Fake Sales and Misleading The Customers in Australia?

daredevilboy on 26/08/2022 - 17:43
Last edited 26/08/2022 - 17:53 by 1 other user

Hi OzBargainers.

I am a relatively fresh transplant to down under.

Some things that happen very often here that I haven't experienced in other places are:

  • Relatively fake sales. For example, the business has a special that is let's say $100 off and tomorrow it has a special that is 30% off. You're thinking: on a high-price item that's awesome. You'd be wrong because the final price is still the same and in some cases was even smaller with $100 off. In most of places that would be illegal - is that okay in Australia? Or these businesses simply pull it off because we don't have regulators in this space with real power like some other countries.

  • Local/nonlocal dropshipping. Okay learned my lesson of being careful with eBay because it can be just a Dropshiper. From eBay I would kinda expect it. Started happening with Amazon as well. 40+ days delivery, fake tracking number, and Amazon support doesn't know where the product is coming from because the seller is ignoring their messages :) But they can't move a finger until the whole 40+ days pass.

Is this normal in Australia?
I haven't seen this level of consumer asymmetry abuse and low customer protection … well anywhere. Trying to remember lately but my online shopping volume hasn't really changed. Something is definitely a bit different here. There are more but these are what currently grind my gears :D

General Discussion

Comments

  • franco cozzo on 26/08/2022 - 18:01
    +3

    wait until you properly experience the australia tax when you need something specific and not readily available here…

    • daredevilboy on 26/08/2022 - 18:34
      +3

      Aw yeah, see that all the time.

      Item price 100 USD
      Oz same item price 270 AUD.
      Gee thanks.

      • afoveht on 27/08/2022 - 00:25
        +2

        Careful, the bootlickers will start talking about how we're a massive continent and so far from everyone at any moment, even though we're amongst the most urbanised nation in earth and shipping is usually amongst the cheapest part of product costs.

  • mrkorrupt on 26/08/2022 - 18:01
    +2

    As someone who worked in Retail Supermarket for 12 years between 2004 - 2016, It is the customer who truly sets the price. Whether it is a cheap staple such as flour, or sugar, Fruit and Vegetable such as Lettuce, Video cards or even houses / land.

    The last few years we saw video cards triple in price and lettuce five times the price and people where still buying them.

    Imagine if everyone at launch agreed to only pay the MSRP on the video cards and not a single dollar more then the price would have stayed the same but what happened was gamers and miners fought over them and the demand was extremely high and supply was low and mining profitability was high so that's what the market priced the cards at.

    Same thing with Lettuce, It went up and up and people were still buying at $6 then $8 and $10 a kilo then people started to use cabbage and as companies started equating lettuce = cabbage, the price also went up to the same. Now with increased supply the price couldn't have stayed the same unless they were going to rot in the store room.

    I live in the South West suburbs of Sydney, I was born and bred my whole life in my area and I am seeing houses now going at 2 million + for a 600 - 800sqm plot, which is utter madness. I believe a normal 1960s style fibro 3 bedroom house (clean and livable) on 500sqm land in Bankstown - Merrylands area is worth about $50000 - $600000, but when you have people with FOMO and low interest rates and people acting emotionally and illogically then that is what the market decides.

    Essentially, at the end of the day the market determines the price. If x business list y product for z price and someone buys it, thats a fair price for that item

    • SBOB on 26/08/2022 - 18:07
      +3

      $50000 - $600000

      Rather broad price range.

    • foxmulder on 26/08/2022 - 18:15
      +1

      I didn't buy $12 lettuce, I guess majority won't either.

      • randomusername2017 on 26/08/2022 - 18:30
        +1

        Lucky there was a limited supply to support that price….

  • brendanm on 26/08/2022 - 18:50
    +1

    Relatively fake sales. For example, the business has a special that is let's say $100 off and tomorrow it has a special that is 30% off. You're thinking: on a high-price item that's awesome. You'd be wrong because the final price is still the same and in some cases was even smaller with $100 off. In most of places that would be illegal - is that okay in Australia?

