You see it all the time. Big
HUGE headlines in Catalogs and Magazine Ads that
scream:
80% OFF!
You get Sales Fliers in the mail, Postcards, Inserts, Newspaper Ads, Billboards... Everywhere they claim they're having The Biggest Sale of the Year!
WOW!
Jewelers and Jewelry Ads are no different. But really, The Biggest Sale of the Year??? (I thought that was LAST month?)
Are these types of Sales Misleading?
It always seems like stores offer huge discounts on everything... Except the few items that you actually want to buy! Grrrrr.
Doesn't it always seem like that? Somehow, even though Red Discount Tags are everywhere, you always end up paying Full Price! Sigh! Maybe it's me, but I hate this kind of crap! The good stuff is never on sale!
It's "UP" to...
You read the small fine print in the ads... "Oh, it says 'UP TO' 80% OFF! I didn't see that!" 'UP TO' is the REAL Discount and Sale! It's pretty easy to miss. It also means that there may be only one item in the entire store that really is 80% OFF! Everything else may be only 20% OFF... You just never know!
Does NOT Apply Towards...
Or you see the small Disclaimer on the bottom of the back page that reads "Discount does NOT apply towards:
Previous Purchases, Lay-a-ways, Repairs, Special Orders, Loose Diamonds, Watches, Pandora, Hearts and Arrows, Chains, Diamond Earrings, Gold Hoops, Financed items. Cannot be combined with any other Sale, Coupon, Offers, Discounts, Mark-Downs, Holidays, Tuesdays, Full Moons, Give-A-Ways, Contests, One Discount Per Customer, Must be 18, Excludes Platinum, Good for one item only!
Blah, Blah, Blah!
And then you ask the Jeweler "So where are the items that ARE 80% off?" The Jeweler leads you to a showcase with 10-20 items in it. "OH!" The Junky items! Things that no one wants. (Ten year old inventory!)
"We Already SOLD those!"
A couple other things around the store are 70% OFF, some things are 60% OFF, but the majority of the "REAL" sales in the store are only 20-40% OFF! What gives? Is this just our luck? The salesman claims "We sold a lot of Jewelry already!" BULL! Is this really the Biggest Sale? False Advertising? Misleading?
Not really! It is listed in the fine print... But...
Can't a 50% OFF Sale be a true 50% OFF?
I mean, come on, give me Half-Off like the Ad says!
What gets me ticked off even more, is when they give you that "Fake" Discount. You know what I'm talking about, they say it's 50% OFF, but really it's 30% OFF with an additional 20% OFF the already marked-down price... Egads! Which means, the item isn't really 50% OFF, when you do the math it's really only 44% OFF! *Deep Sigh!
I Understand Jewelers don't want to give the merchandise away. I understand that they can't afford to... They have bills to pay, and Overhead and Payroll and Commissions... But to a Customer's eyes, it's misleading and leaves a bad taste in one's mouth.
No one likes it! No one likes to be lured into the store with 80% OFF Sales and end up leaving with 30% OFF! What a disappointment!
Those Ads are Not Fooling anyone!
If you truly want to impress your clientele, if you really want great word-of-mouth Advertising and you want your customers to trust you and believe you're not trying to rip them off... Then play fair! Don't hide the details of the Sale or pull the ole Bait-and-Switch! (Show one item that is no longer available and sell them another higher priced item instead! - "Sorry, No Rain Checks!"
If you give them a Sale, give them a true, honest Sale. No sale-stopping Disclaimers that void out pretty much anything anybody wants.
While Supplies Last
My favorite is when Jewelers advertise a beautiful Diamond Pendant for ONLY $99. Great! Until you find out they only had two of them. Of course it does say "While Supplies Last!" Argggggggg! The next step up in Diamond Pendants is one for $199! Lovely!
Quit Fooling Me!
I only want the price marked and the item advertised! Is that so much to ask? I don't want a substitute. I don't want to leave empty handed. I want my 80% OFF! "Not Responsible for Misprints or Errors in advertised price marked!"
Approximate?
And also be aware of statements like: "*Approximate Carat Weight!" Approximate means that Carat Weight could fluctuate by +7 or -7 Points!!! You don't know! A Half-Carat (.50 Points*) could be .43 Points or .57 Points... Just make sure you know what the exact Carat Weight is when you buy it! (Get it in writing - most Jewelers will give you a FREE Appraisal upon purchase!)
Read the Fine Print!
So what is my point in this useless rant? Read the fine print. Read all of the Disclaimers first. See if the Jeweler's Big Sale qualifies you BEFORE you drive all the way out to the store. "Oh, that 80% OFF was only good for first-time Shoppers who pay cash on Fridays!"
Better luck next time!
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Copyright © 10-11-2009 Jewelry-Secrets.com
