New grocery store scam: 10% surcharge at the checkout

[Newsjock]

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=101592&catid=188

DENVER – The Colorado Department of Agriculture says it finds a program at Avanza Supermarkets questionable enough that it is investigating.

The questions come after a 9Wants to Know undercover investigation revealed that Avanza grocery stores advertise one price of an item that is on sale and then add a 10 percent fee when shoppers check out.

9Wants to Know discovered that while there are signs posted across the store, many shoppers said they believed they were getting a 10 percent discount.

The fine print first says shoppers save followed by the words “plus 10 %” at the register.

http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=101512&catid=222

... Question 9: Wouldn’t it be more honest/up front to just add 10 percent to the price of all of the products—so that people can see the actual price on the shelf and on the sticker?

Answer: The grocery industry is extremely competitive. Stores vie for customers. Customer loyalty is highly valued. Given the need to attract and retain customers, our stores cannot afford to alienate its customers by charging unexplained fees or unanticipated mark-ups. Our pricing is attracting customers—rather than losing them--demonstrating that the pricing policy is in fact fair, obvious, and well-understood by our shoppers.

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. 10% is a huge fee for a single parent or working class family

10%!!!!!!!!!

[Skink]

2. It's called sales tax.

[DRoseDARs]

5. Er, don't know if you shop much, but it's customary to mark a tax as such on the receipt.

Local Best Buy has it as "Sales Tax 7.375%"
Local Walmart has it as "Tax 7.375%"
Bookstore at local community college has it as "Tax 7.375%" and further down specifies "NV 7.3758 @ 7.3750"
Local Home Depot has it as "Sales Tax"
Local grocery store Scolari's has it as "Sales Tax"

I'd really like to see one of these receipts people are getting this 10% charge on. The aggregate sales tax between state, county, and local in Colorado appears higher than 10% if I'm reading the Colorado Department of Revenue website correctly.

[Porschenut1066]

3. That is like a web site I saw that said "25% discount" but added it instead!

[dipsydoodle]

4. Some more knowledgable than me

on case law needs to explain here what an invitation to treat is. I'm too rusty on it....lol.

Basically - Law of contract differentiates been "offer" and "invitation to treat" : shop pricing is the latter.

[onethatcares]

6. Free Beer

tomorrow.

[Vinca]

7. Last week I spotted an offer in the newspaper for a free weight loss

coaching clinic. It only cost $29. (They must be marketing to McCain crowds.)