20 July 2021

Ripped off by Zamels?

| 1337Hax0r
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In one of those weird “I was looking for something else” discoveries I found this interesting article on the ACCC web page relating to false advertising by Zamels Jewelers. http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1070709/fromItemId/142 Now I’ve never shopped at Zamels, but I am sure many Canberrans have. It makes for interesting reading. For example;

“The court found that, by using statements such as “$99 $49.50″ or “Was $275 Now $149″, Zamel’s represented to consumers who were unaware that they could obtain discounts outside Zamel’s sales periods that they would save an amount being the difference between the higher and lower price if the items were purchased during the sale when that was not the case.

In each instance alleged by the ACCC, the court found Zamel’s had either not sold the items at the higher price, or had rarely sold them at the higher price, in a period of 4 months immediately prior to the sale commencing.”

READ ALSO The best jewellers in Canberra

What many businesses don’t seem to realise, is that when the general public find out about these sort of scams, trust in that business plummets. I for one simply won’t trust advertising by Zamels again,instead that report will come to mind when I hear or see their advertising. I figure it will only be a matter of months till they start to feel the fall out from this in terms of lost sales and requests for refunds from customers who were ripped off.

When will businesses learn that ripping off a customer for short term gains is bad business? Gaining loyal customers who stick with the company may lead to slower profits, but they’ll be steady for years.

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FFS, it’s bottom end retail. Of course they try anything to sell, and some of the customers are too stupid to realise this.

If you walk into a store and can’t talk to the man/woman that has made what’s in the cabinet.. you’re in a trinket shop, not a jeweller.

Don’t confuse the two.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Mordd said :

Fact is this is a big problem among many, many retailers, both offline and online, I frequently see shops that have special signs like this where I know full well they never sold the items at the price it is supposedly marked down from. There are a LOT of online stores that use this dodgy tactic as their standard MO all the time, I have put in many complaints before about practices like this but rarely do I hear about a business actually being fined for this conduct. Frankly I would like to see a blitz style crackdown on this, have the ACCC run a 3 month long campaign where they randomly visit stores online and offline and ask business owners to show proof they sold their sale items at the previous prices, for businesses not being dodgy pulling out some past sales receipts to prove they previously sold the item at the former price should be very easy, and for anyone who cannot prove it fine them and name and shame!

If you are dumb enough to fall silly tricks like this or not to do research on products you want to buy, then you deserve to be parted from your dollars at a premium price.

While I don’t disagree with caveat emptor as it applies, the fact remains that it is illegal yet rife throughout the retail / online sales industry.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd2:11 pm 26 Aug 12

Mordd said :

Fact is this is a big problem among many, many retailers, both offline and online, I frequently see shops that have special signs like this where I know full well they never sold the items at the price it is supposedly marked down from. There are a LOT of online stores that use this dodgy tactic as their standard MO all the time, I have put in many complaints before about practices like this but rarely do I hear about a business actually being fined for this conduct. Frankly I would like to see a blitz style crackdown on this, have the ACCC run a 3 month long campaign where they randomly visit stores online and offline and ask business owners to show proof they sold their sale items at the previous prices, for businesses not being dodgy pulling out some past sales receipts to prove they previously sold the item at the former price should be very easy, and for anyone who cannot prove it fine them and name and shame!

If you are dumb enough to fall silly tricks like this or not to do research on products you want to buy, then you deserve to be parted from your dollars at a premium price.

screaming banshee said :

Don’t the ACCC ever shop for rugs?

Hahaha. I’ve always wondered how ‘Rugs A Million’ ever managed to avoid being prosecuted for similar things. My favourites were Craig’s “Our best sale ever because we’re closing down, 80% off all rugs!”, followed several weeks later by “We’ve never had a bigger sale, 70% off all rugs!”

