Khols Sticker Shock (local news report)

[ssawka]

Slightly OT, but when I'm in a store I always use the Google shopper app to see what other stores in the area are selling the same thing for.

 

[Planogirl]

I ignore sales for the most part. I know what I'm looking for and if the brand and price are right I buy it.

As for the sale pricing, I've heard of this happening at many stores. Kohl's is far from the only one.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

My mother use to work for a grocery store and she told me that a day or two before they put things on sale they would always increase the regular price. A lot of times the sale price would end up being more than the original regular price.

When it comes to food she is really good at remembering what the average price of items are so she can tell if a "sale" is actually a sale. It is too bad we can't remember prices for every store so we don't get tricked.

 

[just2girls1]

I went to Kohl's the other day and had DH with me. I knew what I was looking for so I told him to go find some shorts for himself. He showed up empty handed....He said 'they are buy one get one free, for the price they should be buy one get two free'. He was correct however we did get DS a pair of Levi jeans for $10 and a nice hooded sweatshirt for $9. I usually only end up buying from the clearance rack when I am there and use a discount coupon.

 

[noahdove]

I too make sure I have a good percent off coupon at Kohl's as I don't buy anything unless it's marked way down, and I agree too, that the "you saved" today isn't a savings as I wouldn't buy it if it weren't marked way down...

 

[jujube]

Several years ago, K Mart was fined for advertising jewelery on sale when it had been marked up.

 

[North of Mouse]

I had about the same experience with the clearance price of some matching bath accessories that I wanted. I bought some with extra 30% coupon, then decided two days later that I'd get another cup for DH's sink also. Picked it up and was heading to the cashier when I turned it over and got "sticker shock". It had doubled in price from the CLEARANCE shelf Wondered if it was a mistake so took it to CS and she said (all sweetness), when I told her I thought clearance things either went down or stayed the same, "oh no, we change prices every so often on everything" I said I'd never seen that before and would be going elsewhere for most of my shopping. Could not believe it I mean, I knew their 50% off was a farce, most of the time not even the reg. price elsewhere, but this was a new one for me. I very seldom go there anymore. I have gotten some very great deals, but I have to really watch closely and don't bother much anymore.

 

[maxiesmom]

My mother use to work for a grocery store and she told me that a day or two before they put things on sale they would always increase the regular price. A lot of times the sale price would end up being more than the original regular price.

I have worked retail for over 25 years at various stores, and we have never ever marked things up just to put them on sale. It takes way too much time and effort, and there is just not enough staff to make it worth the while. It would end up costing the company more in payroll and supplies than they would make from the mark-up. Maybe a smaller mom and pop store would make money doing that, but larger stores, nope.

There is a big difference between marking stuff up for an ad, then marking it back down when they ad is over and just marking stuff up permanently. The first is a scam and illegal and the second is neither.

 

[North of Mouse]

My mother use to work for a grocery store and she told me that a day or two before they put things on sale they would always increase the regular price. A lot of times the sale price would end up being more than the original regular price.

When it comes to food she is really good at remembering what the average price of items are so she can tell if a "sale" is actually a sale. It is too bad we can't remember prices for every store so we don't get tricked.

My DH always jokingly, but really means it, that I memorize all the grocery prices at different stores and really without trying I mostly do. And I can attest to the fact that on some things they definitely do raise the prices before a sale and then lower them back (especially with a lot of stores here doing BOG1 sales). I caught them on one (a big large chain) and they admitted it grudgingly and gave me the correct price (said it was an accident - right) I could have caused a "stink", but didn't, but did make sure they corrected that one item I wanted on the shelf tag.

 

[andrews_dad]

If you know how to shop Kohls you can certainly squeeze great deals!

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I have worked retail for over 25 years at various stores, and we have never ever marked things up just to put them on sale. It takes way too much time and effort, and there is just not enough staff to make it worth the while. It would end up costing the company more in payroll and supplies than they would make from the mark-up. Maybe a smaller mom and pop store would make money doing that, but larger stores, nope.

There is a big difference between marking stuff up for an ad, then marking it back down when they ad is over and just marking stuff up permanently. The first is a scam and illegal and the second is neither.

It may be illegal but this grocery store still does it. They only put a small amount of items on "sale" each week so it doesn't take very much man power to accomplish the price changes.

This grocery chain isn't nearly as big as it use to be so I think my mom isn't the only person to notice the scam.

 

[AlwaysMoving]

If you know how to shop Kohls you can certainly squeeze great deals!

The key is to stack deals. Use sale prices, percentages off coupons, and Kohl's cash and you can really save some money on a high priced item.

I could have never bought my KitchenAid mixer from any other store for the price I paid at Kohl's.

 

[bucket o' butter]

This is common.

