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The Fine Print & Deceptive Ads

I am annoyed with Belk in particular but also other stores for using deceptive advertising especially during the holidays. In LARGE print Belk’s ad says ‘Great’ $20 off a $100 purchase applies to ‘regular and sale priced merchandise’. However, the fine print excludes about half the stuff in their store.

I went there and without my magnifying glass – wasn’t able to read their huge list of exclusions. One of the exclusions is a rather generic term ‘Gifts’.  The exclusion that knocked them off my list was ‘Small Electrics’ – which excludes basically the whole kitchen appliance area.

The Belk Advertisement

Here is the fine print, in a larger font.

Coupon can only be used once and must be presented to your sales associate at the time of purchase. Qualifying purchase must be before tax. *Only excludes Red Dot, Clearance, Earlybirds, Night Owls, Doorbusters, Bonus Buys, Special Buys, everyday values, Assets, b.tempt’d, BCBG, Brighton, Burberry, Cosmetics/Fragrances, Casio, Coach, Donna Karan/DKNY, Ed Hardy, Eileen Fisher, Free People, Lacoste, Lucky, Ladies Designer & Contemporary Sportswear & Dresses, St. John, Stuart Weitzman, Citizens of Humanity, Cole Haan, Columbia, Donald J Pliner, Dooney & Bourke, Ferragamo, Furla, Joe’s Jeans, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, Vineyard Vines, Joseph Abboud, Hanky Panky, Hugo Boss, Hickey Freeman, Hart Schaffner Marx, Austin Reed, Levi’s, Dockers, Lilly Pulitzer, Mattel, Merrell, Munro, Nautica, Not Your Daughter’s Jeans, Ralph Lauren/Polo, Seven For All Mankind, Spanx, Tommy Bahama, Ugg, Wacoal; Ladies’, Kids’ and Men’s Designer Shoes, Designer Handbags; Small Electrics, Fine Jewelry watches, gifts, trunk shows and service plans; non-merchandise depts., lease depts. and Belk gift cards. Not valid on prior purchases or special orders. Cannot be redeemed for cash, credit or refund, used in combination with any other discount or coupon offer. Valid December 22-24, 2009
Beth Robinson
Beth Robinson
Tennessee native. Computer Systems Analyst - 30+ year career in computer industry. B.S. Computer Science, 1983 TTU. M.A. Instructional Technology, 1999 APSU. She is a member of the Friends of Dunbar Cave,  Tennessee Tree Steward,  The Climate Project, Audubon,  Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, League of Conservation Voters, an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clarksville (UUFC), UU Service Committee, and UUFC Social Action chairperson / Green Sanctuary chairperson / Youth group advisor.
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1 COMMENT

  1. Good article. I particularly like the exclusion of “hanky panky.” Seem s like the list would be shorter if they said what you could use the coupon on.

    Just curious…did you get to use the coupon?

    I would suggest forwarding this article to the company itself, and the local manager. Might be good to include how many people visit this site a month to add some wait to iot.

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