off sale?

        • jonathonsunshine on 16/01/2018 - 14:09
          -2

          @callum9999: I'd do it if I was them. The only reason people are buying stuff from them right then and there is because 20% discount makes it the cheapest. If you can put prices up and it's still the cheapest then that just makes sense.

          I get why people here are upset but I think the sellers have the right. No one had any intention of buying anything from them at full price. At 20% off its the steal of the century, at only 9% off they are price jacking scumbags?

        • Aneurism on 16/01/2018 - 22:32
          +3

          @jonathonsunshine:
          The problem is that the sellers chose to voluntarily 'participate' in a 20% off sale hosted and advertised by ebay.

          The sellers chose to sell at their normal price..and then when the sale was on, advertised and running, increased their prices..such that they were really selling close to their normal price.

          The 20% off is assumed to be 'off normal sale price'..By increasing the price of the product mid sale, they are in effect acting deceptively.

          This would also be the same if the normal prices were raised by 20% before the sale.

          If sellers did not want to participate..they could have chosen not to and just kept their prices as they were. This really shouldn't have anything to do with emotion/anger..but has everything to do with law and consumer rights. If we really wanted to run things like a 3rd world country here, then there is no need for taxes, reporting GST and people should just do cash in hand trades.

        • Quantumcat on 18/01/2018 - 11:49

          @Aneurism:

          This would also be the same if the normal prices were raised by 20% before the sale.

          You mean 25% e.g. an item selling at $100 would have to be increased to $125 (25% rise) to go back to $100 after the 20% "discount"

        • Aneurism on 18/01/2018 - 14:08
          +1

          @Quantumcat:

          Yes. Oversight due to need of sleep. Either case is still deceptive regardless.

  • neostarsx on 16/01/2018 - 12:22
    +6

    ACCC report should be for Ebay. They are allowing this to increased sales (fees) by deceiving customers, 20% off when it more like 1-5% off.
    All ebay need to do is say no price increase allowed when promotion is advertised and until end of promotion.

    • xuqi on 16/01/2018 - 12:45
      +3

      I agree with this. ACCC should go after the single entity enabling the behavior. After that if other Ebay sellers persist then they can be singled out for action.

      • picklewizard on 16/01/2018 - 12:55

        Are you guys reporting? Just follow the link from the original post.

        The more reports, the more chance of result!

    • callum9999 on 16/01/2018 - 13:29

      They're paying at least some of the 20% discount so it obviously has nothing to do with them wanting increased fees…

      • neostarsx on 18/01/2018 - 13:14

        No, not the point. Customers see 20 percent off are more likely to buy then 5 percent off. More sales more profits for eBay.

  • Gav on 16/01/2018 - 16:23
    +1

    If prices are going above RRP (before discount), you might have a case with ACCC. Otherwise it's just shady retailing and you should spend your money elsewhere on principle.

    • fruxo on 16/01/2018 - 18:09
      +3

      Exactly. An anecdotal listing that was higher on Sunday than now means nothing. Show that it's raised above the natural variance of the price for the last year (or whatever time period is reasonable). Preferable above RRP and preferably across a large number of their items. Then we can talk.

      Other than that, it's just normal retailing and ACCC won't care. People in this thread are getting WAY too carried away.

      (You can now begin down voting me like my last comment)

      EDIT: not saying there are no valid concerns, just saying that the majority of complaints don't seem valid and people should relax.

      • Korban Dallas on 16/01/2018 - 19:52

        I am happy for companies to jack up the prices a few days before but not hours before a sale.

        I think the ACCC would and will do something about it eventually.

        Perhaps eBay should set some ground rules.

        How is this different to what you are seeing now? https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/kogan-pays-32400-penal…

        • fruxo on 16/01/2018 - 20:59
          -1

          Without knowing the details, I'd assume the price was fairly static for a long time before promotion. Being kogan branded, if they raised it above normal price, that's essentially above RRP. And then lowering to normal price directly after promotion wouldn't have helped.

          I'm sure they took a closer look than just checking one price a couple of days beforehand and finding them guilty if price during sale was higher is all.

          I just feel that valid complaints are being lost in the frenzy. Saying that price has gone up recently doesn't mean anything by itself without more details.

