The Advertising Standards Authority has found that eBay, despite advertising itself as the cheapest, really isn’t.
According to recent adverts, eBay says it’s 25% cheaper than the High Street. Problem is that’s simply not true.
The research that gave eBay that opinion was from a third party based on 288 different products. Of course, this didn’t actually include desktops, games, action figures or things that your normal average Escapist is interested in. That could have been claimed as targeted advertising but, against a specific unnamed High Street store, the store was found to be regularly cheaper to buy from.
The ASA has said that “The small print was of insufficient size to avoid being overlooked, and because it contradicted the main message of the headline, we considered that the ad was likely to mislead.” (full decision) eBay hasn’t been fined, but it has been told that it needs robust evidence to support any future claims.
Advertisements forced to tell the truth? Surely the Rapture descends.
Source: The Register
Published: Apr 22, 2009 03:30 pm