Price Controls Suck

As you get older you begin to really understand the power of advertising and how it pervades, controls and to some extend undermines society. I have also spend most of my career in an industry that is largely driven by ad revenue so I watch the issue closely.

A couple of weeks ago I got an ad in my inbox from one of the many on-line bicycle retailers with which I've done business. It advertised a site-wide cycling shoe sale. Given the tatty condition my current shoes it was a timely arrival. I went to this site already dreaming about shiny new shoes. I added a pair of Dominator 5's in size 45 to the cart and applied the 20% off code and... wait, where's the discount? The discount code won't apply. Then I noticed the fine print in the as the said the the discounts don't apply to any Sidi products. In fact there were over 20 brands on the list.

I was lured into this trap again this morning, when the big pedal sale started. I got to thinking, hey, I actually have a nearly new pair of Sidis at home, but they are drilled for road pedals which are incompatible with the Egg Beater pedals I use. They have been i a box for over a year, but with a new set of pedals, I could use them again.

Then the disappointment that the pedals I wanted (Speedplay or Look) couldn't use the code either, and again the fine-print says that Speedplay, Look and many others were not eligible for discount. Instead that brands that are on sale are the off-brands or the house-brands.

Disappointment turns to anger as I realize these ads are just a waste of time, luring me in with misleading words and phrases and then not providing the expected value. Not a good customer experience. I'm not sure who I blame here, the vendor or the manufacturer but either way I be wasting no more time reading their ads.

BTW, the real irony here is that due to the vagaries of the value of the doller you can now buy things in europe and have them shipped here for very competitive prices. I recently orded a new Brooks Saddle from the UK for about $25 less than US prices.