Judge Judy certainly has a way with words, and these retailers certainly try to use them to make a lousy deal or non-deal seem beneficial to consumers.
Example #1:
Best Buy recently unveiled a buyback program whereby purchasers of certain electronic equipment can buy a policy that guarantees a certain trade-in value for their new purchase.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Their ad only promotes the best case scenario — up to 50% back. When could you get 50% back? Only  if you want to get rid of your purchase within six months of purchase. More likely, you may wish to trade your item after a couple of years of ownership. In that case, you will get zero back for your phone or computer, and only “up to 10%” for your TV. In our opinion, most consumers would be crazy to PAY a company to offer you a lousy buyback price or no buy back at all during such a short period of time. Selling the item yourself on eBay or through Craigslist would more likely yield a greater return on your purchase.
Example #2:
Earlier this year, Office Depot promoted TurboTax Deluxe with a free state tax download.
*MOUSE PRINT:
What Office Depot didn’t tell you right there was that they added $10 to the price of TurboTax Federal in order to offer the “free” state download:
Bottomline: they are giving you NOTHING extra for free, they are charging you $10 extra for that supposed free benefit.
One of the biggest attractions online sellers can offer is free shipping. And that’s what Fry’s does for some items.