Reader Beth was browsing the markdown rack at Lands’ End, in the space that the retailer now leases from Sears, when she noticed something strange. A sweater she wanted was on markdown, but somehow the price was going up. How did that work?

At least if they’re going to raise the “markdown” price, they could be sure to put the stickers on top of each other to keep from confusing customers. The item she was looking at was this one, which indeed cost more than $69.99 originally.

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