# Question on the legality of an advertisement. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 22, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-the-legality-of-an-advertisement/651035 "2013-02-22T02:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-the-legality-of-an-advertisement/651035/41 "2013-02-24T19:31:06Z")
> [@astro](#): > > You don’t get that tablet or notebook for 20% off? Nope. Not yours. Yep. Office Blank, aka Staples, coupons and discount cards actually used to be worth something - flat $10 off $20 or more purchases, often a flat 33-50% discount, no gimmicks. Now they are more like 10% discounts on very, very limited ranges of office supplies - no “technology,” no ink or toner, not usually furniture or cabinets, nothing but paper, pens, paper clips, folders and the like. I throw them away without looking these days, when I used to prize them like Xmas presents. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-the-legality-of-an-advertisement/651035/42 "2013-02-24T20:22:30Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Why are NitroPress and ZenBeam assuming I’m going to sue? It was a hypothetical based on the wording of an advertisement. My main point was another example where “gold” does not mean the metal. So that calling a gold colored coin a “gold coin” in an ad isn’t false. I suppose that point has already been made several times, but it doesn’t appear to have sunk in. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-the-legality-of-an-advertisement/651035/43 "2013-02-24T23:47:40Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Yep. Office Blank, aka Staples, coupons and discount cards actually used to be worth something - flat $10 off $20 or more purchases, often a flat 33-50% discount, no gimmicks. Now they are more like 10% discounts on very, very limited ranges of office supplies - no “technology,” no ink or toner, not usually furniture or cabinets, nothing but paper, pens, paper clips, folders and the like. I throw them away without looking these days, when I used to prize them like Xmas presents. Yes, that one pisses me off. All they needed to say is something like, “20% off everything you can fit in this bag, from our range of specially-selected items” and I wouldn’t have a problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-the-legality-of-an-advertisement/651035/44 "2013-02-25T00:10:26Z")
Am I the only one wondering how you are supposed to fit chairs and furniture inside a standard-sized cloth grocery bag? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-the-legality-of-an-advertisement/651035/45 "2013-02-25T00:17:23Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Am I the only one wondering how you are supposed to fit chairs and furniture inside a standard-sized cloth grocery bag? Hmm. I’m thinking about the old tale where the king wants to buy “as much land as will fit within this bull hide.” The deal struck, he then has the hide sliced into razor-thin strips and encircles an area miles around. “Do you have a definition of ‘in this bag’?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-the-legality-of-an-advertisement/651035/46 "2013-02-25T01:37:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Hmm. I’m thinking about the old tale where the king wants to buy “as much land as will fit within this bull hide.” The deal struck, he then has the hide sliced into razor-thin strips and encircles an area miles around. Queen, actually. Specifically, [Dido of Carthage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_%28Queen_of_Carthage%29). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-the-legality-of-an-advertisement/651035.md?page=2)