This is the sneakiest thing stores do to trick consumers

[IronLionZion]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-the-sneakiest-thing-stores-do-to-trick-consumers-2014-07-14?dist=beforebell

Thanks to a combination of slick pricing, frequent couponing and confusing discounting, retailers routinely trick consumers into thinking they got a great deal on an item — when in fact they paid way more than they should have.

Many of the stores that offer the most frequent coupons and discounts also tailor the asking prices of items so that even coupons and sales don’t mean real savings. For example, as of July 11, frequent discounter J.C. Penney JCP +0.11% advertises that the “original price” of its Ninja NJ600 Blender is $145.00 and that it’s now on sale for $99.00. Meanwhile, at Target TGT +0.12% , Bed Bath & Beyond BBBY +2.19% and Best Buy BBY -1.97% , that blender is listed at and selling for $99.99 and at Amazon AMZN +0.64% it’s listed at $109.99 and selling for $96.35. “Shoppers are usually attracted to the magnitude of the sale — 30% off always looks better than 15% off — but retailers can fairly easily increase the list price of an item to make the discount appear deeper,” says Matthew Ong, a retail analyst with NerdWallet.com .

“Original prices, as well as sale prices, are set individually by each retailer’s merchant team based on their customer base, sales events, promotional calendar, etc, therefore prices will vary retailer to retailer,” A J.C. Penney spokeswoman told MarketWatch.

So why are stores employing these tricky pricing tactics? These discounts and coupons drive store traffic, but the stores can’t afford to always sell their items at a true discount, explains Greg Smith, the chief creative officer at The VIA Agency, which counts a number of large consumer brands among its clients. So instead, they sometimes manipulate the prices of the items so they can offer a “discount” but not lose too much money by doing so. “The places that do this the most, coupon [and offer deals] the most,” says Smith.

Of course, there are still deals to be had at these places: Plenty of times, the original price is legitimate or the coupon or promotion will actually offer a true discount. And sometimes convenience trumps all. When you’re already in a store and need an item immediately, it may be worth it to you to pay a little more. Furthermore, there are some indications that consumers like couponing and price changes: When former J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson decided to cut back on coupons and promotions , among other pricing moves, sales tanked .

For some items, I would quickly check a price comparison site like pricegrabber before buying. There are even apps that scan barcodes from your phone.

[Stuart G]

1. Oh?

Well known stores would try to cheat people??? Is that possible???
Say it ain't so..

[IronLionZion]

2. What a deal!

We're "saving" so much since it's on sale!

[RobinA]

3. It's Pretty Easy

to compare actual prices these days and not get blinded by "sale" prices. When I was shopping for a Kitchenaid mixer recently I discovered that they were all pretty much the same price for the same mixer. I ended up going to the store I considered to be the least devious.

Do shop for tires, though. I found some pretty significant differences between retailers for the same, unadvertised, tires. X4 it can make a difference.

[IronLionZion]

5. +1 on the tires, also watch for added fees for installation and balancing

because sometimes those are extra, sometimes its included

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/buying-selling/cg-tire-buying-tips3.htm

http://tires.about.com/od/buyers_guide/a/How-Much-Should-It-Cost-To-Install-My-New-Tires.htm

[CBGLuthier]

4. Caveat Emptor

Do your own research. So long as lying is not illegal that is all you can do.

[Skittles]

6. Kohls is king at it

when I buy a couple of T-shirts and they say, "You've saved forty dollars today" you know they're full of shit

[Liberal Veteran]

7. Yeah, me and hubby joke about that too.

Go into a store and buy 2 bottles of pop and hear some ridiculous amount we "saved". It got to the point where we would say something like "You saved $537.32 today" on a box of tic-tacs as we got to the parking lot.

[rurallib]

8. My experience has shown Walmart to really be one to watch

they may have some crappy item - say a low end microwave that no one else carries - but on many items that other stores carry as well Wally often isn't the low price. Or at least that was true when I used to shop there ten years ago.

[IronLionZion]

9. Wally world are masters of price discrimination too

where some walmarts will have lower prices than in the next town based on competition.

I know people who drive like 30 miles to go to a a cheaper Walmart.