Have you ever seen a sale advertised only to quickly realize that the prices are not "sale" prices? There was a store in this area that was going out of business, claiming that everything was 50-70% off. Of course, I went to have a look. Upon arriving, it was clear to me that they had marked everything up before marking it down. I still saw people grabbing stuff left and right. The moral of the story is that it pays to know what things are supposed to cost, so you know if you're really getting a deal or not, and to watch out for scams like this.
Or go back even further and figure out the store's cost and how much they're inflating the price. That's how I decide if something is worth it or not. For many things anyway. I know a fair mark up when I see one.
Yeah, a lot of places where I live will have an "end of summer" sidewalk sale, but they mark everything up before marking it "down". The shoobies (tourists) have no idea, so they think they're getting a great discount. It's only the local "boutique" places that do that sort of thing though.
I agree. I see a lot of this not only in physical shops but in online stores too. Sometimes I get carried away and buy it anyway, but mostly only because I'm too lazy to find out if physical stores have it priced lower, as I don't feel the difference would be that big anyway and I also understand the store needs to make revenue. However, for higher priced items, I'm usually a lot more discerning.
After taking a course of Intro to Marketing I have never looked at a 'sale' the same way. Retailers' mark ups are substantially high to create profits. If it's a 'clearance' sale with any where from 75% and up I may browse. The higher the percentage off the less profit for the retailer.
