According to a study conducted by Consumers’ Checkbook, a project of the Center for the Study of Services, these are some of the retailers that have misleading prices
All those who are bargain hunters have all their eyes on the bargains they can find at retail stores. But what we’re seeing is probably just a mirage, according to a study by Consumers’ Checkbook, a project of the Center for the Study of Services.
The nonprofit organization set about the task of analyzing the behavior of various products in 25 U.S. retail stores to verify the legitimacy of their sale prices, based on the frequency with which they offer different deals.
They did this over a time span of 33 weeks and it was enough to realize that everything they claimed to be deals were mostly a publicity stunt and misleading, at the end of the day, to get the attention of potential buyers.
“Often, these fake sales never end: for eight of the 25 retailers, our shoppers found that more than half of the items we tracked for each were offered at fake discounts every week or nearly every week we checked. In other words, at many retailers, the ‘regular price’ or ‘list’ price posted is rarely, if ever, what customers actually pay, they explain in their research.
So based on data obtained by Consumers’ Checkbook, here’s the list of retailers you’re most and least likely to see fictitious prices with. Take note and don’t be fooled!
Those that checked in with the most misleading costs.
According to Consumers’ Checkbook, these retailers are:
-Amazon
-Banana Republic
-Dick’s Sporting Goods
-Shoe drawer
-Gap
-Nordstrom
-Old navy
-Fair way
-Williams Sonoma
Those that recorded often misleading costs.
According to Consumers’ Checkbook, these retailers are:
Best Buy
Dell
House Deposit
J.C. Penney
Kohl’s
Lowe’s
Macy’s
Miguel is
Office Depot
Cramming
Staples
Walmart
“Some retailers suggest that their prices represent deep discounts, marking items as on sale at 50 percent or more off regular prices. This can make customers think the ‘sale’ is offering them a fantastic deal. The opposite is often true: we find that most items can be purchased at lower prices elsewhere,” the research adds.
Which retail stores offer legitimate prices?
According to the analysis, these are:
– Apple
– Bed Bath and beyond
– Costco
“The law says that stores cannot claim to offer discounted items if the ‘regular’ or ‘list’ prices shown were not offered for a reasonable period of time. Our research continues to show that most stores consistently violate the law by displaying dishonest ‘list’ prices that they rarely, if ever, charge,” the research concludes.