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Thursday, February 09, 2012

Is Kohl's Marking Up Prices Before It Puts Items On Sale?

When you see a sale advertising "40% off" an item, what exactly does that mean? Is it 40% off the price it was selling for last week? 40% off the MSRP? There's a gray area in retail pricing that has some shoppers accusing Kohl's of inflating prices so that an "on sale" item looks to be a better deal than it actually is.


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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wawa in Salisbury just did the reverse. They put all sizes of coffee on sale for $.99, then when the sale ended they increased the pre-sale price by about $.25/cup. It's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I like it when companies know that I notice such behavior.

Anonymous said...

Boscov's does the same thing, I believe. When you take the 40% off their sticker price, you're about at the same price the item sells for at other stores. I'm not sure about their clothing, but it is true for housewares and such items.

Anonymous said...

I don't worry about is it really a cut in price, is it a good sale price anymore, since my husband and I retired I don't buy unless it is a price I can afford, it's what I want to pay period. Most of my shopping is now, including clothes, decorative items, cooking utensils, small appliances from Walmart or the dollar stores and I use coupons and only buy what is a good price for me. And to tell you the truth I have gotten 100% more compliments since doing this. Save people save only buy what you need.

Anonymous said...

Kohl's is the best deal in town. When you get their discounts in the mail for having a credit card, the discount, either 15 to 30%, is taken off the lowest price and on every item in the store, even clearance items that have already been discounted by as much as 80%. At other stores you have to read all the exceptions to the discount.

Anonymous said...

"Have you heard the news today? Today and today only the sale of all sales" Boy I sure do miss Feldman's radio spots.....NOT

Anonymous said...

I shop for clothes almost exclusively at Boscov's, and I am almost always able to get good bargains there. I've never seen any evidence of their having raised a price in order to lower it to "sale price."

Anonymous said...

Most stores use this trick. Food Lion MVP is perfect example. They mark up the prices a couple weeks before they put those items on MVP sale and then when they do, it makes it seem like you are saving all this money by being a member. It's a brilliant business strategy that messes with the mind.