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Have been watching caravan/camping retailer in lancashire quite closely and the supposed sale prices IMHO are the same or dearer than they were say two months ago, has any one else noticed this trend with their local dealers/retailers ?  

 Stew

If the items you are looking at are actually in a sale then the original price must be clearly displayed along with the sale price. The sign should say something like ‘was £16000, sale price £15900’. They also had to be on offer at the higher price for some 28 days before the sale unless the dealer puts up a sign explaining how the sale offer is worked out.

So if the ticket on the van gives just the one price then I guess that the van is not in a sale (unless they are cheating!)

Phil

No such thing as a Sale Price. Many retailers buy in sale items. I know I used to be one! Any item is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. Always ignore the original price against the sale price. You are not making a saving as you are spending. If you don't spend then you save!!!!

Best way to get the best price is to do comparisons.

I used to work in a shop that bought in catalogue returns very cheaply, then advertise them at inflated prices for the minimum legally required period with no intent of selling any, just so they could then be subsequently sold in a 'sale'.  And yes they sold like hot cakes.

I am always suspicious of claims to be 40 or 50% off especially in non clothing. The likes of Next, M&S and JL do genuinely reduce the previous seasons fashion by a substantual amount to ger rid of it. I am not so certain on say a B&Q kitchen which always seem to be on some discount offer or other. With camping things you just have to search the internet to get a sense of the real prices and as has been said ignore completely so called recommended retail price because as retailers are free to sell at what ever price they want what is the point of it.

David

Quote: Originally posted by cwdc56768 on 27/12/2010

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If the items you are looking at are actually in a sale then the original price must be clearly displayed along with the sale price. The sign should say something like ‘was £16000, sale price £15900’. They also had to be on offer at the higher price for some 28 days before the sale unless the dealer puts up a sign explaining how the sale offer is worked out.

So if the ticket on the van gives just the one price then I guess that the van is not in a sale (unless they are cheating!)

Phil

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Quote: Originally posted by Surfer01 on 28/12/2010

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Is there a requirement that the article had to have been at the higher price for "x" number of days or months before it can be offered at a sale prcie?

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Quote: Originally posted by Surfer01 on 28/12/2010

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Quote: Originally posted by cwdc56768 on 27/12/2010

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If the items you are looking at are actually in a sale then the original price must be clearly displayed along with the sale price. The sign should say something like ‘was £16000, sale price £15900’. They also had to be on offer at the higher price for some 28 days before the sale unless the dealer puts up a sign explaining how the sale offer is worked out.

So if the ticket on the van gives just the one price then I guess that the van is not in a sale (unless they are cheating!)

Phil

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Is there a requirement that the article had to have been at the higher price for "x" number of days or months before it can be offered at a sale prcie?

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Er yes - see above "They also had to be on offer at the higher price for some 28 days before the sale unless the dealer puts up a sign explaining how the sale offer is worked out."

Phil

Might be worth commenting that a sale to the consumer is not the same to the business. Shops/caravan dealers etc. undertake sales of their goods. That's their business. Thus when they say they have a sale, legally, they mean that they are willing to sell their goods.

We consumers regard the word "sale" as meaning a discounted price. We have mislead ourselves and, as usual, the law defines things differently to the way we understand words.

The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 (s11) makes it a criminal offence to give a misleading price. e.g the business claims that the price is 20% lower than normal in a "sale", when it isn't. What is "normal" as regards the price is set out in the Prices Act 1974 and the Price Marking Order 2004. They require the price to be clearly displayed and to be dealt with, in a sale, in the manner I indicated in my post of yesterday (third post down). If they don't (including the price being higher for the 28 days) then they are misleading you and committing a criminal offence. So, when the business has a "sale" what they are legally saying is "we are offering certain goods at a lower price in accordance with the Trade Descriptions Act 1968; The Prices Act 1974 and the Price Marking Order 2004. Its just a whole lot easier to call it a "sale" because we know what that means.

So when the OP dealer says there is a sale he may not be talking about the caravans. Go into Debenhams. They have a blue cross sale but not everything in the shop is in the "sale". The "sale" is only on those items marked with a blue cross. Sometimes you need to look for all the notices in a shop to figure out just what they really mean.

The law was enacted to make it easier and clearer for consumers. However,business looked at ways of enticing folk into the shop, without breaking the law, but perhaps looking as though that is just what they were doing. That's when we ask, confusedly,  "When is a sale not a sale?

Such is life.

Phil