Shame on you, retailers!

Ugh, nothing annoys me more than being taken advantage of.

Oh wait, there is something. When a retailer that I have given my money to presumes me to be a fool. Grrrrr....here comes a bit of a retail rant.

I remember when I was in high school I used to shop at Clothestime (now defunct...I think). I would browse their clearance rack for deals. One time I saw a $19.99 clearance sticker on a plain cotton tank and wondered what the previous price was. I peeled the sticker back to reveal...$19.99?! What gives?!

A post today on a favorite blog revealed that this practice is not uncommon. Over at J Crew Aficionada, I learned that my favorite store is guilty of jacking up the prices on sale items. Come on J Crew, do you think we, the women who memorize your catalogs, won't remember that some of these items were previously on sale at a lower price?

And the pain continues...

I recently blogged about a fab Steve Madden handbag I picked up on clearance for $40 last week. Low and behold I received an e-mail today that all clearance was an additional 40%. Holy smokes! I could grab a few more bags for next to nothing! What about shoes? Boots? Sandals!

Hmmmm, not so.

I clicked the link and my bag that was purchased last week for $39.99 was now 40% off of...

Huh? 40% off of $66.66? Really? Making the new price...um....carry the 1...$39.99!

Shoppers today are more price-aware, budget conscious, and in search of sales than ever before. When retailers throw around the words sale and clearance and lure customers with a bait and switch, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Not that I am really ever going to quit shopping J Crew, but I'll definitely be scrutinizing my sale mails a bit more than before.