I went to a local Sears to return some parts (don't get me started) and the attached [photo] amused me.

They're just so enthusiastic about it. Sale! No, Really! Don't look too closely! Keep moving along! Nothing to see here!

Don't fall in!

If only their heart was in the right place, they would combine the sale price with the Buy More, Save More deal, and we'd have our Father's Day gifts for the next decade.

(Thanks to Dominic!)

Reader Roberto says:

This past August 6th, I was in one of my local Target stores (Craycroft and Broadway) in Tucson, Arizona. I snapped a picture of a “buy two and save” item that I thought you guys might like. The difference is only a five cents, but it’s still more expensive to buy the twin pack of deodorants instead of two.

From now on "buy 2 and save" really means, "pull out your calculator."

Reader Austyn, who found the deal at the Layton supercenter in Utah, adds:

Great to know if I go to Walmart I can "Buy 2 and Save!" a grand total of -32 cents.

This isn't the first time we've seen stores futz with unit pricing to screw careless consumers. If you see "Buy 2 And Save," slow down and look for the unit price.

PREVIOUSLY: Target's Degree Deodorant Pricing Scheme Rewards Those Who Pay Attention
Target: Buy 2 And Save! Sort of!

While shopping at Safeway today I noticed something odd about the "O" Organics Milk. After I listened to a mom tell her daughter she buys "whatever is on sale" I went to purchase my own milk and realized that's not such a good plan. A half gallon was on sale for 2 for $7. Or if your a savvy shopper you could buy a gallon for $6.59. The Safeway website confirms it.

In other news, damn, organic milk costs $6.59 a gallon now? No wonder everyone has been so grouchy lately.

Can you explain to me Target's bulk pricing on their Degree deodorant? As you can see in the attached picture - I could buy one deodorant for $1.82, or a two-pack for $3.89 from my local Target here in Chicago! Am I paying for the plastic they use to keep them together? Neither one is on sale, this is their regular pricing.

This is either Target trying to take advantage of people not paying a lot of attention and fairly assuming that two together will be cheaper than buying two individually, or just bad pricing!

People write us all the time about Target doing this with all sorts of products. We're pretty sure they're banking on you not paying attention.

I was in the grocery section of my local Super Target today and noticed the pricing for Heinz Ketchup. They had a 2 for $4 "deal" for the 32oz bottles (64 ozs total) which I almost just threw right into my cart until I saw the 64oz bottle for $3.39. The exact same quantity of ketchup, but one is $0.61 cheaper. Had I not been an avid reader of this site, I might have been suckered into the 2 for $4 deal without even looking at the prices. Thanks Consumerist! Every penny counts these days, and you just save me 61 of them!

If you spot any deals that aren't really deals, snap a picture and send them to us at tips@consumerist.com.

Five-piece set includes headboard, footboard, wood rails/slats, dresser and mirror.

That's right, the bed is actually three pieces. That nightstand and other dresser must have wandered onto the set accidentally.

Scott, who tipped us to this, writes, "So to Value City, a bed = 3 pieces? Sheesh! Why not consider each side rail a piece and call it a 6 piece set!?!" Great idea! We think we've discovered a whole new way to increase profits without raising prices: segmentation. Why, that dresser can be listed as a 7 piece storage system by itself, a pizza with twelve pepperoni slices on it is suddenly a 12-topping pizza, and KFC's 2-piece chicken meal immediately doubles to a 4-piecer if you count the bones as individual units.

The important thing to remember is to use misleading photographs, though, or else your customers might not take the bait.

"Classic Cherry Queen 5-PC Bedroom Package" [Value City Furniture] (Thanks to Scott!)

Here's the story:

Today I was interviewing one of my clients and she said that one of the loans she that she had should have been illegal. I asked her what she meant and she said that the loan she received should never have been permissible. Turns out she had a car loan with Volkswagen with an interest rate of about 3% and a loan balance of approximately $23,000.00 Because she had her home mortgage with Wells Fargo (or at least that is what she thinks is the reason) she received an offer from Wells Fargo for an equity loan on her car! (i.e. just like a home equity loan except the collateral is a car instead of a house) I had never heard of such a thing before. In any event, she agreed to do the deal with Wells Fargo (she needed to money to pay her bills and was much too embarrassed to go to family and friends) so she agreed to the refi and at closing she received $4850 in cash, Wells Fargo received $1300 in fees and the total amount of the debt went from $23,649 (the amount owed VW on the original car financing) to, hold on to your seats, $48,852! The interest rate on the new loan was a mere 16.24% (remember the old rate with VW was approximately 3%). Of course she defaulted and Wells Fargo repossessed the car and is now seeking its deficiency balance. Amazing to see an equity loan on a rapidly depreciating asset but when she received the loan Wells Fargo told her that she had paid down her car loan so quickly she had accumulated equity and they had a way to get the equity now.

The Wells Fargo loan was made in 2006 – the cost of the new financing was $17,900 – almost as much as the balance (i.e. $23,649) then due on the original note with VW. Also, the term of the new loan with Wells Fargo – 72 months, on a 2005 VW Passat!

Just say "no" to that loan!

Why Is This Legal? [Credit Slips]
(Photo: spidra webster )

I saw this today at the Toy"R"Us store in Elizabeth, New Jersey and though you folks would be interested. This Lego kit (the Exo Force Sentai Fortress Battle Set) has a sign that indicates its original price was $19.99 and that it is on sale for $69.98. The sign helpfully indicates that this is a savings of negative $49.