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Amazon Just Got Slapped With a $1 Million Fine For Misleading Pricing (recode.net)
Some deals are too good to be true. And, for Amazon, they will cost the company. From a report on Recode: A Canadian enforcement agency announced today that Amazon Canada will pay a $1 million fine for what could be construed as misleading pricing practices. The investigation centered on the practice of Amazon displaying its prices compared to higher "list prices" -- suggested manufacturer prices (MSRPs) designed as marketing gimmicks to make people think they are getting a deal, even though it's often the case that no shopper ever pays that price. "The Bureau's investigation concluded that these claims created the impression that prices for items offered on www.amazon.ca were lower than prevailing market prices," Canada's Competition Bureau said in a statement. "The Bureau determined that Amazon relied on its suppliers to provide list prices without verifying that those prices were accurate."
I've spent a lot of time in retail and - news flash - everybody does that. When Kroger has a "plus card" deal they always show you the "savings" vs. the MSRP, even if that's not what the item was priced at before the sale. Publix does that with their 2-for-1 deals - you get two items as the MSRP of one. You will save good money doing that, but it's not exactly half price.
This is normal. Once again, Canada shows why government must, of necessity, be reined in.
Do you have ESP?
FTA:
"The investigation centered on the practice of Amazon displaying its prices compared to higher "list prices" -- suggested manufacturer prices (MSRPs) designed as marketing gimmicks to make people think they are getting a deal, even though it's often the case that no shopper ever pays that price."
“The Bureau’s investigation concluded that these claims created the impression that prices for items offered on www.amazon.ca were lower than prevailing market prices,”
So false advertising but hey I guess you like buying a floor cleaner than doubles as a dessert topping. Moron.
Really? Amazon wouldn't know if those prices were accurate. A company that use analytics and big data to analyze the buying behaviors of it's customers and the pricing of products wouldn't know whether or not the MSRP is accurate or not. Troll somewhere else ass-hole.