A lure offer is advertising with particularly inexpensive items that are no longer available in the store or online shop, or are very likely not available.
From a legal point of view, however, the statement “While stocks last” is not always sufficient. A short video from the consumer advice center clearly explains what rights and options consumers have and at what point advertising becomes unfair advertising
Advertising for products that are offered for sale particularly cheaply but are no longer available in the local store or online shop is called a lure offer. The Bremen Consumer Center explains what rights and options consumers have and when advertising becomes unfair.
Very cheap. Bargain. Get it fast. Companies repeatedly advertise discounted clothing, particularly cheap electronic items or last-minute travel bargains. If consumers then want to grab the bargain, the advertised product is already sold out. “We often receive complaints about such lure offers. “Consumers are annoyed that “their product” is no longer available in the store or online shop,” says Sonja Welzel, consumer rights advisor at the Bremen Consumer Center and adds: “Unfortunately, in very few cases they can do something about this scam do. Unfortunately, they are not entitled to the bargain.”
So what are lure offers? A lure offer is an advertising measure for a particularly inexpensive product or service that the offering company cannot provide in sufficient quantities for a reasonable period of time. This means: the shop doesn't have the product often enough and therefore it sells out very quickly. “Consumers can find these types of offers both in brick-and-mortar stores and online,” adds Sonja Welzel.
Classic: attractive offers in the local store
The classic lure offer is as follows: consumers see an offer in a brochure, drive to the store and find themselves standing in front of empty shelves. That's why many companies refer to the addition of a small asterisk in their advertising brochures: "While stocks last."
“From a legal point of view, it is not always enough to say “while stocks last”; The retailer must still have a “sufficient amount” of the goods in stock for a “reasonable period of time,” explains Sonja Welzel. “What this means depends – as is often the case – on the individual case.”
The aim of the whole thing is to bring consumers into the store. Once you're there, you often browse around and end up probably buying a more expensive product because the advertised offer was no longer in stock. For this reason, lure offers are – rightly – considered misleading.
Enticing offers in the online shop
The counterpart in the online shop is the message from the company that the goods you just ordered online are no longer available for some reason. Or buyers don’t receive any notification at all. A lure offer on the Internet involves a lot of effort, especially when purchasing in advance. Because in this case, consumers have to chase after their refund in the worst case scenario. Online shops often pursue a similar goal: Since other shops are always just a few clicks away, there is always a tough price war. If shops want to be listed at the top of comparison portals with their offerings, they have to offer the cheapest price. This drastically increases the chances of your website being visited. And the same applies there: Once you browse through the shop, you'll find what you're looking for.
Are lure offers allowed? Shops are only allowed to advertise particularly inexpensive offers if they have sufficient stock and are available for a reasonable period of time. If this is not the case, this is an unlawful attempt to mislead customers. “If the bargains are either not available at all or are only available in insufficient quantities and not for a reasonable period of time, we speak of inadmissible lure offers,” says Sonja Welzel.
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