Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

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Amazon Sued Over Fake Sale Markdowns

Two consumers recently sued Amazon over fake discounts advertised during Prime Day this past July.

They allege that big percentage discounts are offered off of fake list prices to make shoppers think they are saving a bundle. In fact, the lawsuit asserts, that the savings are often far less than claimed, that the same sale price had been offered previously, or that Amazon never charged that stated list price in the previous 90 days.

As an example, the complaint says this headphone was supposedly 44% off:

Amazon headphone

The consumers’ lawyers contend:

But, in fact, Amazon does not deliver the promised 44% off because it uses a Fake Prior Amazon Price in calculating 44% supposed savings. While Amazon lists a Fake Prior Amazon Price of $134.99, in fact, these Skullcandy headphones have often been offered at the same “sale” price during the past 90 days, and never cost more than $110. … As the headphones were never offered on Amazon for the fake strike through price of $134.99, a customer buying these headphones during Prime Day 2025 overpaid because Amazon did not deliver the 44% savings it promised.

MrConsumer checked CamelCamelCamel.com and in fact that headset was offered at the full $134.99 price for about 10 separate days in the first half of 2025.

Amazon has made some modest strides in explaining what it means by “list price” in its product listings. That almost invisible little “i” reveals their definition.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Amazon List Price definition

And you can see Amazon’s own price history chart by clicking the Rufus button at the top left of the screen.

That said, for many years, Amazon and others have used exaggerated or rarely charged list prices to give shoppers a false sense of the savings being advertised and the product’s value.

It may be a while before this case proceeds because the judge placed a temporary hold on the proceedings while a similar case is being heard in a Washington appeals court.

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Delta and United Sued Over Window Seats Without Windows

In August, consumers filed two class action lawsuits — one against Delta and the other against United Airlines — for charging premium prices for window seats that did not have windows adjacent to them.

Delta wall where window would normally be

In the complaint against Delta, the consumer’s lawyer contends:

For many years Delta has knowingly and routinely sold windowless window seats to travelers. For instance various models of Delta’s Boeing 737 Boeing 757 and Airbus A321 aircraft are built with one or more seats that would traditionally have window but do not include one due to the placement of air conditioning ducts electrical conduits or other interior components. Delta operates hundreds of these planes which each make multiple flights every day. As result Delta has likely sold over million windowless window seats throughout the class period.

This poor consumer who brought the case, the complaint says, spent four-and-a-half hours on his flight from Atlanta to Orange County, California seated against a blank wall.

Apparently other airlines like American and Alaska that sell windowless window seats provide a warning during the reservation process disclosing that those seats have no actual window.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Delta competitors disclose no window view

In the United Airlines case, lawyers for the airline are asking that the case be dismissed, arguing that “window” refers to the position of the seat and not any potential view from that seat, saying in part:

“The use of the word ‘window’ in reference to a particular seat cannot reasonably be interpreted as a promise that the seat will have an exterior window view.

Rather, the word ‘window’ identifies the position of the seat — i.e., next to the wall of the main body of the aircraft.”

United’s lawyers also made a very clever argument when they asserted that the airline’s contract of carriage — the formal agreement between the airline and passengers — “does not contain any promise that seats in the window position of any aircraft will have exterior window views.”

*MOUSE PRINT:

We scoured their contract of carriage and in fact there is no disclosure at all in reference to window seats having or not having a view. There is also nothing in the contract of carriage that guarantees you won’t be sucked into the airplane’s toilet and be ejected from the plane somewhere over Kansas!

Safe travels. Happy Thanksgiving to all our loyal readers.

P.S. You can visit Aero Lopa to see window placements and seat maps for most major airplanes and carriers.

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Walmart Thanksgiving Prices Way Down???

To hear Walmart tell it, food prices for Thanksgiving are way down.

Every year Walmart posts a shopping list of common groceries that one would buy to prepare a full Thanksgiving meal for a large family. For 2025, they are touting a dinner for 10 will cost less than $4 a person, for turkey, cranberry sauce, and all the fixings.

Last year, the price was close to $7 a person. Wow, are we living in a world of grocery prices crashing all of a sudden?

Not quite.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Here is Walmart’s grocery list for their 2024 and 2025 Thanksgiving dinner side by side.

Walmart Thanksgiving Dinner
Shopping List

Walmart Thanksgiving price chart

For 2025, Walmart dropped a net total of six items from their shopping list, including a number of fresh vegetables, and a large southern pecan pie. In their press release FAQ section, they clue you in to the little trick they pulled.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Walmart Thanksgiving FAQ

Of course, most people don’t design their Thanksgiving dinner around Walmart’s suggested menu, so your costs are likely to be much higher.