      • Namesareapain on 17/01/2018 - 10:19
        -1

        NO!
        It is a crime under the ACL!
        Learn the damn law!

        • fruxo on 17/01/2018 - 11:47

          If it's above normal price and purposely misleading, sure. If it's higher than a few days ago, but still in line with their normal price (or they had valid reason to raise it), then no.

          Also, it's not black on white, so not sure why you are so angry.

        • Namesareapain on 17/01/2018 - 13:07
          -1

          @fruxo: An item has to be sold at pre-discount prices for sometime before the sale!

          I am angry because people seem to be writing their own laws in their head instead of looking up the real laws that you are bound by!

          https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/prices-surcharges-receipts…

  • roosterman on 16/01/2018 - 22:18

    well that vid card must be a mining magnet to be going up in price like this..
    jacked once again.. are they fkn serious.$1426.80 ..lol
    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Gigabyte-AORUS-GeForce-GTX-1080T…
    i too looked at austincomputers stuff and thought… hmm if no jacking a sub 1k 1080TI.. nice… yep they jackhammered the shit outa it……

    • Aneurism on 16/01/2018 - 22:38

      I bought an Aurus 1080 Ti xtreme around 6 months ago for $1100. Looks like the price hasn't changed much after the price jacks.

    • LC1 on 17/01/2018 - 10:53

      They increased it yet again at 1,546.80. So now after 20% discount its $1237.44. So $47.44 more expensive than buying the graphic card a few days ago even after the 20% discount.

    • Gaz1 on 17/01/2018 - 15:34

      If would be great if an Austin rep could explain what's going on here.

      • xuqi on 18/01/2018 - 09:38

        Don't expect much of anything from Austin. I've taken them to fair trading twice in the last 5 years in order to have them provide RMA service. The owner is an angry old guys who unless he gets dragged over the coals by authorities doesn't lift a finger to help.

  • Eeples on 16/01/2018 - 22:22
    +2

    Lol so much angries in this thread.

    All of it justified.

    Ffs eBay stop including these f-tard companies in your promotions; it devalues your brand.

    • justinh93 on 18/01/2018 - 10:28
      +1

      I think ebay doesn't really care as long as they make their money…

  • roosterman on 16/01/2018 - 22:44

    i just did a pretty random and quick check on a few common things like vid cards, cases etc.. in this sale i could get same local shop either ijk or msy and couple were few $ cheaper……
    BIG fkn NO DEAL once again unless you got lucky on a pricing error they forgot the jack handle on..lol

  • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2018 - 01:31
    +1

    You can always find a good deal on ebay, cheaper without the discount code and price jacks.
    Either way, don't bother with the ebay discount codes anymore.
    Ebay should have a secret list of prices randomly checked and saved prior to the announcement and the code should only be applicable to the prices similar to the list.
    Not fair that poor people are being tricked to pay higher prices instead of getting a discount or even paying the normal price

    • Blitzfx on 17/01/2018 - 09:15
      +1

      Ignore the @ selected stores. But the site-wide sales are still pretty good.

  • Doyen on 17/01/2018 - 02:02
    +7

    I have lodged a complaint with screen caps as evidence into the ACCC. I'll post if there is any feedback

    • LordPanda on 17/01/2018 - 06:49
      +1

      Mind posting those screen caps here?

      • nedski on 17/01/2018 - 11:50

        Which trader did you make a complaint to the ACCC about and supplied screen caps?

  • RogueWolf on 17/01/2018 - 09:00
    +1

    from what ive heard off a stor,e ebay covers 9% of the 20% & the store covers the other 11% explains the price jacking

    • justinh93 on 17/01/2018 - 17:32

      Store still gets charged Paypal fees as well.

  • Skramit on 17/01/2018 - 09:23

    Does office works price match after the 20% discount? E.G. on an ipad.

    • lostn on 17/01/2018 - 11:40

      officially no because ebay pays it. But ymmv depending on who you talk to. Don't get your hopes up though.

    • ronnknee on 18/01/2018 - 11:32

      No.

  • justinh93 on 17/01/2018 - 17:31
    -3

    The main reason why the prices go up is because ebay makes the seller take a big portion of the 20% off. I think its really up to the consumer to check their prices prior to buying.

    • chk on 17/01/2018 - 19:09
      +2

      did ebay force the sellers to participate in the 20% promo as well?

