Anyone see this article? http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/retailer-zamels-f…
To quote a few bits:
The punishment follows a decision last year that the company breached the Trade Practices Act by using misleading "dual pricing" in catalogue and flyer sales promotions promoting huge savings.
Dozens of items including pendants, chains, bracelets and earrings were advertised with statements such as "was $275, now $149" and "was $139, now $69" or featured a "strike through" price with a line drawn through it.
But the court found Zamel's regularly discounted and did not sell, or rarely sold, the goods at the higher price before the sale."
I thought that would be pretty standard - not just among jewellers, but:
- Computer stores
- Car yards
- Clothes stores
- And the list goes on!!
Then they give a good warning (and a good ad) for all good ozbargainers:
University of Melbourne consumer psychologist Dr Brent Coker said people often were suspicious of sales but still let themselves be duped into buying anyway.
"Humans are not logical from a psychological perspective, the accuracy of our decisions are never as accurate as we think they are," Dr Coker said.
"It is not really the price that matters it is the the price gap. The bigger the gap the more likely we are to buy.
"It is also the scarcity thing, we have all been bitten by wanting to buy something but we left it and then we go back and it is gone, it is a bad feeling and we don't want to feel it again."
Dr Coker said the sale sign helped us override any logical thinking.
He recommended purchasers should wait longer before purchasing or check the real price on their smart phone before we buy."
Meow