What Type of Promotions or Pricing Practices Bug You?

barge-in hunter on 26/07/2023 - 20:14
Last edited 26/07/2023 - 20:15

Companies use lots of different pricing models and styles of promotions to either convince you to buy more, or squeeze that extra dollar.

There’s everything from:
- “buy 2, get the second half price” (at best, 25% off)
- beat any competitor price by 10% - for the same stocked item (but no one else stocks the same exact items)
- dynamic online pricing (the price goes up the more you visit a website)
- members only promotions (data grab)
- location based pricing (higher demand in an area usually means a higher price)

So, which promotions, pricing models or practices bug you the most?

I’ll start;
- Petbarn has member only sales - which, for the products I buy, are always cheaper online than in store. Every time I go into a store, I have to get them to price match the price from their own website.
And every time the staff member says “oh that’s weird. I wonder why the price is different”. Ergh

Financial

Comments

  • donga100 on 26/07/2023 - 20:28
    +48

    RRP

  • djsweet on 26/07/2023 - 20:33
    +12

    Price match.

    • socialistshroom on 28/07/2023 - 13:18
      +7

      I don't mind price matching when it's done properly and not used purely to entice customers, as described in the OP.

      This week I purchased all my car servicing products from super cheap auto as they price matched/beat the deals I found on sparesbox, amazon, and eBay. I saved 48% off my total order cost and was able to pick everything up the same day.

      Now that's 48% off super cheap auto's already high RRP, but they still matched everything as promised and didn't stick me with postage fees or other bs requirements.

    • ninnypoop on 29/07/2023 - 11:57
      +1

      What the hells wrong with price matching? I've used it to my advantage many times. For example, if I have discounted JB vouchers then I price match to Amazon and end up saving even more. I can't see one thing wrong with it.

      • djsweet on 29/07/2023 - 13:18
        +4

        Sure you can take advantage, but it advantages the stores more than the consumer. It allows them to have inflated prices whilst also claiming to have then ”best price”. Every now and then they have to sell something at a low price, but most of the time they get to sell it at a high price. It’s basically a way of undercutting competitors, but only when necessary to get the sale. I’d prefer to reward the store who is being matched rather than save an extra 5% or whatever using a price match guarantee.

  • Benoffie on 26/07/2023 - 20:34
    +17

    I hate companies that have perpetual sales and rewards that can never be used on sale items.

    For example, Taking Shape have a plethora of sales they run. Currently it's B1G1HP. Last weekend it was everything 30% off. Guarantee this weekend itll be 30% off tops and tunics or pants or some nonsense.

    Have given endless feedback. I know staff have done the same - just drop your prices, stop with the weekly fashion releases and just have end of season sales.

    But they persist and it doesn't drive sales. In fact, everyone who shops regularly knows to wait a week or two for 30% off. And, then, shop online for Velocity or QFF points.

    🤷‍♀️

    • cbom on 27/07/2023 - 20:19
      +6

      I think it was Sears in America did what you're describing, they dropped the constant sales and just reduced the prices, and their sales dropped massively. You may not like it, but the constant sale does in fact drive sales

      • Benoffie on 27/07/2023 - 20:52
        +3

        Probably right. Too many dolts that think theyre getting a bargain. I just hate the inconvenience and his perpetual fast fashion 😒

      • ninnypoop on 29/07/2023 - 12:00
        +1

        Our group of friends were chatting last night about how when a woman gets complimented on a piece of clothing, the first thing said back is always: "thanks, it was on sale".

      • Munki on 31/07/2023 - 10:39

        Myers is definitely trying this tactic. Not sure how successful it is though…

      • His_Holiness on 03/08/2023 - 17:07

        I was working at Kmart when did the same thing in the 00's, dropped the constant sales for just reduced prices across the board. Look at Kmart now.

    • OpticalCog on 28/07/2023 - 11:11
      +2

      This is very common in the nutrition space
      - MyProtein is never below 30% sale, with it usually cycling between 30-40% off and being an actually sale only when at 50%+ off.
      -AminoZ does a similar thing with it always being on a 22-25% off sale.

