In infomercials and on a website, Philips is advertising a kitchen appliance called the Airfryer, which uses hot air to “fry” food. They call it an “oil-less fryer” but you really have to add some oil to food like freshly cut french fries for it to work.
The ads for the Airfryer offer it at a price of $49.95 with a 30-day “risk-free” trial… and if you don’t like it, you can get your money back.
But is $49.95 the real price of the item?
*MOUSE PRINT:
In type only slightly larger than this, at the bottom of their website, the truth is revealed. The price of the fryer is not $49.95 — it is four times that — $199.80 because you are required to make three more payments of $49.95 if you want to keep it. Yet, to many, the price of the appliance looked like it might have been $49.95 total.
Adding insult to injury, it costs 25 bucks to ship this unit to you, and that is not refundable if you return it.
It’s no accident that Philips hides the real price of the Airfryer, but do they have to get cagey about what your $49.95 really buys you?
Notice that the advertisement says “TRY IT RISK FREE for 49.95”. Paying careful attention to the wording should help consumers realize that the trial costs $49.95, not the product.
This is casebook mouseprint. And also shameful that nowhere on the advertisement is the full price clearly listed.
I say shop around and get a lower price if you can and you fully own it. YES you will not possibly get the french fry chopper, but it can be cheaper.
199.80 might be roughly a suggested retail sales price for the item or it could be as much as 250 bucks.
re Richard:
There is that suggested retail price again.
You can buy it on Amazon for $160, and with a Prime membership, get free two day shipping. Amazon will probably let you return it (you pay return shipping).
I have been tempted to purchase this Air Fryer, however, I would check at Bed Bath & Beyond to see what they offer. This company tries hard to get what I want and also offers discounts. This would be my route of choice if I ever do decide to purchase it.
I categorize most posts on here to 2 categories: those of good intentions gone bad/incompetence (see Red Robin), and those of intentional greed and deception. This one clearly falls into the latter, and the latter category is much, much worse than the former. This type of advertising should absolutely be illegal.