{"id":8242,"date":"2009-10-11T11:59:41","date_gmt":"2009-10-11T15:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=8242"},"modified":"2019-01-16T13:24:42","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T18:24:42","slug":"false-misleading-jewelry-store-ads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/false-misleading-jewelry-store-ads\/","title":{"rendered":"FALSE &#038; MISLEADING JEWELRY STORE ADS"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"blog-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/Misleading-Jewelry-Ads.jpg\" alt=\"Misleading Jewelry Ads\" title=\"Misleading Jewelry Ads\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-24017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/Misleading-Jewelry-Ads.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/Misleading-Jewelry-Ads-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/Misleading-Jewelry-Ads-148x148.jpg 148w, https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/Misleading-Jewelry-Ads-53x53.jpg 53w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/div>\n<h2>RANT\/<\/h2>\n<p>\n<strong>You see it all the time&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\nBig <strong>huge<\/strong> headlines in catalogs and magazine ads that <strong>scream<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><h2>80% OFF!<\/h2>\n<p>\nYou get sales fliers in the mail, postcards, inserts, newspaper ads, billboards&#8230; Everywhere they claim they&#8217;re having <strong>the biggest sale of the century. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>WOW!<\/h2>\n<p>\nJewelers and jewelry ads are no different. But really, the biggest sale??? (I thought that was <strong>last<\/strong> months sale?) <\/p>\n<p><h2>Are these types of sales misleading?<\/h2>\n<p>\nIt always seems like stores offer huge discounts on everything&#8230; Except the few items that you actually want to buy.<\/p>\n<p><h2>Grrrrr&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>\n<strong>Doesn&#8217;t it always seem like that?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>\nSomehow, even though <strong>red discount tags are everywhere<\/strong>, you always end up paying <strong>full price.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>Sigh!<\/h2>\n<p>\nMaybe it&#8217;s me, but I hate these kind of crappy ads. <strong>The good stuff is never on sale.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>It&#8217;s &#8220;up&#8221; to&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>\nYou read the small fine print in the ad&#8230; &#8220;It says &#8216;<strong>UP TO&#8217; 80% OFF!<\/strong>&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>\n&#8216;<strong>UP TO<\/strong>&#8216; is the <strong>real<\/strong> discount and sale. <\/p>\n<p>\nIt&#8217;s pretty easy to miss. It also means that there may be only a couple of items in the entire store that really is 80% off. Everything else is only 20%&#8230; <strong>WRONG!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>Does not apply towards&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>\nOr you see the small disclaimer on the bottom of the back page of the magazine or advert that reads &#8220;<strong>Discount does not apply towards:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Previous Purchases<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Lay-a-ways<\/li>\n<li><strong>Repairs<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Special Orders,<\/li>\n<li><strong>Loose Diamonds<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Watches<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pandora<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Hearts and Arrows<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chains<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Diamond Earrings<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gold Hoops<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Financed items<\/li>\n<li>Cannot be combined with any other <strong>Sale<\/strong>, Coupon, <strong>Offers<\/strong>, Discounts, <strong>Mark-Downs<\/strong>, Holidays, <strong>Tuesdays<\/strong>, Full Moons, <strong>Give-A-Ways<\/strong>, Contests<\/li>\n<li><strong>One Discount Per Customer<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Must be 18<\/li>\n<li><strong>Excludes Platinum<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Good for one Item Only!<\/li>\n<li><strong>You get my Drift?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><h2>blah, Blah, BLAH!<\/h2>\n<p>\nAnd then you ask the jeweler &#8220;<strong>So where are the items that are 80% off?<\/strong>&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>\nThe jeweler leads you to a showcase with 10-20 items in it. &#8220;OH!&#8221; <strong>The junky stuff.<\/strong> The things that no one wants (<strong>Ten year old inventory<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p><h2>&#8220;We already sold those&#8230;&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>\nA couple other things around the store are 70% off, some things are 60% off, but the <strong>majority of the &#8220;real&#8221; sales<\/strong> in the store are only 20-30% off.<\/p>\n<p><h2>What gives?<\/h2>\n<p>\n<strong>Is this just your luck? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\nThe salesman claims &#8220;<strong>We sold a lot of jewelry already!<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><h2>BULL!