    • emmalovestravel95 on 01/08/2023 - 07:46

      Yes! Surely this is detrimental to the company. What's the point in buying anything outside of a sale?

      It's the Buy One Get One Half Price promotion that bugs me the most!

  • Nillionaire on 26/07/2023 - 20:34
    +12

    dynamic online pricing (the price goes up the more you visit a website)

    This is a thing??? 😭😭 That explains so much

    • MS Paint on 26/07/2023 - 20:37
      +9

      Delete your cookies

      • barge-in hunter on 26/07/2023 - 20:54
        +3

        That’s it - incognito for the win

        • John Kimble on 26/07/2023 - 21:21
          +1

          Are you able to provide some merchant examples please?

          • barge-in hunter on 26/07/2023 - 21:33
            +9

            @John Kimble: It’s hard to prove sometimes as the price changes can be very specifically targeted, but in the last 5 years I’ve experienced it with Kogan and Jetstar

            • archiexyz on 27/07/2023 - 09:51
              +1

              @barge-in hunter: Think I've had this with Virgin

            • sim777 on 27/07/2023 - 14:54
              +3

              @barge-in hunter: 100% happens with Jetstar. The price of a flight increased within the 30 minutes I was on the phone talking to a CSR

              • dtc on 27/07/2023 - 16:49
                -2

                @sim777: 100% they dont care about nor track you as an individual but in the 30 minutes you were on the phone they probably sold 10 seats. So the price for the remaining seats went up.

                • barge-in hunter on 27/07/2023 - 19:39
                  +7

                  @dtc: You should probably look up a martech tool called a “customer data platform” (cdp for short).

                  They do care about you and track you individually

                • BepisCola on 28/07/2023 - 07:14
                  +3

                  @dtc: It’s a very well known practice especially in the airline industry they aren’t making it up lol

                    • BepisCola on 28/07/2023 - 14:06

                      @dtc: I know there are different varieties of this type of platform but here’s an example - if you have a squiz at the PROS website you can see some of their clients listed which includes airlines.

                      “The PROS Platform for Travel delivers pricing with full flexibility and control based on your passenger’s true willingness-to-pay - beyond business rules and manual interventions.”

                      https://content.cdntwrk.com/files/aT0xMzg5OTgwJnY9MSZpc3N1ZU…

                      I think the OP has a bit of a simplistic idea of it so I agree it’s not just a matter of clearing your cookies or using incognito but if you have a look through the Qantas/Jetstar privacy policy they definitely do collect your location, IP address, what you click on and when, as well as that type of information from third party sellers or marketing sites.

                    • barge-in hunter on 28/07/2023 - 19:54
                      +2

                      @dtc: Thanks @dtc

                      I’ve worked in the Martech space (marketing technology) and there is lots of off the shelf software used for dynamic pricing - in real-time web and app applications

                      Here are a couple of websites for you to check out, if you want to understand a little more about specific dynamic pricing tools that any organisation can implement.

                      Normally these dynamic pricing tools will be “plugged into” a companys Customer Data Platform, which builds a single cross device behavioural profile of each customer. This profile is built by combining web/app tracking data, sales and transaction records, contacts with a call centre; basically any data sources the company has access to, and can link back to an individual.

                      • ninnypoop on 29/07/2023 - 12:05

                        @barge-in hunter: Can you explain how it works in a specifc case?

                        Like if you have previously purchased expensive clothing brands, dealt with expensive/luxury companies, then would the individual offered price be increased? And does it work the other way around?

          • opt on 28/07/2023 - 11:07
            +1

            @John Kimble: Pretty sure I've seen this Amazon too

            • BartholemewH on 29/07/2023 - 06:30

              @opt: Accommodation booking sites do it too, prices increase bad on views /searches.

          • ninnypoop on 29/07/2023 - 12:01

            @John Kimble: I feel like Skyscanner does this.

