Bait and Switch Video Analysis



Bait and Switch Video Analysis

Bait and switch is essentially an upscale tactic which is commonly used by retailers and legally comes under the ambit of fraud. The concept is common to retail but is applicable in other domains also. The bait and switch tactic works in two steps. In the first step, the customers are lured in by advertising a product which is priced lower. This product is the bait. In the second stage, when the customer appears at the retail outlet, he is informed that the good which was advertised has been sold already and is shown alternative products (Ehrenreich, 2006). This new product is more expensive than the product advertised and is called the switch.

The two step tactic is aimed at persuading buyers into buying products that they might find expensive otherwise. This works in that the customer feels that at least he is getting something against the bait he has lost because he got late. Hence, they view it as a sunk cost which is associated with the bait. For the seller, however, the bait and switch refers to the sale of a relatively expensive product where the buyer has the opportunity to make more margin from the same customer.

Question 1) Betty drove three hours in one-hundred degree heat. Explain if this fact has any bearing on whether or not the dealer must perform in accordance with the published advertisement.

As far as the dealer is concerned, the time it took for Betty to commute from her place in Vacaville, as she had suggested in the video, to the shop has nothing to do with the sale and purchase agreement or any dealership between Betty and the company that gave the advertisement. The cost of her travel in terms of her time, energy and the car she was here to sell is not to be reimbursed by the auto dealer or by Tony for that matter. She had travelled in heat for three hours without the knowledge and consent of the auto dealer. Hence, it has no legal bearing on the published advertisement or the deal which is to take place between the auto dealer and Betty.

The aforementioned would have been the case, if Betty had sought the consent of the Tony over the phone or through any other means that she would be covering so and so distance only for the sake of the sale of her own car and purchase of the truck which was advertised. In addition, the dealer would have been obligated to perform in accordance with the published advertisement if Betty called him up before leaving her place and informed him of her plan to come over the same day for buying the truck. At present, the dealer has the moral obligation to give her the truck which the auto dealer had advertised for but not the legal obligation (Ehrenreich, 2006).

Question 2) When Tony said over the phone “three thousand dollars firm,” explain whether ...