<\/h2>\n<p>\nIs this really <strong>the biggest sale?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>False advertising?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>Misleading?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\neh, it is listed in the fine print&#8230; But still&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><h2>Can&#8217;t a 50% off sale be a legit 50% off?<\/h2>\n<p>\nI mean, come on, <strong>give me half-off<\/strong> like the ad says! <\/p>\n<p>\nWhat gets me ticked off, is when they give you that <strong>&#8220;fake&#8221; discount<\/strong> (unlike fake news). You know what I&#8217;m talking about, they say it&#8217;s 50% off, but really it&#8217;s 30% off <strong>with an additional<\/strong> 20% off the already marked-down price&#8230; <\/p>\n<p><h2>Egads!<\/h2>\n<p>\nWhich means, the item isn&#8217;t really 50% off, when you do the math it&#8217;s really only <strong>44% off.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>*Deep sigh!<\/h2>\n<p>\nI understand jewelers (and every other business owner) doesn&#8217;t want to give the merchandise away. I understand that they can&#8217;t afford to&#8230; They have bills to pay, and overhead, payroll, commissions&#8230; But to a customer&#8217;s eyes, <strong>it&#8217;s misleading<\/strong> and leaves <strong>a bad taste in your mouth.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>No one likes it.<\/h2>\n<p>\nNo one likes to be lured into the store with fake 80% off sales and end up leaving with only 30% off. <strong>What a disappointment.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>Those ads are not fooling anyone.<\/h2>\n<p>\nIf you truly want to impress your clientele (talking to the stores now), if you really want <strong>great word-of-mouth advertising<\/strong> and you want your customers to trust you and rave about you&#8230; <strong>then play fair.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>\nDon&#8217;t hide the details of the sale or pull the <strong>bait-and-switch.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n(Which is showing one item that is no longer available to sell another higher priced item.)<\/p>\n<p><h2>&#8220;And&#8230; Sorry, no rain checks!&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>\nIf you give them a sale, give them a true, honest sale. No sale-stopping disclaimers that void out pretty much anything anybody wants.<\/p>\n<p><h2>While supplies last&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>\nMy favorite tactic is when jewelers advertise a beautiful <strong>diamond pendant for only $99<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><h2>Great!<\/h2>\n<p>\nUntil you find out they only had two of them. Of course it does say &#8220;<strong>while supplies last.<\/strong>&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>Argggggggg!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\nThe next step up in diamond pendants is one for $299. <strong>Lovely!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>Quit fooling us.<\/h2>\n<p>\nI only want the price that&#8217;s marked and the item advertised. Is that so much to ask? I don&#8217;t want a substitute. I don&#8217;t want to leave empty handed.<strong> I want my 80% off.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;Not responsible for <strong>misprints or errors<\/strong> in advertised prices marked.&#8221; <strong>BAH!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>Approximate?<\/h2>\n<p>\nAnd you <strong>must <\/strong>also be aware of statements like: &#8220;*Approximate carat weight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\nApproximate means that carat weight could <strong>fluctuate by +7 or -7 points!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>You don&#8217;t know.<\/strong> A half-carat (50 points) could be 43 points or 57 points&#8230; Just make sure you know what the exact carat weight is when you buy it (<strong>get it in writing<\/strong> &#8211; most jewelers will give you a <strong>free appraisal<\/strong> upon purchase).<\/p>\n<p><h2>Read the fine print:<\/h2>\n<p>\nSo what is my point in this useless rant? <\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>For you to read the fine print<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p>\nRead all of the disclaimers first. See if the jeweler&#8217;s big sale qualifies you <strong>before<\/strong> you drive all the way out to the store.<\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;Oh, that 80% off was only good for first-time shoppers who pay cash <strong>on Fridays.<\/strong>&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><h2>&#8220;Better luck next time.&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>\n<strong>Yeah right! :)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>\/RANT<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>RANT\/ You see it all the time&#8230; Big huge headlines in catalogs and magazine ads that scream: 80% OFF! You get sales fliers in the mail, postcards, inserts, newspaper ads, billboards&#8230; Everywhere they claim they&#8217;re <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/false-misleading-jewelry-store-ads\/\" title=\"FALSE &#038; MISLEADING JEWELRY STORE ADS\">[Read More&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jewelry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8242"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}