          • wetsandwich on 03/08/2023 - 13:08

            @John Kimble: Amazon

            I was looking at a TV cabinet, added it to my cart at $67.

            When I went home and used a different browser, I searched for the exact item, and it was $150.

            After that, I logged into my account, and it was still in my cart at $67 even while the item page still said $150.

            • John Kimble on 04/08/2023 - 12:24

              @wetsandwich: Are you a Prime member? Are you sure it's not just Prime vs non prime member pricing?

    • muzzamo on 27/07/2023 - 14:46
      +1

      QANTAS does it.

      • desibaba on 27/07/2023 - 16:26

        Almost all airlines does that

    • whyisave on 27/07/2023 - 23:52

      It's definitely a thing, when searching for flight tickets,
      on those aggregator sites, eg. SkyScanner, Kayak, Momondo, etc.

    • payless69 on 30/07/2023 - 21:06

      Hotel comparison sites are the main offenders. Not sure how much cookie deletion helps but whenever we use such sites, having an extra tablet usually works wonders.
      Flights comparison sites drive me nuts. Just booked expensive Qantas flights, using an agent saved us $800. The agent keeps ringing to upsell and Qantas knows we are flying but still want $99 to join their useless ff program.

      • aidenh37 on 02/08/2023 - 18:33

        You can get free FF membership from just about any partner, no need to sign up with that partner though. Worth doing because you can get points by shopping, credit card signups, and more.

  • MS Paint on 26/07/2023 - 20:36
    +14

    Buy 1 item for the price of 2 and get the second item free.

    • kaleidoscope on 27/07/2023 - 17:32
      +1

      With those exact words?

    • whyisave on 27/07/2023 - 23:53
      -1

      Buy 2, for the price of 1 !

  • [Deactivated] on 26/07/2023 - 20:38
    +2

    There are a few brand pharmacies - Cincotta & Amcal - where due to franchising or some other ownership/entity reason/s, their online price is not always the same as instore. My local pharmacies will honour the online price where it is on special however when I tried to do the same at one that is local to my parents, they flat out refused even though they receive their stock from the same place as online. I get that online has fewer overheads, etc but it makes it confusing when it's the same brand name.

  • poboy on 26/07/2023 - 20:59
    +30

    Up to 50% off.

    Completely meaningless. May as well say 'save from 50c off all our furniture'

    • Breno785au on 28/07/2023 - 09:16
      +1

      Lol yeh and the only item that is actually 50% off is the micro fibre cloth they sell at the counter.

    • JimB on 28/07/2023 - 09:21
      +1

      Advertising definitely works on my wife.

    • dbmitch on 28/07/2023 - 20:12
      +1

      Extra bad when the 'up to' part is written in tiny words and the 50% off is massive

    • lachhelix on 30/07/2023 - 00:34
      +1

      This ^

      "up to" annoys tf out of me

    • twig on 30/07/2023 - 15:27

      Came here to add this one on the list

    • Munki on 31/07/2023 - 11:01

      The "Up to" is usually in the smallest font size possible and the "50% Off!" takes up 90% of the sign.

  • tsunamisurfer on 26/07/2023 - 21:04
    +14

    None of them 'bug' me to the point I want to complain about it.

    If I don't like it I simply don't partake.

    Some of the ones I find silly are :

    • Chocolate bars are pertpetually 'half price' at Coles and Woolies. Thats basically the normal price.
    • Bonds, vitamins and laundry detergent are also 'half priced' every second week that no one would buy them full price.

    My greatest gripe would be the greatly successful collectables when spending over $30 and double collectables when you buy specific products.

    The Mrs and the children fall for this hook line and sinker much to my disappointment. They buy useless shit just to get over the threshold or just to get more collectables.

    Unfortunately I seems the Ozbargain gene has skipped a generation.

    • jellykingdom on 27/07/2023 - 08:35
      +7

      Ice-cream is another good example of that. Connoisseur is regularly 50% off…so…you mean its actually regularly overpriced by 200%?

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 27/07/2023 - 08:45
        +7

        And the half price has been creeping steadily up.