      • centrelink on 17/01/2018 - 21:17
        -1

        Why would they, they probably been offered it and they agreed to their terms. It's like free advertising on prime time tv but it's like free I think. Who wouldn't want free advertisement

        • chk on 17/01/2018 - 22:09
          +3

          thats my point, ebay didnt force the sellers to participate so why cry over the additional fees ebay charge?

        • ronnknee on 18/01/2018 - 11:31

          It was a rhetorical question.

      • justinh93 on 18/01/2018 - 10:31

        No definitely not forced, but that's why the quality of sellers on these promotions aren't always the best. You will get a lot of grey imported stuff…

        Generally I find you can still find some gems that they forget to jack up.

  • gamemaster on 17/01/2018 - 17:43
    +3

    Maybe these multi-store eBay deals should have a sub-vote system for each vendor. That way we can neg individual price jackers whilst reward vendors who don't with positive votes. It might save time to future buyers but also pressure vendors not to price jack with negative publicity that is easy for everyone to see. I think seeing a red neg against a vendor would be a quicker way to get feedback than to go through pages of comments.

  • cdaddy on 17/01/2018 - 17:47
    +1

    Its been happening for years, you would call this sh*t out and neg it but you'd get bombarded with - votes. I guess finally the hype and fan bois are turning

  • chk on 17/01/2018 - 19:08

    can we have an image pinned somewhere so we can all report this to the ACCC…

    Be easier to prove with before and after pictures

  • CalmLemons on 17/01/2018 - 21:05

    And this is the reason why (apart from the exchange rate) why we now pay close to 30% more for apple products vs 2 years ago… sigh

    Guess businesses don't need to pay wages or rent hey?

  • Alpacino299 on 17/01/2018 - 22:59
    +3

    Has anyone successfully purchased one of these stores items just before a sale and held off paying until the code became active?
    I'm curious to if this would work.

    • xuqi on 18/01/2018 - 12:41

      No it won't work. From what I've seen on a couple of items I've checked they 'sold out' of stock just before the commencement of the sale. I assumed this was to clear away any such attempts from their EB store.

    • Yuri Lowell on 18/01/2018 - 13:43

      Most of the items require immediate payment.

  • accessdenied on 18/01/2018 - 09:55

    Guess what.. its now $1,462 :P

  • frostman on 18/01/2018 - 11:39

    Please report them, ACCC, whereever

    • picklewizard on 18/01/2018 - 22:54

      Link in the OP - did you do it?

  • nickxau on 18/01/2018 - 17:04

    $1,482.35 now… if only this were my stocks on the market I'd be laughing!

    • picklewizard on 18/01/2018 - 22:53

      Holy effing shit. I've updated the original post. That's 22% higher in 5 days, and over $500 more than I was able to buy from Computer Alliance only a couple of weeks ago.

  • azz on 18/01/2018 - 18:23

    Wouldn't mind if items were maybe 5-10% cheaper after the code, but I often find that after price jacking the price is the same or even higher than the original price! Ridiculous!! Had my eye on a few items and it's still cheaper just to get them from MSY or Officeworks any day than with this "20% off" at ebay.

  • Moderatormoocher on 19/01/2018 - 11:42

    The eBay deal posting guidelines have been updated after moderator discussion:

    Deals that require the use of a discount coupon code which is not yet active can only be posted on the day that coupon becomes active, to prevent cases where the deal is unobtainable from price fluctuations. For example, if the coupon code is scheduled to be active at 10:00am on 1 January 2020, then any related deal that requires use of the coupon code can only be posted from 00:00 on 1 January 2020.

    Edit 12:06pm: Added 'related' for clarity.

    • doweyy on 19/01/2018 - 11:44

      Hey moocher, does this include deal posts that announce the coupon? For example, would a Bing Lee 20% off posted 3 days before be excluded but if it was posted at 00:00 on the day be okay?

      Or is it just for related deal posts?

      Thanks for the change, definitely was neccessary.

      • Moderatormoocher on 19/01/2018 - 11:45

        The coupon itself can be posted as long as there are sufficient details (start time, discount, sellers etc). It's just the deals (with price speculation) that are an issue.

        • doweyy on 19/01/2018 - 11:47

          Not a problem, thank you for the update!

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join