Misleading "sale" prices leading to panic buying?

LokiOfNZ

Yesterday I arranged a home visit appointment with CarpetRight. They were to come that evening and measure our rooms and provide a quote.

The guy on the phone informed me the carpet I was looking at was on 70% offer and the deal ended today so it was good timing! Indeed on their website the carpet had a 70% off sticker and indicated the original price was something like £30m2 and the sale price was roughly £10m2. Sounds like a great deal.

As it turned out, the home visit never happened, they simply failed to turn up. I intended to call them today and complain and say that I still wanted the sale price, as it wasn't our fault we were now outside the sale dates!

However I see today on the website that the sale is over, none of the carpets are marked as discounted or on sale BUT the one we were looking at is still marked at £10m2 ... this appears to be the now standard price.

Does anyone else see the huge ethical hole here and wonder why this isn't explicitly illegal??

Unfortunately I don't know what the "standard" sticker price for the carpet was before the "sale" but certainly there was absolutely no need to panic buy the product at its 70% off "sale" price when the very next day the sale is over but the standard sticker price IS the sale price.
It seems to me the sticker price was explicitly raised in order to be able to say "70% off" during the sale, implying a great saving when in fact there is no saving, only an avoidance of being ripped off.

How is this not illegal, I'm almost certain it is in other countries!

Ebe_Scrooge

To be legally classified as a "sale", the items must have been sold at the old higher price for a period of 28 days at ONE of their stores - doesn't matter which one. This of course leads to the misleading information you describe. I guess they'd argue that this carpet had been sold at the higher price, so was technically "reduced". Now the sale has finished, I bet they've just "reduced the price permanently" on that particular carpet.

Ultimately any shop can charge what they like for an item, it's up to you whether you want to pay that price or not. The only legality surrounding it is the advertising of "sale" items as described above. I shouldn't get too wound up about it - if you think it's a reasonable price for that particular carpet then go for it.

LokiOfNZ

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Ultimately any shop can charge what they like for an item, it's up to you whether you want to pay that price or not.

I realise anyone can sell almost anything for whatever price they want and its up to the buyer to determine if they should buy it at that price, I am a big fan of MORE personal responsibility these days.

However saying things like "last day of the sale at a great discounted price" STRONGLY implies one MUST buy now or miss out.

We're all use to products and services being marketed as "best ever" or "number 1" as those are a matter of opinion (sometimes the opinion of no-one, ever).
However, I feel anyway, that stating something is on sale and that the sale has an end date, indicates the price is not permanent. I don't think it takes an unreasonable or foolish person to assume, when offered a special price for a limited time, that the price would not be the same after the limited time.

If an item is reduced from its (28 day) original price for a "limited time" and then remains at that reduced price permanently after the stated time then in reality it was reduced in price permanently in the beginning, making the implication of savings during the limited time a lie.

Clearly I am a little wound up

Dan-Dan

All big retailers do it , all the time , this issue has an episode all to itself on watchdog , every series

Ebe_Scrooge

As Dan-Dan says. They all do it ( take for instance DFS with their never-ending sales. "Sale Ends Tomorrow" - oh, but a new sale starts straight afterwards ).

They're abiding by the letter, but not the spirit, of the law. It's nothing new, please don't go giving yourself hypertension over it

spannerzone

You may well find that going to a small independent carpet shop will end up costing no more than Carpetright even though the two shops initially seem like chalk and cheese in their pricing.

Once they cost in the gripperods, clearing furniture, delivery, installation, drinking you tea, all these costs can add up and the £10m2 suddenly doesn't seem so cheap.

OK I should admit my mate runs a carpet shop so I might be a little biased but I've certainly seen people bringing in their carpetright quotes only to be amazed that they're not the cheapest by default.

Also the fact they are close to deceiving you with their supposed sales, just like all the big stores do..... is another reason to avoid I always think,

Biggles

LokiOfNZ wrote: »

However saying things like "last day of the sale at a great discounted price" STRONGLY implies one MUST buy now or miss out.