    • pjetson on 27/07/2023 - 09:10

      Chocolate bars are perpetually 'half price' at Coles and Woolies.

      Except when I really have a hankering for a particular chocolate bar, and go into WW specifically to get one. Then, they've always just gone off sale. I'm not paying $2.20!

    • dmcneice on 28/07/2023 - 11:15

      This is something that has actually come to bite our family in the backside. There were things pre-pandemic, which were always half price at least every few weeks, you'd never pay full price and you stock up on them.

      What I've found them do is stop all the half price specials for the past few years (so you had to pay full price), then the way they would increase the price is put the old full price as the new special price, then when the special ends, youve got a new RRP/full price.

    • xylarr on 31/07/2023 - 16:12

      Washing powder. I only ever buy at half price - and that's still $15 or so.

  • kerfuffle on 26/07/2023 - 21:08
    -5

    $2.50 each or 4 for $10 (@HFM looking at you)

    Why can't you just say $2.50 each save $1.50?!

    • soan papdi on 26/07/2023 - 21:11
      +2

      $2.50 each or 4 for $10 (@HFM looking at you)
      Why can't you just say $2.50 each save $1.50?!

      There's no saving of $1.50 :-/

      • kerfuffle on 26/07/2023 - 21:11
        -5

        There is when they cost $4 each usually (in reference to Ritter Sport chocolate)

  • soan papdi on 26/07/2023 - 21:10
    +13

    Was $999, now $99!

    Ridiculous initial price that makes the discount look awesome.

    • socialistshroom on 28/07/2023 - 13:21
      +1

      I still don't get how these aren't illegal.

    • twig on 30/07/2023 - 15:29

      Amazon did this during the recent prime day sales

      Normal price $40, the savings percentage was based of RRP ($70) or so, sale price $35

      Saw a few items, but at least they still showed the usual price. The rest can be gleaned through 3x camel

  • kerfuffle on 26/07/2023 - 21:11
    +48

    House 'closing down'

    • jellykingdom on 27/07/2023 - 08:28

      Yeah you beat me to this one!

    • dasher86 on 27/07/2023 - 16:32
      +2

      EB not having a sale

    • Matt P on 29/07/2023 - 16:54

      Yep, good ol house and their bullshit discounts.

      Im on a few bargain groups on FB and i always cringe when i see people post about the big bargain they got on their new baccarat X.

    • solidussnake on 30/07/2023 - 13:33

      70% off RRP and they're still more expensive than the rest

  • 87percent on 26/07/2023 - 21:25
    +38

    Online fees to purchase things like movie tickets

    • kerfuffle on 26/07/2023 - 21:26
      +8

      I paid a $6.70 service and handling fee to Ticketek for a $40 ticket …

      • Poor Ass on 28/07/2023 - 00:46
        +1

        Sounds like you got some awesome service

      • StevePER on 29/07/2023 - 21:51
        +3

        And the fee is per ticket, not per transaction.

        • smpantsonfire on 30/07/2023 - 00:52

          Last time it was $6.70 for the transaction, not per ticket. (Ticketek) YMMV

  • datafellows on 26/07/2023 - 21:32
    +29

    Everything 50% off*.

    *exclusions apply.

    • Kangal on 29/07/2023 - 11:33
      +2

      Excludes other stores? 🤷

  • mapax on 26/07/2023 - 21:55
    +2

    BOGOF but the second item isn’t the same or worth anywhere near as much as the initial item.

  • capslock janitor on 26/07/2023 - 22:11
    +2

    when its less than 15% ..dare i saw more

  • Sweet3st on 26/07/2023 - 22:15
    +2

    I hate the promotions that are simply never honoured. I'm looking at you Qantas 😡. There's no customer service to follow up with and if you ever get through they just make things up or don't know what they're talking about.

    • Nillionaire on 26/07/2023 - 23:01
      +6

      Speaking of customer service; at this point any big company that doesn't have live chat support bugs me. I hate waiting on the phone and waiting for emails.

