Here is the latest collection of advertisements that made us do a double-take when checking the fine print.
Example 1:
In many parts of the country, real estate prices have gone crazy. And that is certainly true in and around Boston… but this is ridiculous.
A jump from $300,000 to $1.5-million? The question is, which number is wrong?
Example 2:
Many Macy’s ads indicate that items are on “special” during certain hours and that after the special, the price will be higher. Apparently, that is not the case here.
During the limited time special, the price of these pillows was $20. After the “special,” they dropped to $12.99. The rebate was not limited to certain times of the day incidentally.
Example 3:
Here’s a nutty example from last December. Walmart had a small 5.5 ounce bag of Emerald mixed nuts on sale 47% off. Wow, you say… until you see the actual price.
What? This small bag of nuts had a regular price of $30.99, but they are “only” $16.36 on sale? Who would be nutty enough to pay such a high price? Now that eight months has passed, we have good news. The price has dropped to a mere $13.94 on their site! Thanks for nothing, Walmart.
Example 4:
In this disclosure from Sears, they try to explain that when they say that something is merely “on sale” that means only selected groups of items are actually on sale. But when they use the term “all” then it really does means all. Or does it?
Apparently when they use the term “all on sale” that really doesn’t mean “all” since over two dozen groups of items are not included. Thanks for nothing, Sears.
If you find a good example of a humorous surprise in the fine print, please submit it to Edgar(at symbol)MousePrint.org .
I’ve stopped looking at coupons from stores like Sears and Macy’s because the list of excluded items is so extensive. It’s not worth my time to try to find the one item that might qualify.
I’ve noticed that at Sears, the list of items that are included in “all” is usually shorter than the list of items that are not.