Pricing Ethics

kriss_boy

Do you guys agree thats its pretty underhand shops deliberately pricing something very inexpensively in a particular size, to attract customers, but when the remainder of the stock is full price.

Sports direct do this. Size 6 of a pair of trainers might be £40, but all the other adult sizes are £80.

So when you search for the item it shows up in search engines and on their website as 'prices from £40...'

shaun_from_Africa

Airlines often have adverts with phrases like "New York from £99 return" knowing that there are very few tickets actually available at this price.

Just about all supermarkets have loss leaders which they sell at below their cost price in order to tempt customers into their stores.

Etc.
Etc.

Provided the shop in question states that only one size of the shoes is at the reduces price then I don't see that they are really doing anything wrong.
As to Sports direct. They may have an excess of certain sizes of shoes/clothing are reduce them to get rid of some which is why there is a difference in prices.

Takeaway_Addict

No...............................

lucy03

I am aware of a clothes shop doing this, and finding itself on the wrong side of Trading Standards under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. In their case they had low prices on just one very small size and on no other sizes on anything in their range.

However, in Sports Direct case I can see from their web-site that they have a range of sizes available across different products, so I wouldn't personally say it's misleading. The sizes available are also clearly marked even in advance of clicking on the product detail.

somethingcorporate

I agree, there is something that smells a bit like bait and switch here!

mattyprice4004

kriss_boy wrote: »

Do you guys agree thats its pretty underhand shops deliberately pricing something very inexpensively in a particular size, to attract customers, but when the remainder of the stock is full price.

Sports direct do this. Size 6 of a pair of trainers might be £40, but all the other adult sizes are £80.

So when you search for the item it shows up in search engines and on their website as 'prices from £40...'

Why is this in Consumer rights? It's not a rights issue

stugib

kriss_boy wrote: »

Sports direct do this. Size 6 of a pair of trainers might be £40, but all the other adult sizes are £80.

I've also seen the exact same product, in the same sizes, but with different batch numbers, be sold at different prices.

I personally wouldn't trust any business Mike Ashley was involved in - if you manage to get a bargain, treat it as a bonus.

Hintza

Why do folk get all worked up by these tactics, let them do it once. twice, thrice.............

But at some point you need to say enough is enough and take your business elsewhere. If you don't shop there then they can't annoy you.

Tesco have annoyed me to such an extent that I will only shop there if I really have to but the family shop is by and large done at Lidl now.

The straw that broke the camels back with Tesco was buy 1 for £3.25 or "Big Special Sign" by 3 for £10...........doh! (But there were numerous similar instances.)

visidigi

The sell on volume, they buy on volume.

If they bought 20,000 pairs of shoes and 19,000 of them were a size 6, but all other sizes were a small number of pairs they they are going to have to work harder to sell 19,000.

Based on the stack it high sell it cheap policy I can't see how this is unfair. They have a size at a price, it might not be your size, but if the advert is 'from X price' then where exactly is the problem?

OlliesDad

visidigi wrote: »

Based on the stack it high sell it cheap policy I can't see how this is unfair. They have a size at a price, it might not be your size, but if the advert is 'from X price' then where exactly is the problem?

It depends where it is advertised on whether i would be bothered. If it was in store i wouldn't worry to much as i was already there anyway, but if it was an advert in the media and i had traveled purposely to buy it, i would be slightly miffed (if the advert was not clear on which sizes were on offer).

If there is any concern from the OP, they can raise it with the ASA to investigate. It could be breaching Cap code "3.17 Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion." or 3.22 "Price claims such as “up to” and “from” must not exaggerate the availability or amount of benefits likely to be obtained by the consumer."

bod1467

Hintza wrote: »

The straw that broke the camels back with Tesco was buy 1 for £3.25 or "Big Special Sign" by 3 for £10...........doh! (But there were numerous similar instances.)

We noticed a very similar thing with Asda online shopping this week ... 2ltr bottle of Pepsi Max £1.00; 4x2ltr pack £4.95. :rotfl: