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Some advertising has reached Merchandise advertising, especially in newspapers, has reached the limits of ethicality. One cannot read an advertisement for an electronic gadget, an airline trip, an automobile sale — you name it — without having to read the (very) fine print in order to guess at the real price of a product or its availability. Not too long ago, the advertised price of a product was the price one paid for it. Not today, however. There are nearly always some restrictions, some added charges, some additional requirement to the sale of almost any product. And, of course, there's the sales tax, which is rarely mentioned even though it’s part of the cost. I took an issue of a local newspaper at random and extracted a number of questionable ads. Unfortunately, space precludes my listing the complete fine print of each, but you can get the flavor from just a few. I’ve omitted the merchants to protect the guilty. My comments are in italics. * ... Holidays; The Best Value Under the Sun. Children fly and stay absolutely free — on selected ... packages ... is the come-on in large type. In fine print (and I must abbreviate) ... per person, double occupancy, low season. Airfares are capacity controlled, non-refundable and restrictions apply. Seasonal surcharge may apply. U.S. departure tax may be reinstated before actual travel. Free children's holiday spaces are capacity controlled and age varies by property. If free children's holidays are not available, we offer unbeatable savings with our children's package discounts. All flights are non-stop except... Rates subject to change. Travel subject to terms in our General Conditions. All passengers must sign an Operator Tour Participant Agreement... (I wouldn't sign anything with them.) * ...will beat any price or the product's yours free ... * Phone prices, accessories, and dinner when activating a new line of service. OAC on any 12-month plan starting with ... Safety plan, only $238\ 9.40/Yr. (sic). Prices of phones $350-$999 w/o 12 mo. service plan. Customer pays sales tax on retail value. Fee of up to $400 for early termination for any reason unless phone returned for a lower fee. Free dinner for 2 (at Souplantation- $20.00 value). Installation extra. $20 pager activation. Free weekends offer for 6 months from activation is available upon new activation on any annual plans except..., ..., ..., and all month to month plans. Weekend calling is from midnight Friday through midnight Sunday. Requires new one or two years service agreement ... Free weekend offer applies to local airtime only. Early termination applies. Security deposit may be required. Some restrictions may apply. Offer ends ... (one week later). Whew! It even has the nerve to say some restrictions may apply! * No payments or interest for 12 months! Fine print: minimum 30 sq. yards. 20% down required. Commercial carpets excluded. Financing O.A.C. Entire amount to be paid prior (italics mine) to 12 months or interest accrues from date of purchase. Written invoice required.Written invoice of a competitor?) * (A digital phone ad.) 29 lines of very small type, giving conditions. Would you buy something that has that much fine print? * Only $198 per month. In small type: 48 mo. Closed-end lease. $1,880 down plus $770 inception fees ...(Only?) * STEAL US BLIND and get away with no payments and no interest for 6 months. In fine print: Financing details: Must be paid in full within 6 months. Subject to credit approval. Applies to purchases made with the ... consumer credit card. As of ... the ... credit card annual percentage rate (APR) is 20.25% (Who's stealing?) * ONLY $99/mo. Only $999 down! Please see disclaimer: Price plus tax ... Total drive-off fee $3,204 includes $999 down plus $400 college grad. rebate, $1,000 ... rebate and $805 inception fee... (Rebate?) * Dream Vacations: ... In fine print: General Restrictions: Rates are per person ... All rates are from San Diego and are subject to change without notice. Availability is limited. Rates may be restricted to specific flights, dates, days of travel, length of stay and other restrictions may apply... and it goes on for many more lines of restrictions. * Forty to 50 percent off list price (or regular price or advertised price). In fine print: There may or may not have been any sales at the above price. A completely fictitious price? What is interesting to note is that one cannot really determine the price or cost of any of the above offerings from the ads. Perhaps the most interesting one is the ad holding out the possibility of a free product. I read it three times before I realized it is a non-offer. Given a choice of meeting the competition or giving the item away is a no brainer yet it sounds good. Very popular these days are the many ads offering an instant rebate another advertising gimmick for a reduced price, which apparently also sounds good to many. Then there are the insurance or other ads that promise to send you information and charges after you purchase or order their product. I also am amused by the many ads that urge you to hurry in while the stock is still large. Last, I mention one of my pet peeves (of which I have many). It is handling and postage charges for most items purchased by mail. I object to these separate charges on the basis that stores also must have handling charges but include it in their final price. I object to a separate postage charge for the same reason. Retail stores have to handle and transport their merchandise but do not add these charges separately. I believe there are two reasons this is done. One is the attempt to make the price of the merchandise appear as small as possible. The other (obvious to me, at least) is the overcharging for handling and/or postage in order to inflate the total price. I know this is the case in the selling of compact discs and similar small, light items. Many sellers offer a return of merchandise if you are not satisfied. The handling and postage charges, which are usually not refundable, often cover most or all of the real cost of the item returned. How can they lose? Brage Golding, past president of SDSU, is the father of San Diego’s mayor. |
