The only true crime against humanity is that Supermarket Sweep never made it to the Olympic level.
Don’t forget Bed, Bath and Beyond. I pretty much assume everything in there is >20% marked up, since they send those damn coupons out once a month, like clockwork and they (unofficially) never expire.
I am not much of a shopper, but about a year ago I got a “Save $10 on any $30 purchase” coupon from Kohl’s and decided to check it out, (I had never heard of them before, as I think they are new to the Utah market) and was pleasantly surprised to score some really nice dress shirts (Ralph Lauren, Chaps, Van Heusen) in the clearance bin for under 9 bucks each after the coupon had been factored in.
These are the same brands and quality that I would pay at least $25 each for at Macy’s or Nordstrom’s, so in my opinion, Kohl’s is A-OK in some situations…
I have been back a time or two since (both times armed with similar coupons) and gotten some other nice stuff at (what I consider) huge discounts.
I worked at one of the large grocery chains for a while, and I saw this happen with somewhat regularity. I was responsible for changing the price tags on all kinds of goods, that included the “regular” price and the new “club member” price. Of course, on many of these items, the “regular” price was higher than the old sticker I was removing, and the “club member” price was marginally lower than the original sticker price, but not by nearly as much as what was showing on the new sticker “regular” price.
I got a 30% off coupon in the mail for Kohls and went in today. I do have a Kohls card just for these coupons. I do pay it off immediately whenever I have charged anything though.
Today all I found on the clearance racks, of which there are always many at Kohls, was a ton of winter clothes left over from who knows when. It’s Georgia and hot. How many people are buying the winter bargains?? I did get a few things for next winter for the grandkids, but as for the other stuff–ridiculously overpriced!
Their prices are hugely inflated, and the only reason they stay in business, IMO, is the crazy games they play. I find it really rather annoying, and I do like to shop. The buy-one-get-one-free prices were nuts. I think a lot of people just have no clue how to really find a true bargain, and these companies plan on that.
No one ever (or very rarely) pays full price. It is like rack prices at a hotel.
If someone goes into a store and they are offered a jacket said to be worth $1000 for $400 they think it is a great bargain. if they walked in and were offered the coat for $400 as a regular price- well that is a bit expensive. They have the $1000 fixed as an anchor point.
And, in response to the OP, I think that tends more to dishonesty than to puffery. I don’t know how to legally stop such a thing, but I wish it would be stopped. It seems on its face to be a deceptive and unfair trade practice.
IOW, if I’m willing to sell that suit for $400 on a regular basis, I’m just outright lying by saying it is “normally” or “regularly” a $1000 suit.
Here’s a new sales scheme by a gas station chain in central Indiana by the name of Ricker’s. If you get their loyalty card, you get ten cents off per gallon of gas. However, to get the card, you must allow Ricker’s access to your checking account.
No way I’m giving a gas station chain direct access to my bank account!
One of the supermarkets worst discount deal was when they have buy one get one free for meat (various weight packages). With normal pricing of about $1.99 per pound the price when they have BOGO goes up to $4.99 per pound, and it is also rare to find 2 packages with the same weight, so the ‘free’ one is also usually less weight and price then the one you buy.
Recently I have been seeing buy 2 get one free, so they are even milking that one more.
I’m not saying you’re wrong or that you should have a different attitude toward shopping. I’m just saying it’s not typical and that lots of women have an attitude that meshes well with retailers’ practices.
Montgomery Ward was somewhat famous for “…increasing retail prices before applying discounts, adding items in advertised sale lists that are not offered at reduced prices, and stating that items are on sale for a limited time when the sale actually lasts much longer.”
The above is from a 1994 article which also states “It is the third time in a decade that the company has been ordered by California courts to halt misleading advertising.” I figured they deserved it when they went out of business.
So, rotate your wardrobe around one basic color. Choose black (includes gray and white), navy blue (includes lighter blues and white) or brown (includes taupe, beige).
Now pair that with one of the “in” colors of the last few seasons and you have a wardrobe that will carry you a long, long time for not a lot of cash. I learned this tip a woman who owned a women’s suit shop and sold the local college grads their first “interview suit” along with this advice. She also gave me the rule to never buy anything if it didn’t already go with two other things in my wardrobe. Darn good advice.
I can search the Kohls and Target clearance rack and find cheap tops to go with my brown and taupe pants and skirts and look fashionable.
Back to the topic…
I hate this pricing game too, but I still love the feeling that I am getting a bargain. Over the years, I have learned to not ignore the sales, but not have them foremost in my brain when I go clothes shopping. Instead, I go looking for more specific things and just check the clearance rack first. It’s a bit less frustrating and I am less likely to impulse buy.
But I still do impulse buy. 
Even if you know that there’ll be another sale, and that there’s see-saw prices, it’s still psychologically satisifying to “get the deal” and pressure to buy while still on sale, as opposed to putting it off (which may turn into forever)
Even if most people wait for a sale, there’s a few people that won’t who’ve self-targeted for a mammoth price increase. Maybe they’re leaving for Florida tomorrow and discover the cat ate their swimsuit, or they simply are new to the store and don’t know how the sytem works, or maybe they’re rich and figure it’s not worth there time to come back again.
Actually, I do just that. The blues frequently clash with each other, though. I have brown/beige/taupe accessories, and I wear mostly just what used to be called muumuus…one piece dresses, no jackets. I gave up wearing slacks/trousers a couple of decades ago, and have one outfit that consists of a skirt and top, and one outfit that consists of slacks and a top. Everything else is dresses, and they all look good with brown accessories. Plus, of course, on the rare occasions that I travel, I only have to take the one set of accessories. One pair of shoes, one purse, one hat.
However, I have the luxury of not giving a shit about being fashionable. I was thinking about this thread earlier today, when I heard some back to school ads. Teenage girls might just DIE if they don’t have ultra-fashionable clothing. I remember being nearly terminally embarrassed because my mother insisted on picking out most of my clothes.
That’s what I like about Woot.
I remember those days too. Oh the angst of the first few days of school and feeling the need to run out and buy new outfits. I just strive to look semi-professional at work, be comfortable at home and keep myself from getting sunburned.
I might be wildly offbase here, but wouldn’t it be cheaper to make the neutral item be your skirts, and then rotate out the accessories and tops instead of both the tops and skirts?
And this is why I buy at garage sales, thrift stores, rummage sales, etc. It helps that I don’t give a shit about fashion. And yet my kids and I often get compliments on our clothing.
It might be cheaper, but with my way, I still get to wear vibrant colors in my dresses. And I’ve found that it’s just easier for me to wear a dress than a top and skirt. My system might not work well for anyone else, but I’m happy with it.
I see this with a local supermarket. They often have BOGO, but the items are marked up at least 50% more than the supermarket down the street. If you can get a loaf of bread for $2 at the store without the promo, the BOGO price might be $3 for the first loaf (and sometimes I’ve seen it at $4).