This week and next, most shops are decorated with offer posters. But not all offers are equally good. Some are actually not offered at all. Øystein Nygård in Bodø came across such an offer when he checked the offers for XXL Sport and Villmark in Bodø. – Here I had very solid proof of what many people know, but which many people still follow, he says to news. Øystein Nygård saw a yellow bubble jacket at XXL in October for NOK 399. Photo: Øystein Nygård The Bodø man was actually looking for a jacket for his daughter in October. He found one that cost NOK 399 which he evaluated. But he got a surprise when he looked at XXL’s offer sheet for Black Week the following month. – There I saw a jacket that was very similar, but it wasn’t lowered as much as the offer said. XXL’s offer for Black Week shows that the jacket Bodøman found has been reduced by 43 percent. Photo: screenshot Now the price tag on the jacket was 339. The store said the discount was 43 percent. But actually it was only 15 per cent compared to the price Nygård saw in October – i.e. 399. – I would have been deceived if I had now bought that jacket and thought I had made a great bargain. They present it as if they have halved the price, says Nygård. He thinks it is important to highlight that much of what happens during Black Week is just a lure. – Now they are caught with their pants down, you might say. XXL: – Do not deliberately raise the price Jan Christian Thommesen, press contact for XXL, says for his part that they do not have any goals in deceiving the customer. – When we show the preliminary price, it must be the lowest price we have sold the item for in the last 30 days. Jan Christian Thommesen, press contact for XXL, says they are not trying to deceive customers with offers during Black Week. Photo: IKEA From 1 October this year, new rules came into force in Norway regarding sales marketing in the Price Information Regulations § 9a. The law now requires the trader to provide information on the preliminary price of the product in the last 30 days. Nygård in Bodø found the jacket for NOK 339 on 8 October. It has been over 30 days. – That is what we are dealing with. As long as that is the case, it is inside, says the press contact. Today, XXL has more than 90 warehouses in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Austria. They also have the Nordics’ largest online sports shop. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix – Are they raising the prices deliberately in the last 30 days? – We have no evidence of raising any prices ahead of Black Week, says Thommesen. – The reality in retailing today is that prices are adjusted continuously every day, both up and down. We have to adjust the prices in relation to the competition. The press contact says this is part of the customer’s benefits due to the price match. When the customer comes to them with a product for which they have seen a lower price from a competitor, they must match that price. – We follow the same policy all year round, says the press contact. The Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority: – Understands that people feel cheated Marit Evensen, deputy director at the inspection department at the Consumer Protection Authority, says that they do not have any clear figures on how often shops raise prices before Black Week. – But we are aware that some businesses do this. Marit Evensen, deputy director of the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority, says they are aware that business operators increase the price before Black Week. Photo: Forbrukertilsynet She points out that the traders themselves decide the price of their goods, but that there are clear rules on how they can market a price reduction. – Previously, it was also the case that the pre-sale price had to be based on the lowest price used in a period before the sale, but the period was not fixed. In this way, she believes it will be easier for businesses to comply with the regulations now. – Do the regulations now make it easier for stores to lower prices in the month before Black Week? – There is a danger that the traders will adapt to these regulations, but whether it is wise to increase the price in the last 30 days before the sale is another matter. She believes that it can mean that the shops have fewer rooms in the period before, for example. – Can they understand that people feel deceived by such “false” offers? – Yes, we can understand that. Revealing the fake offers, Øystein Nygård in Bodø says he doesn’t think XXL is the only store that does this. – XXL is no worse than the others. Everyone does this. Therefore, he has found a way to expose the false offers. – If I’m going to shop, I always go to the pages that show price history. Øystein Nygård now follows pages that show price history when he wants to buy an item during Black Week. Photo: Øystein Nygård / private That advice is supported by Evensen in the Norwegian Consumer Protection Agency. – We advise consumers to familiarize themselves with the market, and not to be blinded by the discount offered in a store, she says. – It may be a good idea to check the price history and use services that compare prices, such as prisjakt.no and prisguiden.no. We draw attention to the fact that Øystein Nygård was a journalist at news until 2016.
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Alleged price cheating in Black Week at XXL Bodø – from October the jacket was reduced by 14 and not 43 percent – news Nordland
