Everybody loves discounts and most of us would get hyped up when there’s a sale happening around. However, are you aware that some of these sales are just a business gimmick?
Recently, the admin for the @isusemasaviral Twitter page posted a set of photos showing the before and after discount for a clothing piece from a certain fashion store and it went viral online with netizens expressing this is why they have trust issues.
The first photo showed the item with a Value Buy sticker on it informing customers that they can purchase the shirt for only RM79.90. However, the second photo which have the sticker being peeled off and revealed that the original price for the shirt is actually RM79.90!
👀
— ISU SEMASA VIRAL (@isusemasaviral) July 16, 2022
📷HCL pic.twitter.com/tCQVTpkrO3
This means that nothing has changed and the shirt was actually selling at its original price.
Meanwhile, the admin did not share any further information on which outlet of this brand the photos were taken but they only posted an emoji of a pair of eyes which suggests they may have an idea of what’s actually going on.
The tweet also caught the attention of netizens and some pointed out that this is not a new tactic that businesses use to fool their customers.
“This tactic has been there a long time ago. During the ‘Jualan Malaysia’ campaign, it happened. Two months before the campaign, it was priced at RM79.90 but when it was a month before the campaign starts, it was priced at RM129.90.”
“Customers were then given a 40% to 60% discount. In the end, the mall is the one profiting from this,” the netizen explained.
benda mcm ni dah lama diamalkan..dulu masa kempen "jualan Malaysia" (ntah korang dah lahir ke blm xtau la time tu) mmg mcm ni la..dua bln sblm kempen harga 79.90..sebulan sblm kempen harga 129.90..time kempen mall bg potongan 40% – 60%..pusin pi pusin mai mall jugak yg untung
— star dust (@whiteivory83) July 16, 2022
On the other hand, a netizen pointed out that ‘Value Buy’ does not necessarily mean ‘Discount’ as it could mean that the store was just emphasizing the specific items so more people would check them out and consider purchasing them. He added that this, however, causes confusion among the people.
Nonetheless, it is still advisable to be more perceptive and not trust everything we see and this tweet is a good reminder for us to be more sceptical.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts!
