Sports Savers and their 'bargin prices'

stephenjhall

I want to bring to your attention the 'bargain prices' being touted by Sports Savers shops in the South East. I've done some research on this, and can tell you they are vastly overpricing items, just to slash the price and make it look like you are getting a great bargain. For instance, they're selling the new Munster Away Jersey at approx. €83 down to €55. The RRP for this shirt is €57, and you are not saving really saving €28!
They've done the same thing with other Premier League shirts, as well as the clothing ranges with them. The Liverpool Home Shirt is €80 reduced to €40. I've never seen a Premier League shirt sell for €80. These are just some of the products I'm familiar with, and can confirm they are doing similar with football boots and shoes too, while it's entirely possible they're doing the same with regular clothing, etc. I fear alot of the public will not realise this on first glance.
It's clear the tactics behind this behind this are dirty, and I'm worried it's bad for other businesses, especially independent retailers. I'm encouraging everyone to check around, and make sure you're not being scammed with these 'bargain prices.'

dudara

If you believe that they are being dishonest in their pricing practices, then complain to the National Consumer Agency.

Do something about it, rather than writing on the internet.

stephenjhall

I should have mentioned it before, but I do fully intend on persuing this. I've only recently become aware of it, and just wanted to spread the word around, as I have no idea how long it would take for the Consumer Agency to put a stop to it.

wyndham

It is sharp practice but is not strictly illegal:

From NCA website:

Guidelines for the Retail Sector on Price Promotions

Reductions from a previous price - "Was/Now" Advertising
"Was/Now" Price Advertising applies when a trader compares the current selling price of a product or service with a previous price that he/she had used. A genuine reduced price should take into account a number of factors, such as:

(a) The previous reference price, which should have been pitched at a realistic level at which the trader would honestly believe that the goods could be sold and that the goods were actually on sale at that price,

(b) The goods must be offered for sale at the higher price for a reasonable preceding period that would allow consumers sufficient time to:

Become aware of the availability of the goods to be acquired;
View the goods; and
Make up their minds whether to purchase them
(c) The availability of reasonable quantities of the goods for sale, at the higher price.

What determines "reasonable quantities" would depend on the product, the duration of the offer and the expected demand.

There should be full clarity in relation to which products are covered by a particular promotion and which are not.

Furthermore, in relation to bundled products, e.g. a computer with a free printer, a sales promotion comparison should be based on the bundled product, not on the computer excluding the printer.

Insofar as "Final Reductions" are concerned, such a statement should be accurate and not misleading. For clarification purposes, the original price, the "sale" price and the final discount price should be clearly indicated.

The Consumer Protection Act prohibits misleading commercial practices. In the context of own price advertising, the Act states:

"if the commercial practice involves a representation or creates the impression (whether in advertising, marketing or otherwise) that a product was previously offered at a different price or at a particular price, consideration shall be given to whether the product was previously offered openly and in good faith at that price and at the same place for a reasonable period of time before the representation was made..." - Section 43(6)(a)

It comes down to how long the goods were on sale at the higher price for, before being 'discounted', and also whether that price was realistic, which is a matter open to interpretation.

I would have thought most people who are interested in purchasing it would know the average selling price of something like a Munster jersey anyway, so I don't really see the point of this technique.

stephenjhall

Hmm, it does seem very loose in terms of what ways they can price things. In the Waterford branch (my nearest) the items could never have been on sale at full price, as it has only just openened. Or is this a different situation because it's a francise store?

Either way, they were never realistically priced. It's the average shopper who I'm worried will be conned; as you said, anyone with a decent interest would notice the inflation.

ch750536

dudara wrote: »

If you believe that they are being dishonest in their pricing practices, then complain to the National Consumer Agency.

Do something about it, rather than writing on the internet.

Sorry, think you meant 'thanks for the heads up, much appreciate you letting us know.

The irony.... He tells someone on board to 'Do something about it, rather than writing on the internet'
:rolleyes:

Anon0000

stephenjhall wrote: »

I want to bring to your attention the 'bargain prices' being touted by Sports Savers shops in the South East. I've done some research on this, and can tell you they are vastly overpricing items, just to slash the price and make it look like you are getting a great bargain. For instance, they're selling the new Munster Away Jersey at approx. €83 down to €55. The RRP for this shirt is €57, and you are not saving really saving €28!
They've done the same thing with other Premier League shirts, as well as the clothing ranges with them. The Liverpool Home Shirt is €80 reduced to €40. I've never seen a Premier League shirt sell for €80. These are just some of the products I'm familiar with, and can confirm they are doing similar with football boots and shoes too, while it's entirely possible they're doing the same with regular clothing, etc. I fear alot of the public will not realise this on first glance.
It's clear the tactics behind this behind this are dirty, and I'm worried it's bad for other businesses, especially independent retailers. I'm encouraging everyone to check around, and make sure you're not being scammed with these 'bargain prices.'

First of all fair play for bringing this up and il tell you that you are actually only catching 90% of the story. Try adding on to this that they constantly change the "was" price going through each "50"% and "70"% sale so if there "sale" go's from 50 to 70 percent they actually mark up the "was" price and change the "now" price by about 2-3 euro to make it look completely different!!!
When has anyone seen th RRP of the Man Utd Tracksuit to be €140????
Couple of points to note:
- Selling Jerseys from roughly 3 years ago of lesser known european teams and passing them off as new "ish" ( Porto, Steaua Bucharest etc)
- Marking up and down of prices to make the customer think there getting a better deal.
- <snip>
- <snip>
- Thank god they are out of there in August thats all i can say!!!!!!!!!!

dudara

Anon0000

Please do not use Boards to make ungrounded accusations against businesses.

dudara