<
https://theconversation.com/how-bait-and-switch-sales-tricks-make-us-click-on-online-bargains-and-what-to-do-about-it-283477>
"You’re browsing a major online marketplace for a warm winter jacket, when a
sponsored listing catches your eye: a black, fleece-lined jacket, prominently
priced for sale from A$18.99 each. It’s just what you want. So you click
through, ready to grab a bargain.
But when you land on the page, then select a jacket from the drop down menu,
the price instantly jumps to $39.99.
It turns out the $18.99 was
actually for a different product – a waterproof
storage bag – which was inexplicably listed along with three variants of the
jacket.
This is a common strategy used by online sellers. The platform’s search
algorithm displays the headline image of the jacket, but pairs it with a more
attractive price of a different product.
Frustrated? You’re not alone. Across online forums such as Reddit, or
deal-hunting sites such as OzBargain, shoppers have long warned others about
this type of “multi-variation listing” on popular shopping websites and apps.
It’s not just wasting your time: it can be illegal.
This kind of visual bait-and-switch trick could potentially be misleading
conduct under Australian Consumer Law. It may also breach the prohibition on
“bait advertising”, applying to ads that promote “sale” prices on products that
aren’t available, or available only in very limited quantities.
And a proposed prohibition on unfair trading practices, now before parliament,
could soon give Australians even more power to complain."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
