Today’s main serving is about misleading advertising, noting the prominence of children’s pricing. It’s minor (pun intended) in the scheme of things, yet irritating. The side dish is on "junk fees".
In the months leading up to today’s test between the All Blacks and France, tickets were being advertised online "from $30". Perhaps, it’s obvious that the price is for the cheapest children’s seats.
The child’s $30 is for limited areas in the worst spots on the ground, although most viewing at Forsyth Barr Stadium is excellent. There’s $6.95 per transaction, and another 2.2% "applies to all tickets other than purchases made through Ticketek agents, at outlets when using cash, or when redeeming a Ticketek Gift Voucher. This fee covers the cost of facilitating electronic transactions."
The $30 is also initially displayed on the Ticketek site during ticket selection. The adult price appears as you click through.
There’s also no mention of credit or debit card fees before the last payment stage. Consumer New Zealand campaigned on credit card surcharges in 2023, following a law change. It applied pressure to Ticketek, which lowered its fee from 3.5% for some sports events to a standard 3% — still too high.
The other extras, known as "junk fees" in the United States, soon add up. Across a full stadium, the extras generate a tidy return for Ticketek.
Is Civis picky and petty? We’ve no choice but to pay if we want tickets. We shrug at the misleading advertising, while the extra fees become normalised.
Civis wonders what happened to the principle that the price you see is the price you pay.
Despite these niggles, Civis believes the prices for tonight’s match are reasonable.
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Civis saw a major travel company advertising headline deals that were child prices. Although that was soon apparent, Civis resents being drawn in falsely, even if briefly.
Civis is also bemused by airline sales to Australia. Because of taxes, flying from New Zealand is cheaper, so the lower outbound fare is almost always the advertised headline price.
Most passengers are likely to want to come back, and most booking apps and sites default to "return" rather than "one way" as the booking process begins. The airlines will, of course, want to capture both fares.
To be fair, sometimes the figure for the full return flight is prominently displayed. However, never expect the fare for transtasman flights from Australian cities to be the selling point.
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Everyone knows the disingenuous "up to 50% off" sales. It’s easy to become cynical when exposed repeatedly to these attempted enticements.
Another example of deception, at least superficially, was a sign in a Dunedin shop for 40% off everything. Look a little closer, and it was 40% off only the shop’s brand. Just because such tactics are commonplace does not make them right.
Advertising must be truthful, accurate and not misleading, according to the Fair Trading Act. Misleading to whom?
Are we so used to businesses pushing boundaries that these examples no longer qualify as misleading? We’re conditioned to accept disingenuous "up tos," child fares, and one-way prices as standard marketing.
Sadly, that might be both accurate and true.
