Ebuyer on the naughty step for fondleslab promo cock-up
ASA told 'it was the new guy's fault'
Ebuyer has been rapped for a "misleading" tablet promotion and ordered not to repeat similar claims of cost savings in future.
The Advertising Standards Agency gave the online IT bazaar a stern ticking off after receiving a complaint about an email sent to customers touting the Storage Options' Scroll Extreme Tablet PC.
The mailshot was headed "SAVE £120…£179.99", while on the website the promo stated the slate was £178.98 inc vat with a figure of £299.99 crossed out and "Save £120.01" displayed on the page.
The complainant demanded to know whether Ebuyer's ad was misrepresentative or could be substantiated.
The ASA confirmed the reseller had amended the page, and stated: "[Ebuyer] said they had misunderstood the advertising rules and had new staff. Ebuyer said the complainant had raised a valid point."
The complaint was upheld. The watchdog added: "We had not seen evidence that the 'was' price of £299.99 was a genuine previous selling price and that the advertised savings of £120 and £120.01 were therefore genuine. In the absence of such evidence, we concluded that the savings claims were misleading."
"The adverts must not appear again in their current form," the ASA stated. "We told Ebuyer not to make savings claims in future unless they were in a position to demonstrate that they were based on genuine previous selling prices." ®
COMMENTS
re: So...people actually complain about this stuff?
It's not the "amazing savings" that influence my purchase choice, but the current price. Anyone without the sense to use that approach shouldn't be allowed to complain about their own stupidity.
Re: Depends on the claim
Pretty much. Also, you missed SSP (suggested selling price) which is also ostensibly the same thing.
All these numbers are abused (although not by everyone). Bottom line with pricing - it's only worth what YOU are prepared to pay for it. A lot of people tend to confuse the term "RRP" and "worth". They usually bare no correlation to each other.
Re: If DFS can get away with it
I suspect I may be the only person in the history of the world who actually bought a sofa from DFS when they didn't have a sale on.
I know, I know... In my defence I was younger, and more of an idiot...
Re: Hmmmm....
No, if I recall the rules correctly, and I may not be doing, its been a long time since I read them, in order for a sale to be valid, they have had to sell the item at the higher price for at least 28 days prior.
Re: Depends on the claim
Indeed, and tying in with the DFS comment above, such places usually have a discreet notice saying something like "Higher price charged at our Loughborough store between 31/5/2012 and 14/6/2012".