Er, that is actually why they say it......

Take spannerzone's advice and go to a local independent; like he says, the 'headline price' might seem more, but it's often fully inclusive and the 'bottom line' will frequently end up cheaper that CR. And they won't mess you about with pretend 'sales'.

cattie

I went into a Carpetright store recently for a look around & despite the signs declaring 60%+ an extra 20% off of many of their carpets in store, I was not fooled.

One of the things I noticed about Carpetright when looking around for new carpets for my refurbished home is that very few of their carpets are British made & only a few have any kind of a wool content.

Those carpets that had a wool content were the highest price & no reductions shown on any of them at all. Only the synthetic carpets seemed to be 'marked down'.

I particularly wanted a 80/20 Wool twist carpet, preferably from one of the respected British makers & with a decent pile weight, ie; 50oz or above.

I found a newly opened local shop selling exactly what I wanted at a more favourable price than those available in Carpetright, plus the sales person was very knowledgeable about the majority of carpets in the shop.

Many of the carpets sold by Carpetright & other such chains rename their carpets to make it more difficult to do direct comparisons with other retailers.

Before buying carpet, you need to do your homework first & understand that at say £10.99 m2, you are definitely not getting a quality carpet that would normally retail at £30 m2. Familiarize yourself with pile composition, weight, type of backing, manufacturer, grading ie; general domestic, heavy domestic etc. wear warranty before finally making your mind up & then shop around for the best deal.

Hintza

If you go to any of the sheds you are more than likely to pay over the odds for mediocre or sub standard items.

Do your homework first!

daveyjp

cattie wrote: »

I went into a Carpetright store recently for a look around & despite the signs declaring 60%+ an extra 20% off of many of their carpets in store, I was not fooled.

One of the things I noticed about Carpetright when looking around for new carpets for my refurbished home is that very few of their carpets are British made & only a few have any kind of a wool content.

Those carpets that had a wool content were the highest price & no reductions shown on any of them at all. Only the synthetic carpets seemed to be 'marked down'.

I particularly wanted a 80/20 Wool twist carpet, preferably from one of the respected British makers & with a decent pile weight, ie; 50oz or above.

I found a newly opened local shop selling exactly what I wanted at a more favourable price than those available in Carpetright, plus the sales person was very knowledgeable about the majority of carpets in the shop.

Many of the carpets sold by Carpetright & other such chains rename their carpets to make it more difficult to do direct comparisons with other retailers.

Before buying carpet, you need to do your homework first & understand that at say £10.99 m2, you are definitely not getting a quality carpet that would normally retail at £30 m2. Familiarize yourself with pile composition, weight, type of backing, manufacturer, grading ie; general domestic, heavy domestic etc. wear warranty before finally making your mind up & then shop around for the best deal.

Completely agree. OP, go to a decent carpet store and look at carpet for £30 per sq m. It will be extremlely luxurious, probably 100% wool, british made and at least 50oz weight.

Then compare it to a £10sq m carpet. It will be Foam backed synthetic polypropylene or similar, exactly what Carpetright are supposedly discounting.

wallbash

daveyjp wrote: »

Completely agree. OP, go to a decent carpet store and look at carpet for £30 per sq m. It will be extremlely luxurious, probably 100% wool, british made and at least 50oz weight.

Then compare it to a £10sq m carpet. It will be Foam backed synthetic polypropylene or similar, exactly what Carpetright are supposedly discounting.

The SAME carpets are on sale at quote .. to a decent carpet store /independent OR carpet right.

These shops sell carpet , they don't make them .

If you want to buy an axminster , check out the prices of an axminster at all shops. You can buy a cheap carpet at all the shops/you can buy an expensive carpet at all shops.
Forget the 70 % sales , its the price that you have to finally pay to have it installed. Do your home work .

Ps the great buying power of a shed , often produces a better deal

e.g Tesco selling a hinze tin of beans cheaper than an independent