Pet Peeve: Unclear Pricing

[Dave Gray]

The worst offender of this is Michael's, an arts and crafts store.

I am the type of guy who just wants to know the price of something and then make a choice about whether or not I want it.  ...not at Michael's.  Everything is based around coupons and sales, to the point when nothing just costs what it costs.  One item is 30% off of the "regular price", but also, the prices marked are all marked down.  Every shelf is a percentage off the price listed.  So, everything in the store is always on sale with advertised prices on the shelves and little cheat sheets about how much you need to deduct.  Everything is buy this and get a 2nd of this other thing for 50% off.  But with exclusions and clearance and everything else.

It's all flim-flam and it's hard to keep track of what you're buying or spending.  It all seems focused on how much you're "saving".

I don't know if this is correlative, but the types of stores that do this seem to cater more to women.  HomeGoods, I believe, is sometimes like this.  ...as well as Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

[Phishfan]

I have never been to any these stores but it makes sense to me that happens in stores whose main clientele is women and a certain type of women at that. I always remember my mom telling me about shopping with my grandmother. She wanted to pick something up for me and my mom kept telling her it wasn't my style and I wouldn't wear it but my grandmother couldn't comprehend and just kept saying that it was on sale.

[Spider-Dan]

Famously, JCPenney tried to eliminate this sort of perpetual "Huge Sale!" pricing and just mark their goods with accurate, everyday lower prices.
This was an enormous flop and customers hated it.  They quickly returned to the old, deceptive model.

Shoppers want to feel like they are getting an amazing deal due to their smart purchasing decisions.

[masterfins]

I think JC Penny's having sales is different than the crap places like Michael's does.  For the record I like JC Penny's, but I only buy stuff when I can get a deal.

The gimmick I HATE is what Kohl's does.  You spend so much money, I think it's every $50 bucks, and you get a coupon for "Kohl's Cash" - which means you have to come back to the store the following week to redeem the $10 off coupon. Just give me the $10 off NOW!  I realize they are trying to get you to come back and spend money on something the following week that you probably don't need.  I'm not gonna waste $5 in gas and an hour of my time to go redeem a $10 or $20 coupon; I usually just give it to someone in the parking lot.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Famously, JCPenney tried to eliminate this sort of perpetual "Huge Sale!" pricing and just mark their goods with accurate, everyday lower prices.
This was an enormous flop and customers hated it.  They quickly returned to the old, deceptive model.

Shoppers want to feel like they are getting an amazing deal due to their smart purchasing decisions.

A store can be successful with a straightforward pricing model....Cisco Aldis etc.  But switching from a sale model to straightforward will always be a disaster. 

However more people claim they want straightforward pricing than actually do...see Saturn.

[masterfins]

A store can be successful with a straightforward pricing model....Cisco Aldis etc.  But switching from a sale model to straightforward will always be a disaster. 

However more people claim they want straightforward pricing than actually do...see Saturn.

I think it depends on the product(s).  Aldi's isn't selling name brand products so I don't think it's a fair comparison.

[Dave Gray]

Aldi's isn't selling name brand products

Sure they do.  They usually have a generic version and a name version.  They just don't have 20 name versions of every size and specific flavor combo.

[Fau Teixeira]

Sure they do.  They usually have a generic version and a name version.  They just don't have 20 name versions of every size and specific flavor combo.

that's true .. i find brand name stuff at aldi all the time, their store brand is just usually cheaper and of a similar quantity

[Sibster]

BUMP

Had to bring this thread up thanks to what happened in Publix this past weekend.   They had 32 oz bottles of Pompean Olive Oil on a BOGO sale.   Normally the bottles are in the $23-$27 range.   They had all these bottles lined up on a space on the shelf where the price was $3.49 for some sort of balsamic vinegar.   When I went to get one of the stock clerks to point out the mistake and that someone should take it off that portion of the shelf so as not to confuse customers, he offered me one bottle for $3.49 and since it was BOGO, I got a second bottle for free.   

Very nice score there thanks to the long standing Publix Promise.

[Downunder Dolphan]

First world problems. Privileged problems. Arts and crafts, and boutique olive oil. WFMD.

When things get really shit, these are very, very minor issues compared to the wider world of pure capitalistic rape and pillage. Everyone right now is being ripped off for just food and basic necessities.

Insurances are equally as fuzzy, way out of hand and far more important, and very expensive. Utility bills too, basically any kind of energy. They are absolute necessities, but while we're encouraged to shop around, there is no real concise way of comparing unit prices with all the complicated deals that are being thrown around. It is literally not comparable. There's no such thing as any kind of loyalty discount, and we're guaranteed to get screwed, even with the best deal.

Down under there's been a fair bit of media about what is basically a duopoly of major grocery retailers, and manipulation of prices that have been exposed by consumers, with little recourse (apart from shaming the retailers, not that they really give a shit).

The official inflation figures has been fudged for at least a decade until Covid-19 hit, and then went on steroids after that. The bullshit unclear pricing has been a factor in trying to hide all of it while the big corporations got rich. Core inflation ain't going down in a hurry. Be prepared to be peeved off a lot more in future.