Phony On-Line Discounts, And Plaintiff Attorneys Smell Blood

Online retailers including Amazon and many others are blanketing consumers with a deceptive sales ploy, and regulators and some class-action plaintiffs are starting to push back, according to an article in the New York Times. The trick is to list an item as heavily discounted from some “list” or “manufacturer’s suggested” price that’s pulled out of thin air. The Times picks on a high-end 11 3/4  inch skillet that’s advertised on numerous sites –  including Williams Sonoma and Amazon – at $200, along with the claim that it’s being discounted from a manufacturers suggested price of some $60 to $85 more than that. But there doesn’t seem to be anyone actually selling at the “suggested” price, including the manufacturer itself, which also charges $200 on its site. Several lawsuits are active or pending, and a false advertising case against Overstock.com is now before the California Court of Appeal, after the online retailer was hit with a whopping $6.8 million fine.