Two-price advertising is the sales and marketing practice of showing customers two prices, a supposed normal price and a lower price, which is claimed to be a special offer or discount, but in fact, the stated normal price is a fiction. The idea of two-price advertising is to present an ''apparent'' saving, usually very substantial, as a way to attract customers. The term two-price advertising refers only to those cases where the "normal" price claimed is designed to deceive. Regulatory treatment of the practice varies around the world. A clear deception, it is likely to come under false advertising or fair trading laws. The practice normally takes place only in retail marketing. Certain industries tend to be more prone to it than others.

Australia

In Australia, two-price advertising comes under the

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 The ''Competition and Consumer Act 2010'' (CCA) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia. Prior to 1 January 2011, it was known as the ''Trade Practices Act 1974'' (TPA). The Act is the legislative vehicle for competition law in Australia, an ...

as misleading conduct. The

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trad ...

(ACCC) is responsible for enforcing that act and cooperates with the various state-government departments of fair trading or consumer protection which also investigate such matters. For example, ahead of

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...

, in 2006, the ACCC and state authorities issued joint warnings about

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...

prices shown in catalogues. Jewelry and carpet rugs seem to be industries frequently associated with two-price advertising. In 2002, the now-defunct retail chain Allans Music was prosecuted by the ACCC over a catalogue that it issued in 2000, showing musical instruments at prices heavily discounted from stated normal prices. They pleaded guilty to 9 of the 18 counts and were fined $80,000. The court was satisfied the "was" prices shown were not prices that had been offered prior to the sale. One point the case illustrated was that a disclaimer in a catalogue may not be a defence.Was: apparently a great marketing ploy. Now: unwanted attention from the ACCC

Freehills Freehills was a commercial law firm operating in the Asia-Pacific region.Dun and BradstreeCompany360(database online), entry: Freehills Services Pty Ltd. Accessed 13 August 2011 It was known as one of the " Big Six" Australian law firms. In 20 ...

, 19 March 2003 {{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050618014354/http://www.freehills.com.au/publications/publications_5039.asp , date=June 18, 2005 Allans had fine print saying the savings were off recommended retail prices (RRPs) but that was only suppliers' recommendations. Allans chose not to rely on it as a defence or as mitigation on legal advice. Justice Tamberlin described that fine print as "obscure and totally inadequate". In fact, the disclaimer worked against the company, as it indicated to the judge that Allans knew that their claims needed an explanation, and so were not an accident.

Australia

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Further reading