My 12 year old got a Star Wars Lego set for $99 from ToysRUs. It was not a sale price, just that price at that time. He got it for his birthday in mid-December.

About a week after he ordered it, I checked the TRU website and it said BOGO 50% off on all Legos.

I looked at the Lego set he got for $99 and it was marked up to $149.

This happened to me at Aeropostale. I was looking at their clearance (online) and they had some great prices. Later on the same day, they started running a deal for 30% off everything, including clearance. I was excited and immediately got back on the website to order the things I had looked at earlier. All of it was marked up at least 30% so basically there was no sale! I was so mad!

 

[Tiger926]

We shop a lot at Kohl's too, and have never noticed stickers on top of each other.

Regardless, we go by the bottom line price. We know what our price is, and with stacking of discounts like Kohl's does, we usually always come out ahead.

We are Canadian, and hubby wears suits everyday as he is a banker. The suits that we buy at Kohl's are between $125-$150 before tax, and here at home they are $400-$500. And that is a sale price!

It is quite a difference for us, and so we do very well on that product.

Clothes at Kohl's are hit and miss for quality, so we are very careful with what we buy, and shoe prices are not that great on certain brands, so again, it is bottom line price for us.

Tiger

 

[packofjedis]

I was shopping at Kohls right before Christmas for men's pj pants. The sale sign over a whole wall was 50% off regular price $22 and $30. I searched the whole wall and none were $22, everything was $30. I couldn't figure it out until I looked closer at the tags and you could barely see a sticker on top of the old price...$22!

So I think it's happening more than we realize at Kohls and probably all other stores as well.

 

[ssawka]

The key is to stack deals. Use sale prices, percentages off coupons, and Kohl's cash and you can really save some money on a high priced item.

I could have never bought my KitchenAid mixer from any other store for the price I paid at Kohl's.

Yes, I usually buy clothes at Kohl's from the discount racks and then stack on the savings. Always make out better than even the discount stores like Marshal's, TJ Maxx, or Ross.

I was shopping at Kohls right before Christmas for men's pj pants. The sale sign over a whole wall was 50% off regular price $22 and $30. I searched the whole wall and none were $22, everything was $30. I couldn't figure it out until I looked closer at the tags and you could barely see a sticker on top of the old price...$22!

Again, it comes down to the final price. So the original price was $22-$30. You found all of the original prices set at $30, which would have made the PJ pants $15. Were they worth $15? That's the only question you should be asking yourself. Why worry about what the original price was?

 

[LoriABil]

We bought new towels at Kohl's recently. We bought 2 sets (to check out the quality) for 30% off - about $14 per set (sale price, before extra savings from 20% off and Kohl's cash). The towels were super soft, washed well, so we waited on a sale to buy more.

Towels go on sale for 50% off! Yay (we think) We bought the towels for...around $14 per set!!

DH kept saying that we must have paid more last time. When we got home, I found the up-charging sticker as I was pulling off tags to wash the towels. Now we know.

The thing is, we got more Kohl's cash and another 30% off sticker, and I don't know if I'm that motivated to use it.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Again, it comes down to the final price. So the original price was $22-$30. You found all of the original prices set at $30, which would have made the PJ pants $15. Were they worth $15? That's the only question you should be asking yourself. Why worry about what the original price was?

Because up charging before putting something on sale (changing the original price from $22 to $30) is a sleazy thing to do IMO and makes me not want to buy from a company even if the end price is still less than the original original price.

Unfortunately, every company seems to do it anymore, so I can't really avoid it.

 

[ceecee]

We went to Kohl's to buy K-cups yesterday. They were on sale for $11.99 and we had a 30% off coupon. Decided to get another pack and the sign said $14.99! We scanned it and it still said $11.99 so we went to the register and it rang up $14.99. It was an early bird special until 1:00 and it was then 3:00. She let us have it at the sale price since they were late removing their sale signs. I am hoping for another % off the clearance not like it is now...as marked.

 

[maxiesmom]

Because up charging before putting something on sale (changing the original price from $22 to $30) is a sleazy thing to do IMO and makes me not want to buy from a company even if the end price is still less than the original original price.

Unfortunately, every company seems to do it anymore, so I can't really avoid it.

Many posters seem to keep confusing up-charging items just for a sale with a permanent mark-up. Many stores go thru and increase prices every so often. It is a fact of business, as the store has an increase in their costs they will pass it along to the consumer. While that stinks, there is nothing morally wrong with it. As long as it is not just done for the duration of a sale.

If someone goes back into Kohls next week and the towels are now marked a chepaer price, then that would be wrong. However, I would bet they are still marked the higher price. It sounds like a permanet price increase, not just one done for the sale. It is just too labor intensive to mark merchandise up for a sale and then back down again.