Setting ridiculously high 'RRP' so that you can advertise the item as "heavily reduced" or "80% Off"

[genepaton]

Is this allowed? To me it seems almost like it's bordering on price gouging/click baiting.

The example I just came across was a cat scratching post. I mean you can buy these things from the Reject shop for $15, but lets say for the sake of this argument that this is some industrial quality scratching post, there is still no way that you can look me straight in the eye and tell me that a 90cm cat scratching post with sisal and carpet like every other one out there is worth $499. There's no gold leaf and the carpet isn't even Afghan. The exact same item sold by other sellers is $47, $62, at most $89. Even off other platforms a 90cm cat scratching post is going to cost you $50/60. Instead they've listed this thing as "80% OFF"!!! "BEST PRICE" "RRP $499" "now only $49.95". To me this just seems shonky business. And even if it's technically not in breach of some exact policy, wouldn't this still be considered unethical trading?

[repentatleisure1952]

I have a laptop that allows me to click the back button when I see a listing that I don't like.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

wow, that's 90% off . . . I could buy 5!

[janeababe]

Walk into a B&M pet supply shop and check out the prices. I was in one today. Cat scratching posts prices started at $199, up to $399 for one a tad more elaborate. One that was just basically a weaved basket sitting upside down on a bigger weaved basket with a  cushion inside it was almost $300!!!  I was like what the hell? 

Needless to say, I didn’t buy it, and surprisingly enough, you also have that same option on the eBay platform.  😉

[springyzone]

I believe that in retail shops such as supermarkets, the laws were overhauled some time ago. Supermarkets, if they advertise something as eg 20% off, have to have what price it is 20% off of and when it last sold in the supermarket at that price. You'll see it in the very small print on the sales tag.

On ebay? I am not sure how it could be policed, unless it is a known brand you can google on the actual brand website to verify the information.  I wouldn't think ebay even tries to police it.

Yes, I would treat such advertising with some skepticism unless it is a branded item. From what Jane says, some of the retail prices for these scratching posts can be a bit over the top as she saw some for $399.

But you know what, I don't believe that retail store would mark down the $399 one to eg $45. On sale you might get it for eg $300 or $250, but $45? In your dreams.

The way i interpret the ebay ad you saw was.. in some shops you might be paying up to $499 for a scratching pole but hey, we can sell you one for $49.99. If you're looking at a Chinese seller, you'd be looking at a copy of a higher end brand, for sure.

Give the ads a wide berth, the prices are about as authentic as some of the warranties a lot of sellers talk about.

[papermoon.lady]

I think it depends on the seller. I have seen genuine sales, and I have seen items on my watchlist that were suddenly (for example) advertised as 20% off... but... I remembered the original price... and it had gone up by approximately the same amount. This also happens in B&M stores.

When this happens on eBay and I have an item on my watchlist, I remove such item from my watchlist.

[gutterpunkz05 · Accepted solution]

Comparative Pricing Policy

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-policies/comparative-pricing-policy?id=4711&st=12&pos=...

[springyzone]

Absolutely! I think there are a lot of genuine sales where you can get eg 20% off or more.

And also some like you said, where they put the price up then advertise it as a markdown when sometimes it is just back to what it was previously.

I think though that some of these retail prices are a bit of a reach. Just today I was looking (on another website) at canvas prints. Yesterday there was a pop up sale where you could get a 16"x 20" canvas for $9.99. Plus postage which I think was another $14.95.

Anyway, today I had a look at the same site and it was showing as $101.98 usual price. But the thing is, this site always seems to have special deals. They are different deals each week and now they are launching into the father's day deals at 70% off I think it is. So the thing is, the prices you might pay on any particular day might differ but I am not sure many people ever get to pay the full RRP. Mad if they do, put it that way!

[janeababe]

I also have a snide smirk when I see marked down prices, with advertising to go with it….. up to 70% off RRP.  Pfft…. 😒

Many many MANY moons ago, I was a ticketer for Rebel Sport.

It was my job to unpack the boxes of merchandise, take off the ticket and put our ticket on.  

Rebel Sport (and possibly every other sporting store back then and possibly even still now, would purchase tracksuits (Nike, New Balance, Puma etc) in sets. Say around $60 set. (Back in the early 1990’s)  I would separate them, put a new ticket on the top and the bottom and they were sold as separates. Tops would be around the $60-90 mark and bottoms around the $50-70 mark.
It was a disgusting mark up. Shoes were worse for retail mark up. 

Then regulation came in, but I was out of retail by then. 

So, when I see advertising that says 70% off RRP….. I think to myself BS!!!!! and so should you! 

Go to YouTube, watch and learn how to make a fancy dancy cat scratcher yourself . 😉

[paper-jack]

Having seen a crocheted baby blanket, not a very well made one, with a price of $1,400 I was curious. Had the seller accidentally forgotten a "." when typing 14.00? So I sent a polite message. No response.

As crime is one of my hobbies (watching, reading, listening NOT doing crime) my mind then went into detective mode. The (US based) seller had made some interesting sales, very lucrative sales. The titles all had a code included.

So I did an online chat and aired my theory. Was it possible that these sales were not for the pictured items but maybe naughty stuff better suited to the dark web? The ebay chat person agreed there did appear to be something unusual, having checked out the listings, active and current, that supported my theory. He said he'd look into it further.  A few days later the account was closed. Coincidence?