One of the most common types of scams that online, and brick and mortar retailers employ is the classic bait and switch.
While this technique is not technically legal Retailers frequently side step the legal obstacles by offering limited quantities of the advertised product. Below I have listed some of the most common Bait and Switch scams that have been with us for decades.
- Car Dealerships – You may see a car that you want, at a price you can afford being advertised in a circular or on television. The price may be well below the High Blue Book value! Amazing! After heading to the said dealership you are told that the advertised price was for a vehicle that they had in stock, and they have sold out of that product. At this point the salesman will offer a similar product at a much higher price. The Bait and Switch is on! *How they get away with it – It is legal to promise a very low price to a customer, who promises to pick the vehicle up at a future date (The day the Ad runs). Therefore technically on the running of the Ad the dealership had the vehicle on site and sold it for the price listed.
- Limited Supplies – While flipping through an Ad for Laptops, you notice that with the purchase of any printer you qualify for free ink cartridges! After getting to the store, and placing the Printer in your shopping cart, the salesman lets you know that the special was only while supplies last. He shows you that they do in fact have the cartridges you are looking for and they are available for purchase. *How they get away with it – By starting the special out with a VERY low supply of the free ink cartridges, the retailer is able to capture more sales than they ever dreamed out of the wallets of disgruntled customers.
- Financing – Many large items such as Home appliances or Automobiles require some financing in order to complete the transaction. The tactic here is to offer very low interest rates as low as 0% interest! This is amazing I need a new car! Once again you head down to the car dealership excited to get the new car. You pick it out, fall in love with the color, laugh with the salesman and look at some pictures of his smiling teenager daughter, agree on a price you are happy with, enjoy an ice cold soda while he prepares the paperwork and runs your credit. As you are preparing to make the final pen strokes you realize 9% is not 0%! What happened! *How they get away with it– The 0% interest is for those that qualify (ie have PERFECT credit) even very good credit does not qualify. The dealership is counting on the fact that you already fell in love with the paint, and the price. They gamble that you will shrug your shoulders and pay up. Most do.
- Actual Item not Pictured – While looking through the Sunday paper for car deals, you notice that one of the dealerships you were thinking about going to is giving away a free TV with vehicle purchase! You think “I’m getting a car anyway, why not get an awesome flat screen to go along with it for free!” After signing the paperwork and going through the whole process the salesman brings out a 9 inch flat screen TV? What the? You go for the picture in the Sunday Ad and show him there is some mistake because the picture shows a 50 inch TV with surround sound. *How they get away with it – After the Bait and Switch has transpired the salesman lets you know that in the tiny print of the Ad the words “actual item not pictured” He smiles, you put your tiny TV in your shirt pocket and walk out. Enjoy your 9%.
So what then can be done to avoid falling prey to these scams? ANY time a deal seems too good to be true, read every word of the fine print. The fine print will reveal the deceptions every time. Retailers know if they don’t reveal the secrets in the fine print they are wide up for false advertisement law suits. Ironically these lawsuits rarely work. All the retailer is required to do is sell the item at the advertised price to the one battle axe that took them to court.
If you read the fine print, you won’t be surprised by the bait and switch, in fact the fact that you recognize that a store employs this technique may be a marker to you to shop somewhere else.
Thanks to JRSmedical for their continuing effort to provide top level customer service to its seniors.