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Secretlab appear to get up to this sort of funny business (certainly with their UK pricing). Since October 2022 I've been toying with the idea of buying one of

Secretlab appear to get up to this sort of funny business (certainly with their UK pricing). Since October 2022 I've been toying with the idea of buying one of their plain old weave chairs because I'm a big lad and they do XL chairs with sturdier seat pistons. However I've noticed that ever since I started tracking their prices prior to October last year they've never not been on sale. I'm fairly certain this is in breach of the UK "Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008" and the rules surrounding: "The law, as contained in the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, simply says that if a product is on sale or special offer, the retailer must show the original price and it must have been selling at that price for 'a meaningful period of time'."[0] and: "Simply offering a product for sale at a stated price is not necessarily enough to use it as a point of comparison. The ASA has upheld complaints about marketers who have claimed to have offered products for sale but were unable to demonstrate that anyone purchased them at that price. In 2013 the ASA upheld a complaint about a promotion that offered a new toothbrush worth £169.99 in exchange for a customer’s old one. The advertiser stated that this price claim was based on the RRP. However the product was sold at only one retailer, and their price data showed that the brush had only been sold at the RRP of £169.99 for 12 weeks, and that in the other 32 weeks it had been sold for £84.99 or less. This demonstrated that the product was not generally sold at its RRP price and the ASA therefore concluded the claim "worth £169.99" was misleading (Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Ltd, 30 October 2013)."[1] [0]: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-are-my-rights-when-i-shop-in-a-sale-anPNM5y0dvkq https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-are-my-r... [1]: https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online/recommended-retail-prices-rrp.html https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online/recommended-retail-pric...

dspillett 3y ago
I've simply stopped taking any notice of sales prices, unless it is on something I buy regularly in which case I might bulk buy at the offer price. If I need/want something and there happens to be an offer somewhere, that is just a bonus. It may also alter where I buy it from (or exactly which it if there are similar products available for the same need). At the point where I'm parting with money what they think the item is worth means nothing to me and I won't be swayed by it – what matters is if the current price is good enough compared to how I value the item/service. Never let yourself think you will miss out be not getting a sale item now – it or something else will be at that price again in future. Closing down sales, especially online, are almost always something that sets my scammy sense a-tingling for various reasons. Always assume a special offer is not so special unless you have researched the market. If you don't have time to look into the details then it isn't that good an offer, and they are trying to rush you so you don't notice until you've paid. I may occasionally miss out on a genuinely good offer this way, perhaps on something I'll develop a true need for soon, but I'm sure this is incredibly rare. tl;dr: sales and marketing teams are, overall, lying scammy reprobates and should be treated with extreme suspicion unless you have unequivocal evidence that they are one of the very few “good ones”.
- teh_klev 3y ago
  I'm well aware and agree with of all of the points you make. I've lived on this rock for nearly 60 years and have seen all of the scams and bad behaviour and avoided them. My parents were avid readers of "Which" magazine who's raison d'être was to educate and inform their readers in the UK about consumer protection issues and how to spot when something smells a bit off. This rubbed off on me in my teens. This is why provided Secretlabs as a likely example of a continued breach of our own laws regarding "sale" prices.
FireBeyond 3y ago
I believe in the Washington Administrative code, a furniture retailer (and maybe more) is only allowed to have a "Closing/Going Out Of Business" sale once per calendar year.

dspillett 3y ago

I've simply stopped taking any notice of sales prices, unless it is on something I buy regularly in which case I might bulk buy at the offer price. If I need/want something and there happens to be an offer somewhere, that is just a bonus. It may also alter where I buy it from (or exactly which it if there are similar products available for the same need). At the point where I'm parting with money what they think the item is worth means nothing to me and I won't be swayed by it – what matters is if the current price is good enough compared to how I value the item/service. Never let yourself think you will miss out be not getting a sale item now – it or something else will be at that price again in future. Closing down sales, especially online, are almost always something that sets my scammy sense a-tingling for various reasons. Always assume a special offer is not so special unless you have researched the market. If you don't have time to look into the details then it isn't that good an offer, and they are trying to rush you so you don't notice until you've paid. I may occasionally miss out on a genuinely good offer this way, perhaps on something I'll develop a true need for soon, but I'm sure this is incredibly rare. tl;dr: sales and marketing teams are, overall, lying scammy reprobates and should be treated with extreme suspicion unless you have unequivocal evidence that they are one of the very few “good ones”.

teh_klev 3y ago
I'm well aware and agree with of all of the points you make. I've lived on this rock for nearly 60 years and have seen all of the scams and bad behaviour and avoided them. My parents were avid readers of "Which" magazine who's raison d'être was to educate and inform their readers in the UK about consumer protection issues and how to spot when something smells a bit off. This rubbed off on me in my teens. This is why provided Secretlabs as a likely example of a continued breach of our own laws regarding "sale" prices.

FireBeyond 3y ago

I believe in the Washington Administrative code, a furniture retailer (and maybe more) is only allowed to have a "Closing/Going Out Of Business" sale once per calendar year.