‘Bait advertising’ usually happens when a business advertises products at a certain price but does not have a reasonable supply for customers to buy.
What is a ‘reasonable supply’ will depend on several things, including the type of product and what the business said in its advertisement.
Example:
An electronics retailer runs a major national campaign advertising 50-inch televisions at a low price of $799 for a week-long sale. The retailer usually sells about 30 televisions of this type every week. The retailer only stocks two televisions at the advertised price and refuses to take customer orders.
When customers attempt to buy the television at the advertised price, they are told it is out of stock and offered a more expensive unit for $999. This is likely to be bait advertising as the retailer does not have a reasonable supply of the advertised television.
Last updated: 20/03/2013