Wednesday, January 7, 2015

“Free Shipping” Claims Put to the Test

With ever increasing competition, offers of “free shipping“ are often used to lure in customers. When scrutinized, sometimes these offers actually cost the consumer more. One trick online retailers in particular use is advertising “free shipping” but neglecting to mention handling charges until checkout. One would also expect that the better known retailers would always be cheaper but often this does not prove to be the case. Some well known retailers tag the price of shipping onto the merchandise itself to make it appear as if you are not paying an extra charge for delivery. Others will fail to mention that “free shipping” does not include inside delivery.

A favorite strategy some office superstores employ is to change the item codes. By using their own item numbers, price comparisons become significantly harder if not impossible. Respectable stores like OfficeSalesUSA.com, a service of Haskell New York Inc., prefer a more straight forward approach using the standard MPN (Manufacturer Part Number) to identify items. This may not always work to their advantage but being upfront with customers is a hallmark of a well thought out operation.


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