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We’ll Beat Anyone’s Price by 15% or It’s Free*

 Some claims in advertising seem very enticing until you begin to think about them. A classic example is the price guarantee promoted by National Floors Direct:

National Floors Direct
Click picture above to watch commercial

The claim “we’ll beat anyone’s price by 15%, or it’s free” is ludicrous on its face because what merchant would rather take a 100% reduction in price over just a 15% one?

But National Floors Direct goes one step further.

*MOUSE PRINT:

National Floors Direct

If admitting that they never have given away any merchandise free isn’t proof that this is a disingenuous offer, then we don’t know what is.

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At Sears, “All” Does Not Always Mean “All”

  Last week, Sears advertised “lowest prices of the season” in certain product categories and offered some of the biggest discounts ever offered on Kenmore ovens and ranges.

sears

In addition to offering wall ovens for 50% off and Kenmore ranges for 35% off, the deal was particularly sweet because you could get an “extra 15% off ALL [emphasis added] appliances with Sears card.”

MrConsumer encouraged a friend to go to Sears to get a Kenmore stove he had been admiring since the 35% off sale coupled with the extra 15% off would likely beat the prices that would be offered during the upcoming Friends & Family sale. When he approached a salesperson about getting the extra 15% off, the first thing he was told was that they needed to check the exclusions. Exclusions? What exclusions? Nothing could be simpler than the straight forward promise that ALL appliances were an extra 15% with the Sears card.

*MOUSE PRINT:

sears exclusion

What, no extra 15% on Kenmore ranges or ovens? Mouse Print* wrote to Sears’ PR folks about this last Monday and by the next morning the advertisement had been corrected after admitting it was an “inadvertent error”:

Sears

Great. Hats off to Sears for the quick corrective action.

A day or two later, however, Sears sent an email with a link exclusively for Sears card holders promising an extra 15% off “select” appliances. Were those Kenmore ovens for 50% off and other Kenmore ranges advertised for 35% off excluded. Nope.

Sears extra 15%

*MOUSE PRINT:

Extra percentage off cannot be combined with other Sears card discounts. Excludes Jenn-Air, Dacor, floor care, sewing machines, countertop microwaves, water heaters, water softeners, water filtration, air conditioners, air cleaners, fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, accessories, closeouts and everyday great price items. Excludes Sears Commercial One® accounts and Outlet Stores.

Of course, when trying to make a test purchase of one of the 35% off Kenmore ranges, there was zero extra discount when using the Sears card.

We wrote to Sears again asking what steps the company will take going forward to assure shoppers that advertised offers are accurate and will be honored as stated, and how they planned to compensate customers who sought to take advantage of the sale price AND the card discount but were denied.

Sears did not respond by our publishing deadline. Any update will be provided here.

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$99* to Europe Including Taxes?

wowair A new low-cost airline from Iceland called WOW air has just started advertising fares as low as $99 one way to Europe, including all taxes. (Earlier last week, one could book a trip from Boston to Copenhagen for $99. Now, all fares are higher.)

What’s the catch? This airline has a similar philosophy to Spirit Airlines, the despised US carrier that charges extra for everything.

So before you get your hopes up that you can really fly to Europe for just $99, you have to read the fine print about additional charges.

*MOUSE PRINT:

wow air chart

Here is the full, long list of possible extra charges. Most notable: Your included carry-on bag can weigh no more than 11 pounds. It will cost you $57 for a larger carry-on bag, and $86 for a checked bag, EACH WAY, when going to Europe with a connection in Iceland if paying at the airport. And if you try to sneak in a carry-on bag over 11 pounds without paying, it will cost you up to $105 extra at the gate.

There are also charges for reserving seats: $14 for the front of the plane per leg, $10 for the middle, and $3 for the rear. These prices can double if making “advance” seat reservations at the airport on your way to Europe.

Don’t expect to be able to get seats at the advertised prices until late in 2015 in some cases. And the flight back to the US is not as cheap as going outbound.

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