Does The Jewelry In The Ad Look
Too Good To Be True? (It Probably Is!)
Plus:
Tips On How To Get The Best Deals
On Diamonds Or High-End
Watches...On-Line!
And:
How You Can Avoid An Expensive Auto Lesson
December 4, 2003
Dear Ben: Please don't
hammer me too hard, because I do know better. I recently wasted an
afternoon fighting traffic at the local mall because I was gullible and
believed a recent advertisement from a
national
jewelry store chain that promoted what appeared to be a
beautiful five carat (total weight) tennis bracelet for $500 (normally
priced at $1,200). When I got to the store I was stunned to see the actual
piece of jewelry, because it didn't look like the one pictured in the ad.
I could never give that piece of junk to my girlfriend as originally
intended. How can this company get away with this obvious and blatantly
deceptive advertising?
- Steamed in Cowtown
Dear Steamed: They're "getting
away with it" because law enforcement officials around the country
haven't received enough complaints about them...yet. The only way
state (attorneys general) or federal (Federal Trade Commission) agencies
know "who's doing what and to whom" is usually a result of the
number of complaints showing up on their respective radars. I've
been screaming about the blatant misuse of the term
"non-profit" by the credit counseling industry for years,
and finally authorities (in Austin and Washington D.C.) have been
awakened to this fact, recently launching investigations against the
biggest abusers.
How many times have you noticed the
hamburger you picked up at the drive-thru window didn't look nearly as
appetizing as the ones promoted in print ads on TV? Is it
deceptive advertising...or just great photography? According to Bill
Oyster, president of Dallas-based Dallas
Gold and Silver Exchange: "There's a definitely a
difference in sales strategies between the big national jewelry store
chains and the rest of us. They can't stay in business selling the junk
they're promoting. They use these ad campaigns to get people in the door,
then start the "up-selling" process to try to move buyers to a
much higher-priced piece of merchandise. Consumers responding to an ad for
a $199 piece of jewelry figure out pretty fast that they're going to have
to spend more money than they'd intended. Their sales staff are trained to
convert that $199 (originally-planned) sales into a down payment, followed
by three years' worth of $50 a month payments-at 20% (or higher) interest
rates."
Hmmmmm...you think they might be in the
business of selling financing over jewelry? Check out my
tips on buying jewelry or higher-end watches (either in person or
on-line): www.bendover.com/jewelry.asp.
By the way-these tips will not only come in handy over the next three
weeks of this year's holiday-buying season, but for the biggest jewelry
gifting-day of the year: Valentine's Day is only 72 days away!
Dear Ben: I purchased a
used
car in August, 2001. My credit is "less than
par," and I never knew to ask about interest rate on the loan. After
making a couple of payments, I was curious how much I was being charged.
It turns out they were sticking me with a whopping 21 percent interest
rate. I questioned them about this rate-they said it would be on my
contract...at which point I advised them that I never received a copy. The
told me they'd send it, but never did. I've been involved in an ongoing
dispute over the car (due to an electrical issue) that they lied about
from the very beginning, but recently paid the car off (last month) and I
finally received my copy of the contract. Guess what? I never signed it!
Am I just out of luck (and should I consider this a very expensive lesson)
or do I have any recourse?
- Broke and Miserable in
Richardson
Dear B&M: It sounds like you
earned a valuable lesson from this debacle. You deserved the 21 percent
rate because you blindly signed the contract...(or at least thought you
did). You may have a case-there are plenty of attorneys that read this
column and will advise me if you've got a legal leg to stand on. In the
mean time, thanks for making my readers much smarter...at your
expense.
Dose of Dover For The Week: Don't end
up like our pal B&M (above). Use your head before you drive off the
car lot! Here's some free advice that'll make you smarter-and keep you off
the victim's list: www.bendover.com/cartips.asp.
Dover's Choice?
It's a no-brainer...check out Dallas
Gold & Silver Exchange's website at www.dgse.com.
They're a publicly-traded company
that sells millions of dollars worth of diamond jewelry and fine watches
(they're one of the biggest pre-owned Rolex sources in the world) and
they're trustyworthy...plus they'll
deal on price.
