"Up to half price" sales... yes, I am being pedantic

vyle

There was a REALLY irritating advert on while I was eating my lunch advertising a sale where everything was "Up to half price."

This chair... UP TO HALF PRICE! etc etc etc.

After the advert finished, I realised that by describing the items as being up to half price, surely it's not actually saying what it means.

If we assume that something cost £10, then if they are charging UP TO half price, then it could cost anything from £0.00 to £5, but not more.

Nowhere in the advert do they mention that they have REDUCED, the items by up to half price. Therefore, if I was to walk into the shop (I can't remember who is doing the sale) and something was in the sale priced up to 75% of its normal price, would the advert be considered false advertising?

jimbms

I would say only if that exact product or all had been advertised and not if it said most items up to half price

zorber

vyle wrote: »

There was a REALLY irritating advert on while I was eating my lunch advertising a sale where everything was "Up to half price."

This chair... UP TO HALF PRICE! etc etc etc.

After the advert finished, I realised that by describing the items as being up to half price, surely it's not actually saying what it means.

If we assume that something cost £10, then if they are charging UP TO half price, then it could cost anything from £0.00 to £5, but not more.

Nowhere in the advert do they mention that they have REDUCED, the items by up to half price. Therefore, if I was to walk into the shop (I can't remember who is doing the sale) and something was in the sale priced up to 75% of its normal price, would the advert be considered false advertising?

No the advert is the otherway round up to half price means it could cost anywhere between full price and half price. So could be 10% off 30% off or 50% off for example

If you found something for 75 % off then its not false advertising as they are exceeding the deal stated so its leagal. If they fail to have some items at half price then that would be false advertising.

peter_the_piper

I've often thought this as well. If they said "up to half price off" that at least would convey what they mean.

Crazy_Jamie

vyle wrote:

Nowhere in the advert do they mention that they have REDUCED, the items by up to half price.

But surely it is the only logical implication? The price of the item is logically the price that they would ordinarily charge. It is a sale, therefore that price will be discounted. The sale is advertising prices at 'Up to half price'. Sales are concerned with the discount, as indeed are the customers as they want to know what their maximum saving could be, so it is entirely logical that that statement relates to the discount. If taken with your stance the advertisement states the minimum saving, which is in neither the store's interest nor the customers'.

I entirely see your point with regards to the strict grammar of the advertisement, but such a point can only work when taken in a vacuum. Taking into account all of the other factors, it can only mean one thing which, as you have admittedly stated, makes your point highly pedantic.

peter_the_piper wrote:

If they said "up to half price off" that at least would convey what they mean.

Are you honestly suggesting that the current format doesn't convey accurate meaning? Because last I checked this is a discussion that is confined to the pedantic (as the OP has stated), and is not a genuine issue for shoppers around the country.

vyle

Crazy_Jamie wrote: »

But surely it is the only logical implication? The price of the item is logically the price that they would ordinarily charge. It is a sale, therefore that price will be discounted. The sale is advertising prices at 'Up to half price'. Sales are concerned with the discount, as indeed are the customers as they want to know what their maximum saving could be, so it is entirely logical that that statement relates to the discount. If taken with your stance the advertisement states the minimum saving, which is in neither the store's interest nor the customers'.

I entirely see your point with regards to the strict grammar of the advertisement, but such a point can only work when taken in a vacuum. Taking into account all of the other factors, it can only mean one thing which, as you have admittedly stated, makes your point highly pedantic.

Are you honestly suggesting that the current format doesn't convey accurate meaning? Because last I checked this is a discussion that is confined to the pedantic (as the OP has stated), and is not a genuine issue for shoppers around the country.

To clarify, I know what the advert was trying to convey, but I'm irritated by the fact that as Crazy Jamie said, when the advert's script is viewed in a vacuum, it's actually stating the opposite of what it means.

I think that adverts should be more particular in how they're worded. I know it's not the same as a legal document, but such a slapdash attitude to general wording of adverts and shop signage has led to very heated threads on here in the past and likely will again.

I wish I could remember what the advert was for so I could find it online and check to see if it mentions actual reductions. If not, I'd love to challenge the advertiser just for the hell of it because it is advertising the opposite of what it is.

If I were to change "half price" to "£25" and you saw an advert saying "it's the up to £25 sale. Everything is up to £25" surely most people would assume (as has been specifically stated) that everything is £25 or less.

Also, I'd better add the following disclaimer of sorts:

I'm not REALLY ANGRY, I'm not trying to sue anybody, get compensation, become the prime minister, obtain anything for free, get anybody fired or anything else that people may commonly assume. I'm just somebody who is interested in language and finds amusement in when it's misused and ambiguous.

Crazy_Jamie

vyle wrote: »

To clarify, I know what the advert was trying to convey, but I'm irritated by the fact that as Crazy Jamie said, when the advert's script is viewed in a vacuum, it's actually stating the opposite of what it means.

I think that adverts should be more particular in how they're worded. I know it's not the same as a legal document, but such a slapdash attitude to general wording of adverts and shop signage has led to very heated threads on here in the past and likely will again.

I wish I could remember what the advert was for so I could find it online and check to see if it mentions actual reductions. If not, I'd love to challenge the advertiser just for the hell of it because it is advertising the opposite of what it is.

For the record, I do hold stores and companies to high standards, and have picked out many things like this in the past. I just think that this one is stretching things a little too far. But that's just me; don't think I'm trying to restrict your right to rant

If I were to change "half price" to "£25" and you saw an advert saying "it's the up to £25 sale. Everything is up to £25" surely most people would assume (as has been specifically stated) that everything is £25 or less.

Of course, but that comparison is faulty because 'half price' is a proportion that has no constant value and changes with each item , whereas '£25' is a constant value that is also a price. Throwing prices around in advertisements in place of proportions is liable to cause confusion because the saving is not readily identifiable.

It's the the vacuum point again really. Consumers want to know what the maximum amount they can save is and consequently want either big savings or small prices. So you would only get "Up to <proportion>" and not "Up to <price>", just as you get "Items from <price>" and not "Items from <proportion> off". Thus the point is just not realistic when taken in context.

Also, I'd better add the following disclaimer of sorts:

I'm not REALLY ANGRY, I'm not trying to sue anybody, get compensation, become the prime minister, obtain anything for free, get anybody fired or anything else that people may commonly assume. I'm just somebody who is interested in language and finds amusement in when it's misused and ambiguous.

If you were genuinely angry over something like this I would be worried. Everyone enjoys a good rant and consequential debate, just as long as everyone keeps their sense of perspective

Esqui

I may be wrong, but I think that at least 10% of products in the promotion must have the maximum advertised saving for the "up to..." to be legal

thor

I'll tell you what is really irritating.
I can't remember the name of the shop exactly but I think it is called Furniture House and is one of those that sell stuff on credit, i.e. buy now and pay back in small easy payments spread out over a millenia. They had a huge banner advertising a massive discount which I think was more than 50% and that this kind of deal was available nowhere else. When I got closer to the window I could see the small print which stated that the discount applied only for the first payment with the rest having no discount at all. Even worse, this was their Xmas/January sale offering.
I go past this shop most days and I have never seen anyone in there unsurprisngly. They sell at rrp as well so no bargains to be had and it makes me wonder how they stay in business.

kipperman

The other similar deception I have seen is a large sign in a shop window, saying "all items half price". It's only when you look carefully that you see the phrase "up to" in much smaller letters in front of "half price".

KimYeovil

You are being illiterate, not pedantic. Language has to be interpreted in context. It is not canonical.