Bait-and-switch pricing
Bait-and-switch pricing advertises a price the retailer doesn't actually intend to honor — or doesn't honor for the item pictured. It's an old tactic in a new form: the modern version often hides inside a strike-through "was" price rather than at the register.
The classic vs. the modern form
Classic bait-and-switch
An ad promotes a TV at $199. In the store, that model is "out of stock" and shoppers are steered to a different $499 model. The $199 price was bait.
Modern reference-price bait
A jacket is listed as "$180 → $99" all year. The $99 is real; the $180 is bait — an inflated reference price used to sell the sale, not a price the item ever actually commanded.
Where California law comes in
BPC §17501 targets the modern version specifically. Any former price advertised next to a sale price must have been the item's prevailing market price within the last 90 days. When it wasn't, the "discount" is a bait — and the retailer is exposed to civil action.
How to document it
- Screenshot the ad or product page with the URL, both prices, and the date visible.
- Screenshot the checkout or in-store price if it differs from what was advertised.
- Repeat the screenshot every 2–4 weeks. Persistent "sales" build the 90-day case automatically.
- Submit everything as a single report so the evidence stays linked.
Report a bait-and-switch
TagTrue publishes reports as they come in and forwards qualifying ones to Javitch Law Office on request.
FAQ
Is bait-and-switch pricing the same as a fake reference price?
They overlap but aren't identical. Classic bait-and-switch advertises one price to lure shoppers, then substitutes a different product or price at checkout. Fake reference pricing is more subtle: the sale price shown is real, but the crossed-out 'was' price beside it is inflated to manufacture a discount that never existed.
Is bait-and-switch illegal?
Yes. It violates state consumer protection laws across the country and FTC advertising rules. In California, deceptive reference pricing specifically is covered by Business & Professions Code §17501.
What evidence proves bait-and-switch pricing?
Screenshots of the advertised price alongside the price actually charged at checkout, plus any email or ad copy that quoted the original price. For deceptive reference pricing, timestamped observations showing the 'sale' has run past 90 days are the strongest evidence.