How to Watch Out for “Fake” Sales

J.C. Penney corporate executives made news last week when they announced that the company is changing its pricing strategy to “everyday low pricing.”

No more seasonal sales, weekly coupons, discounted merchandise and slashed prices.  Penney shoppers are now guaranteed value prices every day.

ABC News Consumer Affairs Reporter Elisabeth Leamy is impressed, but not for the reason you may think.  She's impressed that Penney's is finally telling the truth about "sales".  Read on.

"I read dozens of articles a week on consumer issues, my version of 'continuing ed.'  There's always one that sticks out as most intriguing, and this past week it was a New York Times story about how J.C. Penney's new CEO hopes to improve the department store chain's fortunes by eliminating what he labeled "fake prices."

Wow!  This is the most directly I have ever heard a retailer speak of the pervasive practice of marking prices up so you can mark them down.

In other words, some stores put a high "regular" price on an item, then deeply discount it for a few days to make customers think they're getting a bargain. Penney's CEO Ron Johnson believes customers are not fooled by that tactic.

How refreshing!  J.C. Penney is not the only store to have engaged in this kind of price hoopla to try to generate excitement. It's just the only one to admit it -- and ditch it."

via How to Watch Out for Fake Sales - Yahoo! News.

Faking original or "compare at" prices is actually illegal in some states, but it's hard to prove because consumer watchdogs can't monitor retail stores every day year round.

Still, some aggressive attorneys general have been able to make cases against retailers for claiming merchandise was on sale, when it wasn't really.

There probably aren't any bureaucrats scanning price tags in your favorite store, so you'll need to watch out for yourself.  You're on your own.

Caveat Emptor.  Let the buyer beware.  You've been warned!