Argos price fluctuations

[porkchop]

I recently noticed an item £203 in Argos catalogue quoted on their website at a reduced price of £180 for a short period up to a specific date. In small print describing the item in their website they also say that this particular item was previously on sale for £164. Are Argos shooting themselves in the foot as i would feel a little cheated to have to buy at the "normal" price. Any views would be welcome.

[gingejbee]

This sort of yo-yo pricing is fairly typical nowadays as retailers try to compete with rivals and on-line prices.

[woofgang]

If you want to see yo yo pricing, go look on Amazon.

[Buenchico]

Argos are simply ensuring that they're complying with the provisions of Section III of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, together with those of the Price Marking Order 1974, as explained in this official guidance document from the Department of Trade & Industry:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file8127.pdf
Failure to comply with the law relating to the display of price reductions can lead to a criminal prosecution.

Chris

[EvianBaby]

As Chris says, they have to but I actually found it very helpful recently when I was buying a sofa from them. I was thinking it over for a bit too long and then noticed the special offer price was up until the next day. Guessing that the new price would probably be higher than the current one I bought it and as expected the next day it had gone up £50.

Also, seeing that an item has previously been reduced several times suggest that it probably will again at some point so if it's currently at it's full price you can judge whether it's worth waiting a while to see if it goes back down again.

[daffy654]

I recently wanted to buy a new Xbox 360 as ours was on it's last legs. After much research I found the cheapest price was Amazon at £179.00, I waited until I got paid (the week after the research) and went onto the Amazon site where it had been reduced by £20. I was quite glad I didn't have the money the week before :)