I was reading this article in the WSJ today about how some discount websites are being accused of inflating the regular price of an item in order to make the discount amount seem more significant.
In one example:
“Members-only site Beyond the Rack offered a pair of suede Adalene pumps from the two-year-old designer label Pour La Victoire for $129, posting a “compare it” price of $275 for the shoes. Gap Inc.’s online retailer Piperlime simultaneously offered the same pumps for $149.99, but with a suggested retail price of $220.”
If you pay attention to what’s going on here you might get the feeling that for any mainstream fashion product: Today’s suggested retail prices are total bullshit. You begin to wonder if anybody is actually buying those shoes for $220 or $275.
When I see an offer like “40% off”, I like to think that through my own connections, or dumb luck of being in the right place at the right time, or willingness to buy last seasons merchandise, I am somehow capturing more value for my money.
I think this feeling comes from my past experiences. You used to have to be something of an insider to find the “sample sales” that would pop up around Manhattan. I remember (living in San Diego) you had to drive half-way to Palm Springs to get to the designer outlets. If major discounting ever occurred in large city stores (or online) the inventory and size selection would be minimal. In one way or another, getting a “deal” usually meant some extra inconvenience.
But with the recession and the online outlet stores, “deals” are becoming increasingly accessible. Sample shopping sites such as Gilt, Haute Look, Groupon and Woot seem unstoppable.
As these deal sites scale, going from early adopters to mainstream markets, they must inevitably become less exclusive (right?). Their objective must be to make their deals more accessible to more people – to remove the inconvenience factor.
Meanwhile the internet makes information move faster and consumers smarter. Price checking is getting easier.
“Members only” loses meaning when everyone is a member. “Today only” loses meaning when those days become every day. At what point does a deal stop being a deal?