Gander Mountain BAIT and SWITCH In-Store Marketing Monroe North Carolina
I visited the Store because of exterior advertising of "Clearance - Save up to 65% Off" on Apparel. When I entered the store, I saw many, many signs everywhere advertising the 65% Off. I found a display table that had folded long sleeve shirts, which is what I was looking for. This table had a specific sign on the table that said in very bold letters;
CLEARANCE
Save Up To
65% OFF
I looked through the entire table...looking for the shirts that were 65% Off. I could not find any. They were all marked at $24.97, reduced from $39.99. This is not a 65% Off price. The price should have been $14.00 since the table had a sign that advertised 65% Off.
I called a store associate over to ask, and he advised me there are no items that are actually 65% Off, and he didn’t know why the advertising said Save Up To 65% Off, when there are no items marked 65% Off. He agreed this was a little deceptive, but he couldn’t do anything about it.
I went to the Gander Mountain web site and sent an email complaining about this false, Bait and Switch advertising. I even let them know that I took several pictures of the table display and marketing signs. It has been over a month, and I have not heard from anyone.
Consumers need to know what companies still use this advertising tactic. It’s wrong. It is false advertising. I would recommend to not shop at any store that relies on this type of advertising to bait you into the store, only to switch you into buying items that are not priced as advertised.