    If you can't do basic math, that's on you.

    • daredevilboy on 26/08/2022 - 19:17
      +3

      Well no dude, anybody can do basic math. Still doesn't make it right to outright swindle the customer. We live in a society, not in a mad max world, and customer doesn't need to do math and web caching and an hour of research every time to ensure it is not outright taken advantage of.

      • brendanm on 26/08/2022 - 19:20

        Still doesn't make it right to outright swindle the customer

        How is it, at all, swindling anyone? If you don't like the price, don't buy it. They don't have a gun to your head.

        • daredevilboy on 26/08/2022 - 19:44
          +2

          so lets say if:

          Lettuce costs $10
          and it costs 10$ in Wollies, and then Wollies says 50% off lettuce now 12$ down from 24.
          Do you see a problem with that in general? Or do you think that is okay and consumers should always and 100% be cross-checking everything even if the item is not lettuce but something not easy to readily compare.

          Im just curious if I did not explain it well or if you simply think that is acceptable.

          • brendanm on 26/08/2022 - 21:24
            +2

            @daredevilboy:

            Lettuce costs $10
            and it costs 10$ in Wollies, and then Wollies says 50% off lettuce now 12$ down from 24.

            That's price jacking, and illegal, and plenty of businesses have been fined for this.

            This is not what you described in the op.

          • AustriaBargain on 26/08/2022 - 23:42

            @daredevilboy: 12$ is a lot less than 24. If you need lettuce then what's your alternative? Cabbage?!

          • p1 ama on 27/08/2022 - 01:00

            @daredevilboy:

            Do you see a problem with that in general? Or do you think that is okay and consumers should always and 100% be cross-checking everything even if the item is not lettuce but something not easy to readily compare.

            Yes, consumers should always and 100% be cross-checking. You cannot completely legislate "bad pricing" out of existence.

            Again, to use your lettuce example, if lettuce is $10 at Coles, and $12 at Woolies, regardless of how Woolies advertises that, it's still cheaper at Coles. Which of the following "should" be illegal then?
            (i) 50% off $24 to $12
            (ii) "SALE", $12 (without an original price)
            (iii) "BEST VALUE", $12

            You can arbitrarily draw the line wherever you want, but at the end of the day, $12 is $12 and that's what matters.

      • whatwasherproblem on 26/08/2022 - 19:25
        +3

        We live in a society

        There it is! Noice.

  • bmerigan on 26/08/2022 - 22:12

    Dropshipping sucks, but why would it be illegal? It's a bit like very small scale retail.
    Kinda means you didn't search enough for the best price.

  • p1 ama on 26/08/2022 - 22:50
    +2

    For example, the business has a special that is let's say $100 off and tomorrow it has a special that is 30% off. You're thinking: on a high-price item that's awesome. You'd be wrong because the final price is still the same and in some cases was even smaller with $100 off. In most of places that would be illegal - is that okay in Australia? Or these businesses simply pull it off because we don't have regulators in this space with real power like some other countries.

    I've never understood this. The price is what you pay, the discount is irrelevant. Or are you saying that a $100 item that is $1000 at "90% off" is somehow worth more than one that is $100 base price? You are paying the listed price for the item you see. Do your own research, figure out if that is a good price, the "X% off" is just like other BS marketing.

    • daredevilboy on 27/08/2022 - 07:59
      +2

      ok, I understand your point.
      So the answer by some of you being totally fine with it is that in Aus being taken for a ride as a customer is common and one should always do research for everything.
      Some of these practices are illegal in US and EU. You still should do your research but blatant misleading of customers in order to get them to buy or pay more is not allowed.

      • brendanm on 27/08/2022 - 08:32
        -1

        in Aus being taken for a ride as a customer is common

        Only if you are daft.

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