We continue our series of offers, which upon closer scrutiny, offer less than expected.
Example 1:
Supermarkets have become fond of advertising 10 for $10 deals. But this deal from a New York supermarket chain falls a little short.
*MOUSE PRINT:
The bulbs are indeed 10 for $10, but you can only buy four it seems. Thanks for nothing, Shop Rite.
Example 2:
Speaking of buying larger quantities, we’ve always been taught that when you buy in bulk, you can often save money.
*MOUSE PRINT:
At Amazon, you can buy a two pack of detectors for the price of three single ones. That’s right, one is $15 and two are $47. Whatta deal. Thanks for nothing, Amazon.
Example 3:
Speaking of deals, Best Buy is seemingly offering an LG stainless steel dishwasher for an unheard of $199 in this ad:
*MOUSE PRINT:
The dishwasher is not $199 as it first appears. That’s the price for the microwave. So, how much is the dishwasher? Who knows. Thanks for nothing, Best Buy.
Example 4:
A few weeks ago, we got Lowe’s to pull a TV commercial which promised 20% off major appliances, but according to the fine print, virtually every major brand was only a maximum of 10% off (except where noted). Now fast forward to this past Labor Day when Lowe’s upped the phantom discount to as high as 35% off.
*MOUSE PRINT:
The fine print disclaimer in this commercial, just like the other ads, says:
Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Amana, GE, LG, Samsung, Frigidaire, Electrolux, and Bosch brands limited to a maximum 10% discount unless otherwise shown.
So again, virtually all the major brands are not 35% off. In fact, a review of their website reveals that of the 200 dishwashers offered for sale, only one was 35% or more off the regular price. Thanks for nothing, Lowe’s.
If you find a good example of a “Thanks for Nothing”-type offer, please pass on a screenshot of the ad to edgar (at symbol) mouseprint.org .
Supermarkets often have the buy two option. A few years back it was two cukes for 99 cents. I bought one. At the register it rang up as 50 cents and I protested. The cashier said they are 50 cents as a single. I told her I had the 49 cent one and the 50 cent one is back on the shelf. She gave it to me at 49 cents and we had a good laugh.
If you check prices like I do and as your readers do we find what you have posted all the time.
#3 had to be a horrible typo.
I say they had an LG Dishwasher valued at around 1 grand cut down to around 800 bucks.
“10 for $10. Limit 4.”
That’s my new favorite. I really enjoy the Thanks for Nothing segments, but I wish that there weren’t advertisements to fit the category.
As long as retailers aren’t punished, there is little incentive to improve.
Example 1 is my favorite. I would drive the manager nuts by claiming the deal is ’10 for 10′ so, the limit 4 is for four 10 for 10’s or 40 bulbs.
I kinda like the very first comment, posted by Rick M. He’s got a good sense of humor re that 1¢ discrepancy.
Here’s another one along those lines. Does it irk anyone that gas is always priced at, for example, $1.33 9/10? Next time you need a gallon of gas for your lawn mower or other gas powered device, insist on the 1/10¢ change. The clerk will either call the cops figuring you’re crazy, or he might just get a good laugh over it as Rick did in his example.
Dan Kap,
Whittier, CA
In the case of the light bulbs, I would interpret limit 4 to mean you could take advantage of the deal four times, i.e. buy up to 40 bulbs.
Edgar replies: Bob, with grocery products, I might agree with your interpretation. But with light bulbs, I just can’t imagine a supermarket stocking thousands of bulbs for this sale. If everyone wanted 40 bulbs, they would need to stock 1000 bulbs for every 25 customers.
#2 just saved me some money. I’m usually pretty savvy about these deals, thanks to years of reading this site, but I sometimes get a little careless about multiples. This one made me stop and look again, and when I went to purchase multiple sets of an item, I checked the prices and, sure enough, buying a multiple would have cost me more than buying two singles. So I just developed a new habit. Thanks!
I see Amazon pricing like that from time to time. Usually it is because the seller of the single and 2 pack are different. The seller of the 2 pack probably knows what he is doing, but it’s not typically a single seller with stupid pricing.