Welcome to a special “Deal or No Deal” edition of our popular “Thanks for Nothing” series. All these sellers make you think they’re having a big sale or making a great offer, but that may not be the case in reality.
| Big Ham Sale at Aldi |
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Just in time for Easter a few weeks ago, Aldi’s featured sale item was their spiral sliced ham. But depending on where you lived, you either got a deal or no deal.
*MOUSE PRINT:
We invited the president of Aldi to discuss these price differences, but never heard back from him. So, for the folks in Boston, Long Island, Miami, and Kansas City who were charged almost twice the price for Easter hams, thanks for nothing, Aldi… no deal.
| CapitalOne $200 Annual Cash Bonus |
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A big fancy envelope from CapitalOne was proclaiming a $200 annual bonus if you signed up for their business credit card.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Inside, the truth — you only get the bonus when you spend $200,000 a year. Thanks for nothing, CapitalOne… no deal. But hat tip to David B. for submitting this ad.
| Groupon — Save Extra With Promo Code |
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Who doesn’t like to save a little extra money when buying a sale item and then getting an additional discount if you apply a coupon or promo code online? Recently, Groupon offered such an extra bonus on an oil change.
*MOUSE PRINT:
What… get an extra penny off? Thanks for nothing, Groupon… no deal.
| Lowe’s — LED Light Bulb Clearance Sale |
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Nothing perks up a bargain hunter’s ears like a good clearance sale. For some reason, Lowe’s was practically giving away certain LED light bulbs recently, but there was one small problem.
*MOUSE PRINT:
You could neither pick-up nor order the two-cent bulbs. Thanks for nothing, Lowe’s… no deal.
| Target — 50% Off Grill Sale |
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Lowe’s is not alone in offering great deals when they don’t have any in-stock. This week (April 24) right at the beginning of grilling season, Target advertised a great Internet only half price sale on this Char-Broil grill.
*MOUSE PRINT:
The trouble is that it is not available for pickup, delivery, nor for shipping. Maybe you’ll be luckier in your state. But in the Boston area, thanks for nothing, Target… no deal.
| Quantity Discount on Lay’s Chips |
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More and more sellers are either requiring the purchase of multiple items in order to get the sale price or are giving you a bulk discount on each item the more you buy. Whatta deal this guy is offering.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Who could resist a deal to save $36 a bag when Lay’s chips are only $326.69 each in quantities of three? Thanks for nothing, third-party seller… no deal.
If you find an ad suitable for inclusion in our “Thanks for Nothing” series, please send it to: edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org . Thanks.
The Aldi’s one is certainly odd. I wonder what PR excuse they are going to come up with for the mega price difference in some areas.
Usually when supermarkets do this it’s to compete in their local markets. The stores set prices according to the competition. It’s also possible there are differences in supply costs, like with gas. If it costs more to truck the fuel to a more remote station, the price at the pump will be higher, regardless of whether it’s the same gas as the one nearby
Maybe they are pricing more with local markets but Aldi’s has a distribution center in Florida.
Lowe’s 2 Cent Chinese light bulbs can be picked up at their Shanghai dock. Transportation not included.
I was able to locate a store in Nashville that had one grill in stock, but it was not available for order pickup. This seems to be one of those “We only sent three to each store and you have to be in store to buy it” type sales that only exist to advertise a product that is essentially unavailable to 99.99% of consumers.
Meat is a hot commodity right now, I wonder if there really is that much of a difference in costs for selling the same ham in two different cities.
Well Joel if you go back to this recent-ish article…
At Target, The Price is Right Variable
January 17, 2022 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)
We have vastly different prices for an item even in a local area.
I thought it was established in the Target post that stores have the right to price items differently by area because of issues like the cost to run stores in more expensive areas, so that one is explainable. Even in my own area Aldis in different towns have different prices on the same products, especially stuff like milk and eggs which are often locally sourced. Also, while Lowes is a repeat offender in misleading advertising they may have had more than a handful of grills available but especially with grills I can believe that they can get sold out before you get there. Grills are very hard to get a good deal on so there are probably a lot of people out there stalking them all the time. I know, I was one of them for a while.
BTW, note to Edgar, Lowes is at it again with the misleading Springfest ads showing a much pricier grill and making the print very small that the price shown is the “starting price” of all grills, not the price of the grill shown. Except this time they’ve made it even less noticeable and it flashes by in a fraction of a second.
Also, another explanation for the Lowes grills being out of stock is that they may lower the price to clear out a discontinued model and may only have a few in stock by that time. Maybe they just didn’t clarify that it was a clearance price. The only thing they should do differently is remove the item from the website when it sells out, but that might be a lot to ask if it only very recently went out of stock or is in stock in some areas and not in others.