When you say you’re selling an item for 30% off of some higher original price, there are rules about how real that “original” price has to be. If that reference is made up, or the item never actually sells for that price, you can land yourself in some legal trouble. And now sources say that the Federal Trade Commission is having a look to see if that’s what Amazon is up to. [More]
pricing
Uber Fares Will Soon Be Based On How Much Uber Thinks You’re Willing To Pay
By 5.19.17
If you’ve ever hailed an Uber ride and thought afterward that you paid a lot less than you should have, those days may soon be over. The company’s latest change to its pricing model will offer you a rate that isn’t based purely on time and distance, but on what Uber’s computers think you’ll be willing to pay. [More]
Report Claims Amazon’s List Prices Mislead Shoppers About Discounts
By 3.20.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
One aspect of shopping on Amazon is that the online retail giant appears to offer significant discounts on many of the items it sells. However, a new report alleges that these markdowns not as generous as they appear, and that many of them are effectively nonexistent. [More]
Class-Action Lawsuit Claims Chicago McDonald’s Value Meals Aren’t A Value
By 12.20.16
Typically, it’s less expensive to purchase a bundle of fast food items than individual items to make a meal. Or at least that’s the thought behind value meals, hence the word “value.” But one Chicago man says that’s just not the case at several restaurants in the city, and now he’s suing the franchisee that runs them.
[More]
Lawsuit: Sears, JCPenney, Kohl’s & Macy’s Misled Consumers On Sale Prices
By 12.8.16 — Updated: 12.9.16
In recent years, a spate of retailers have been accused by customers of advertising “false” original prices on discounted or outlet merchandise in order to make consumers believe they are getting a steal of a deal. Now, the city of Los Angeles is joining the fray, suing JCPenney, Kohl’s, Sears, and Macy’s, alleging that in order to increase sales the companies used so-called “false reference pricing.” [More]
Lawsuit: Zara Misleads Customers By Listing Prices In Euros, Making Its Own Exchange Rate
By 8.23.16
While it’s not entirely unheard of to see prices listed in euros stateside, a new federal class action lawsuit claims that retailer Zara’s practice of doing so — and allegedly making up its own exchange rate — has tricked shoppers into paying more than they should. [More]
Is Amazon Removing List Prices From Product Pages?
By 7.6.16
It’s a time-honored tradition in retail to show shoppers just how much a deal they are getting by showing the “list” price next to the price the customer will actually pay. It’s a practice that online sellers, who can often offer deeper discounts than bricks-and-mortar stores, frequently use, but it looks like Amazon is quietly shifting toward showing shoppers only one price.
[More]
Why Is Aldi Covering Actual Prices With Confusing “Lower Price” Stickers?
By 5.18.16
When you’re in the supermarket and see a big, loud “Lower Price” sticker covering up an everyday price and showing a discount of anywhere from $.20 to $5, you’d expect that the price being covered up would be the original, higher amount. That’s why some Aldi shoppers are confused about why the discounted price on the sticker is the same as the price it’s covering up. [More]
Universal Studios Hikes Ticket Prices Before Opening Of “Harry Potter” Attraction
By 3.23.16
A month after Universal Studios said it would implement a surge pricing structure for pre-order tickets that offers discounts for customers visiting on off-peak days. The Comcast-owned company essentially undid any goodwill it had created by instituting an across-the-board increase to ticket prices. [More]
Study Shows Women Pay Significantly More Than Men For Virtually The Same Products
By 12.23.15
It’s expensive being a woman, literally. At least according to a new study that found women will spend thousands of dollars more than men over the course of their lives on products that are effectively the same. [More]
CEO Who Hiked Price Of Drug By Over 5400% Arrested In Unrelated Securities-Fraud Investigation
By 12.17.15
Three months after Turing Pharmaceuticals entered the spotlight by buying the rights to a generic drug used to save lives and dramatically increased the price from $13.50 to $750, the company’s CEO has been arrested in a securities-fraud investigation. However, the charges are related to another company the man once led. [More]
Target Will Price-Match 29 Competitors’ Websites
By 9.30.15
Beginning tomorrow, October 1, Target will price-match the websites of 29 major retailers in stores and for purchases from their website. These include the usual big names that you might expect, like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy, but also some major specialty retailers like Sports Authority and cosmetics retailer Ulta. [More]
E-Book Prices Increase, Sales Slump After Amazon & Publishers Finalize Contracts
By 9.4.15
Just three months after Amazon tied up its bevy of contracts with top publishing houses, it looks like those deals might not be working out well for several companies, as they’ve reported declining e-book revenues in recent months. [More]
Kohl’s To Pay Nearly $1M To Settle Allegations It Overcharged Customers In California
By 6.29.15
Kohl’s Corporation must shell out nearly $1 million to settle lawsuits with four California counties over allegations the company charged customers more than the price advertised on shelves and signs. [More]
Price Tags Might Be A Strange 150-Year Anomaly In The History Of Commerce
By 6.18.15
In the past, most recently in 2013, Coca-Cola has experimented with the idea of vending machines that adjust prices according to the temperature. The idea really bothers some people, but fixed prices that are always the same for everyone haven’t historically been the norm. We may be coming to the end of a weird century-and-a-half experiment with the practice. [More]
Walmart Doesn’t Advertise Their Roll-Forward Pricing
By 8.25.14
Walmart is famous for lowering prices and calling them “rollbacks,” but sometimes the opposite happens, too. Reader Ben spotted this example of roll-forward pricing at his local Walmart on a clearance sign. [More]
Walmart Weather Radio Pricing Less Awful Than It Appears
By 6.19.14
Reader N. was shopping in the weather station section at Walmart when he noticed something odd. Hanging on the same rack were two different variations on the same weather radio. You could buy the radio for $29.88, or buy the radio with a little carabiner flashlight included for $49.94. Wait, what? [More]
Put A Bird And A Price Tag On It: Fuzzy Math In The Wild
By 3.6.13
Usually, retailers lower the price of an item per unit when you buy more of it. For example, a gallon of juice costs much less per unit than a single-serving bottle. When this system falls apart, and it frequently does, we call it “fuzzy math.” [More]