    • barge-in hunter on 27/07/2023 - 18:49

      I remember falling for a “free gigabyte ssd with every gfx card purchased” promo.

      “Sorry, we exhausted the promotional ssd stock - but you can buy them from our website at full price”

      • Breno785au on 28/07/2023 - 09:22

        Reply: I'll take a raincheck, let me know when they're back in stock and I'll grab my free one, kthanxbye

  • shxhshzhz on 26/07/2023 - 23:48
    +4

    eBay and Jack's eternal love story

  • Bing0 on 27/07/2023 - 08:24
    +12

    $1234 or $0 with the true price revealed once you click further. Usually on Marketplace or Gumtree though.

    • jellykingdom on 27/07/2023 - 08:30
      +7

      For me, it's the 50x sellers all listing the same exact item for the same price of say $134 with no description except "NEW", and it turns out they're actually just trying to send you to a foreign webstore to buy the item for $500. I report them all when i see them, and then block them too so I don't see their ads in future

      • bamzero on 27/07/2023 - 11:49
        +3

        I just assumed they were scams and report them as such when I see them on Marketplace.

    • kale chips suck on 28/07/2023 - 11:55
      +4

      The worst are the ones who do this ~ wasting everyone's time ~ but then in the ad write "No timewasters". I sometimes write to these people and rile them up by just wasting their time. It usually degenerates into poorly spelt name calling pretty much immediately.

      It should be a sport. How many interactions can you extract before they block you; 1 point per reply.

      Anyway, I like to think I'm doing God's work and making my own, small, contribution to the broader community. I invite everyone to join in. Together, we'll make no difference!

    • GooseHoward on 31/07/2023 - 10:46

      I'm often tempted to message the FREE or $0 sellers and pretend I can't see the price in the comments.

  • jellykingdom on 27/07/2023 - 08:34
    +21

    Petrol price cycles. Clearly the crude oil price, and the supply price of the petrol is not fluctuating on an ongoing weekly recurring basis up-and-down by like >25%. It used to be even dumber in SA, where it was every Tuesday the price would be cheapest. I mean, its practically price fixing at that point

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 27/07/2023 - 08:50

      Liberty bucking the trend recently. Stayed at $1.63.5/L when OTR pushed their price to $2.09/L, even if only for 24hrs.

    • OzzyOzbourne on 27/07/2023 - 22:47

      And only happens in Australia and is more prevalent in some states than others

      • Nickels n Dimes on 30/07/2023 - 14:15

        It happens more in the states where prices aren't tracked / published by a government website

    • OpticalCog on 28/07/2023 - 11:18
      +1

      The ACCC used to have nice graphs for each city which I always found interesting as whilst every state had price cycles they were each different lengths

      Had a quick sus - https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/petrol-and-fuel/petrol-pri…

      Perth is still living the cheaper-Tuesday price cycle 😂

  • pjetson on 27/07/2023 - 09:12
    +16

    Temu adverts in Facebook. They have a picture of a product that's usually $99 and the advert says that it's on sale for $5, but when you click on it, the price is really $95.

    • BoomTetrisForJeff on 28/07/2023 - 21:17
      +1

      Actually I bought the mini washing machine for $5 so it is legit, I logged into a different account and it was showing as $65

      • wizzlesticks on 31/07/2023 - 04:48

        They have a minimum order value. There is no way you would have been able to spend just $5 to get the item. You would have needed to buy other items to meet the minimum order value, which means you have subsidised the advertised discount.

    • twig on 30/07/2023 - 15:33

      Everything temu does irks me. Website is a great case study on dark design patterns.

      False timers, showing "low" stock levels, who else has bought as an urgency notification, forced minimum order of $30 to get "free" shipping, loads of coupon popups but no information about min spend, etc

  • Broke-Ken on 27/07/2023 - 09:40
    +6
    • For new customers only…
  • Baysew on 27/07/2023 - 09:57
    +4

    All of the above.

  • kusama on 27/07/2023 - 10:39
    +8

    Buy something, get x discount next time

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