Fact is this is a big problem among many, many retailers, both offline and online, I frequently see shops that have special signs like this where I know full well they never sold the items at the price it is supposedly marked down from. There are a LOT of online stores that use this dodgy tactic as their standard MO all the time, I have put in many complaints before about practices like this but rarely do I hear about a business actually being fined for this conduct. Frankly I would like to see a blitz style crackdown on this, have the ACCC run a 3 month long campaign where they randomly visit stores online and offline and ask business owners to show proof they sold their sale items at the previous prices, for businesses not being dodgy pulling out some past sales receipts to prove they previously sold the item at the former price should be very easy, and for anyone who cannot prove it fine them and name and shame!

You don’t happen to work for Prouds or Vangeli do you 1337Hax0r? You seem to be making a bit too much out of what, at the end of the day, comes down to common sense in the consumer’s own judgement …

People continue to be sucked in by this sort of thing and there is a willing market which keeps buying and keeping firms like this in business. Witness the 1989 TV ad for Cadry’s Persian Carpets which continues to be shown on local TV despite being shot in 4:3 and low definition.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd7:34 pm 25 Aug 12

Who cares? How does this effect anyone?

MrPC said :

gentoopenguin said :

The last of the great romantics….

Diamonds: Because nothing says “I love you” like a superficial & overvalued rock clawed from the guts of the earth by African Slave Labour.

And nothing says “I love you too” like a quick trip to Cash Converters to see if they’re good enough to get you what you really want.

Thank god Mr’s Sandman doesn’t fall for the superficial rock bullcrap.

gentoopenguin said :

The last of the great romantics….

Diamonds: Because nothing says “I love you” like a superficial & overvalued rock clawed from the guts of the earth by African Slave Labour.

gentoopenguin said :

The last of the great romantics….

Considering that this concept was invented by marketing companies about a century ago, I see no problem… if McDonalds started a campaign saying it’s romantic to go out for a Big Mac on Valentine’s Day would you? It’s exactly the same thing.

grunge_hippy5:17 pm 25 Aug 12

when I heard about this, it reminded me about another canberra (but national chain) business who was having a “half yearly sale”, “Massive savings!” so we trotted off to see an item that we had looked at 6 months earlier to see if it was any cheaper….

It was $100 more expensive.

justin heywood4:14 pm 25 Aug 12

By god this has shaken me to the core. Does this mean that Harvey Norman aren’t really having a sale nearly every weekend? My local car yard isn’t really ‘overstocked’? The fat blaster pro workout program won’t really make attractive women swoon as I walk down the street?

Considering some of the sneaky scams and blatant rip-offs around, I’m surprised the ACCC would even concern itself with something as mild and obvious as this.

gentoopenguin3:15 pm 25 Aug 12

MrPC said :

It’s jewellery. By definition you are walking in there to be ripped off. The items serve no functional purpose, so you are handing over money for items with no tangible value. Does it really matter how much money you are handing over?

The last of the great romantics….

screaming banshee11:51 am 25 Aug 12

Don’t the ACCC ever shop for rugs?

“Trust in business”?

A new oxymoron?

As I understand it, the Federal Court has found that Zamels have done something. That something is not dissimilar to what was discussed in a 2008 case involving Prouds (also a jeweller), although there may be some changes of detail and they may be important. The Prouds decision was appealed in some aspects, but the appeal was dismissed.
In the Prouds case, the company was ordered to do a number of things, one of which was to issue advertisements that would notify people who might consider they had been misled about their possible rights to a remedy under the Trade Practices Act. Something similar might happen in this case, meaning that those who consider themselves ripped off might get a remedy such as a refund. And Zamels will score some damage to reputation and probably have to pay lots of costs.
Given the nature of these large retail businesses, the number of their customers and the difficulty of contacting individuals (eg cash sales, sales on credit cards that were later closed etc) and the impossibility of knowing the circumstances in which any particular sale was made, it’s probably a fair call.

It’s jewellery. By definition you are walking in there to be ripped off. The items serve no functional purpose, so you are handing over money for items with no tangible value. Does it really matter how much money you are handing over?

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