Price Drop TV

[All Seeing Eye]

I watched price Drop TV last night, that channel where the more people that buy the item the more the price drops.

Anyway this certain named 9 carat gold necklace was up for sale which started out at a wopping 400 pounds, anyway I picked up my Argos catalogue and had a quick browse and amazingly enough the EXACT same necklace was in there for 110 pounds (and I mean exactly the same, same name, same carat, same length and same look.). You know what else is amazing, after the item had been sold out the final price of the Necklace was 115 pounds and then on top of that you had to 8 pounds delivery.
So basically those who had bought it paid 123 pounds for it when they could have got it for 110 pounds at the Argos.

How the hell are they allowed to bullshit like that and stick a 400 pound price tag on it at the start when it's not even worth that much EVER?

Some people are actually gullible enough to think it IS worth 400 pounds. There's gotta be a law against this surely.

 

[Mr. B]

Charge whatever the market will bear... in this case apparently the market is gullible people that don't have internet access.

If there were laws against obscene prices, Best Buy would not exist as we know it... nor would jewelry stores and their 1000% markups.

 

[backstept]

for their gimmick to work they have to start the price high, or else they won't make a profit by the time it drops . . .

 

[Aragorn]

Why do people buy movies for $40 from Borders or Barnes and Noble when the same thing costs $25 everywhere else?

 

[stoneroses]

Yes £8 pounds to deliver, PLUS £1.50 for your call. I think they should have to by law anounce the price with this added on especialy when they say things like 'compare this to a highsteet store we are cheaper'.
They rely on a stream of less educated people who think they are doing you a favour by selling you these things but the truth is they are there to make as much money as they can.

 

[Captain Ice]

People are morons.

I've seen any number of times on eBay where a readily available item will go for more than it's MSRP. Then you have to pay to ship it.

 

[Aragorn]

People get into bidding wars on Ebay and then suddenly it becomes about competition. I sold a new $30 DVD (MSRP) for $50 once. Not sure how it got that high, but oh well.

 

[Amaris]

People are morons.

I've seen any number of times on eBay where a readily available item will go for more than it's MSRP. Then you have to pay to ship it.

I figure I could sell computers this way.
Start the bidding at cost of what I paid to build it, and let it go from there.


J.

 

[StolenThunder]

I bought some good saucepans on bid.tv. Wouldn't buy their hideous jewellery or other random tat.

 

[cultcross]

People are morons.

I've seen any number of times on eBay where a readily available item will go for more than it's MSRP. Then you have to pay to ship it.

I figure I could sell computers this way.
Start the bidding at cost of what I paid to build it, and let it go from there.


J.

Sold my gf's car on ebay, set it at the price she paid for it 4 years ago, mostly as a joke, never thought anyone would pay that much, it went up another £500 and sold in a bidding war. The guy who bought it was actually so pleased he gave me a box of Roses (chocolates, for the uneducated ) when he picked it up. People are weird.

 

[Jadzia]

How the hell are they allowed to bullshit like that and stick a 400 pound price tag on it at the start when it's not even worth that much EVER?

Some people are actually gullible enough to think it IS worth 400 pounds. There's gotta be a law against this surely.

iirc, one of the auction channels (don't remember which one) chief execs was in court a couple of years ago over on-screen wording.

Notice they don't say "RRP £400" anymore? They used to. Now they say "Start Price £400". That satisfied trading standards.

Buying and selling on at a higher price is acceptable. In fact, as a nation of shopkeepers, it's what we do. People can try to sell stuff for any price they want to. You can set up a car boot sale and put £1000 price tags on every bit of junk you've got on your table. There's no law against that. But falsifying the manufacturers RRP is a criminal offense. Deceiving the customer is also a criminal offense, but that isn't happening here.

If people don't want to pay £400 or even £123, then they are free to go to Argos and get it cheaper. Many people are happy to pay the extra £10 for the convenience of it being delivered to the door, and the spontaneity of the purchase.

Also, some people may involve themselves simply because they enjoy the auction experience, in the same way people enjoy gambling. Not knowing how low the price will drop will excite some bidders.