Bait-and-switch
Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud, most commonly used in retail sales but also applicable to other contexts. First, customers are "baited" by advertising for a product or service at a low price; second, the customers discover that the advertised good is not available and are "switched" to a costlier product.
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[edit] Function
The goal of the bait-and-switch is to persuade buyers to purchase the substitute goods as a means of avoiding disappointment over not getting the bait, or as a way to recover sunk costs expended to try to obtain the bait. It suggests that the seller will not show the original product or service advertised but instead will demonstrate a more expensive product or a similar product with a higher margin.
[edit] Legality
In the United States, courts have held that the purveyor using a bait-and-switch operation may be subject to a lawsuit by customers for false advertising, and can be sued for trademark infringement by competing manufacturers, retailers, and others who profit from the sale of the product used as bait. However, no cause of action will exist if the purveyor is capable of actually selling the goods advertised, but aggressively pushes a competing product.
Likewise, advertising a sale while intending to stock a limited amount of, and thereby sell out, a loss-leading item advertised is legal in the United States. The purveyor can escape liability if they make clear in their advertisements that quantities of items for which a sale is offered are limited, or by offering a rain check on sold-out items.
In England and Wales it is banned under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Breaking this law can result in a criminal prosecution, an unlimited fine and two years in jail.
[edit] Non-retail use
- Employers are known to use bait-and-switch tactics by advertising a job opening in a way that gives a misleading impression of likely working conditions or compensation packages.
- Bait-and-switch tactics are frequently used in airline and air travel advertising.[1]
- Hotels widely use the form of bait-n-switch tactics known as 'resort fees'. They first attract customers by advertising the lower price (which appears on all promotional materials and rate comparison engines), and charge customers the mandatory resort fee when they arrive for check-in. [2]
[edit] In politics
In lawmaking, "caption bills" that propose minor changes in law with simplistic titles (the bait) are introduced to the legislature with the ultimate objective of substantially changing the wording (the switch) at a later date in order to try to smooth the passage of a controversial or major amendment. Rule changes are also proposed (the bait) to meet legal requirements for public notice and mandated public hearings, then different rules are proposed at a final meeting (the switch), thus bypassing the objective of public notice and public discussion on the actual rules voted upon. While legal, the political objective is to get legislation or rules passed without anticipated negative community review.
[edit] See also
- AIDA
- Choice architecture
- Contract of sale
- Cross-selling
- Door-in-the-face technique
- Foot-in-the-door technique
- List of marketing topics
- Low-ball
- Marketing
- Permission marketing
- Promotion
- Sales
- Selling technique
[edit] References
- ^ McArthur, Douglas (2008-04-30). "How does a $224 flight end up costing $826?". The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article682325.ece. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
- ^ Hilton Settles Resort Fee Lawsuit [1]
[edit] External links
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Look up bait-and-switch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Guides against "bait" advertising from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
