Bait-and-switch

Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also employed in other contexts. First, customers are "baited" by merchants' advertising products or services at a low price, but when customers visit the store, they discover that the advertised goods are not available, or the customers are pressured by sales people to consider similar, but higher priced items ("switching").

Bait-and-switch techniques have a long and widespread history as a part of commercial culture. Many variations on the bait-and-switch appear, for example, in China's earliest book of stories about fraud, Zhang Yingyu's The Book of Swindles (ca. 1617).[1]

Function

The intention of the bait-and-switch is to encourage purchases of substituted goods, making consumers satisfied with the available stock offered, as an alternative to a disappointment or inconvenience of acquiring no goods (or bait) at all, and reckoning on a seemingly partial recovery of sunk costs expended trying 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.

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, bait and switch is banned under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.[2] Breaking this law can result in a criminal prosecution, an unlimited fine and two years in jail. In Canada, this tactic is illegal under the Competition Act.

Non-retail use

  • Bait-and-switch tactics are frequently used in airline and air travel advertising.[3]
  • Hotels widely use the form of bait-and-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.[4]
  • Home service companies such as in the carpet cleaning, air conditioning, and security system industries often use bait-and-switch.[5]
  • Real Estate Brokers and Agents often advertise themselves as buyer agents without disclosing that they may not be able to provide that service if they work for a brokerage that lists homes and represents home sellers.
  • Professional wrestling has long used bait-and-switch tactics, promoting wrestlers and matches that either don't appear or appear much differently than expected. A disclaimer on promotional material, "Card Subject to Change", is often used to justify or excuse this.[6]
  • Multi-level marketing companies employ the use of expensive cars to entice potential recruits into joining them.[7]
  • Some memes, like Rickrolling, use bait-and-switch tactics to lead to something unrelated to the topic.

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 not strictly illegal, the political objective is to get legislation or rules passed without expected negative community review.

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://cup.columbia.edu/search-results?keyword=book+of+swindles
  2. ↑ http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/schedule/1/made paragraphs 5 and 6
  3. ↑ McArthur, Douglas (2008-04-30). "How does a $224 flight end up costing $826?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Hilton Settles Resort Fee Lawsuit
  5. ↑ Braun, John (2013-10-01). "Carpet Cleaners Educate Consumers on Bait and Switch". Newswire. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "Dean Ambrose Says Battleground Bait and Switch Was Best for Business", by Eric Gargiulo, CamelClutchBlog.com
  7. ↑ Sarne, Vernon (2014-06-09). "Multi-level marketing companies and high-end automobiles". Top Gear Philippines. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
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