edit Updating to be more technically correct:
> https://twitter.com/RobertFreundLaw/status/16517606508579020...
Basically, a retailer must prove they've actually sold a product at it's base price to a substantial amount of customers, to prove that the reduced/sale price is actually a sale price and not its base price. This prevents customers from believing they're getting a better deal than they are.
> The FTC rule says a former price needs to be “the actual, bona fide price at which the article was offered to the public on a regular basis for a reasonably substantial period of time.
Go to website > see 80% off > sign in to buy > no longer 80% off
That's a bait and switch, also illegal. This lawsuit however was for fake reference pricing. Clearly a scam and there's a good reason it's banned in much of the developed world, just like false advertising.
is not the same as
> offered
I asked them about this on Twitter but got no reply. I went back to the Udemy site and struggled to find a contact form or similar.
Shady. Very shady.
I frequent Slickdeals.net as well, and have seen similar complaints about other e-comm sites. Shockingly, Amazon has been mentioned.
But when you logged in, it was very obvious that it was $200?
Its annoying, and dark, but its not so much a bait an switch. They are probably offering that $20 price to new users, so if you signed up for the first time it would stay at $20 as you logged into a new account. They just don't make it very clear. I never found it misleading because I never believed the prices until I logged in.