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THE
Price Is Right
is an American game show centering on contestants
guessing the retail prices of featured prizes and
products. Contestants try to come up with a bid closest
to the product’s actual retail price without going over
and the player whose bid was closest to the correct
value would win the item.
The game
may sound like fun, but, in real life, the absence of
price tags in products can make shopping a burdensome
and irritating guessing game for consumers.
For
instance, you go to an appliance store with the purpose
of buying an electric fan. You spend minutes going
around the store intent on canvassing prices, but
whoa—the products don’t have price tags. Will you spend
your precious time roaming and guessing?
Not
placing price tags causes anxiety for shoppers who are
on a tight budget. The hapless consumer, left with no
other option, sometimes chooses to line up at the
counter hoping to have brought enough cash to pay for
the item.
Thus,
the absence of price tags often leads to unfair
transactions, with consumers at the losing end. The
price tag is vital in helping consumers get a fair deal
for their money.
For one,
it is easier for consumers to decide which product would
give them more value as they compare prices—a 50ml
bottle of shampoo that costs P45 or a 98ml bottle that
costs P80?
The
price tag prevents the exasperating cycle of having to
ask the salesperson for the price of every item that
catches the interest of a potential buyer. It also helps
consumers manage their budget while shopping.
To
prevent unfair practices related to price tag, certain
laws have been enacted, such as Republic Act 71 (An Act
Requiring Price Tags or Labels to be Affixed on all
Articles of Commerce Offered for Sale at Retail and
Penalizing Violations of Such Requirement), which has
been incorporated years later into RA 7394, or the
Consumer Act of the Philippines, under the chapter on
Labeling and Fair Packaging.
Article
81 of the Consumer Act says: “It shall be unlawful to
offer any consumer product for retail sale to the public
without an appropriate price tag, label or marking
publicly displayed to indicate the price of each
article.”
The law
requires that all products for retail sale must have
price tags written clearly, indicating the price of the
consumer product, including the value-added tax and
other types of charges per unit in pesos and in
centavos.
Consumers should not pay a centavo more than the price
quoted in the price tag. In case of dual pricing, such
as when the price tag or shelf price indicates a
different price than what will be displayed on the cash
register, the consumer can demand to pay for the lower
price.
There
are instances when prices of goods change over time.
When this happens, stores cannot erase or alter the
price tag of goods that are placed earlier in the store
shelves.
For
commodities that are too small to place a price tag on,
the law allows stores to place a price list at the
nearest point where the products are displayed.
Establishments offering consumer services, such as
barber shops or beauty spas, should also post a price
list within the store premises.
If codes
are to be written, the law states that this should only
be in addition to numerical price tags.
There is
also a condition that applies to shelf pricing when the
establishment opts not to place price tags on each
article for sale. Establishments are allowed to use
shelf pricing as stated in Article 50 of RA 7394 and DTI
Administrative Order 9, Series of 2002, which provides
“Rules on Price Tags/ Labels Authorizing the Use of
Shelf Pricing in Combination with Modern Technology for
Automatic Product Identification.”
Establishments could use shelf price on conditions
that: an itemized receipt or cash register tape is used
and which states the description, size, quantity and
individual price of the consumer goods purchased and a
Price Verification Counter (PVC) or a similar electronic
system is strategically installed to allow consumers to
check the price before reaching the counter.
Shelf
prices must be written clearly, indicating the retail
price of the consumer product per unit in pesos and
centavos, the brand name, product description, net
quantity of contents, in terms of weight or measure in
the metric system or the numerical count of the product.
The
price must also be strategically posted beneath or above
the shelf where the goods are on display, and for
multistory establishments, at least one
price-verification counter should be installed per
storey.
Establishments that cannot comply with the requirements
on the use of shelf pricing must use individual price
tagging or the requirement of a price list or price
poster in conspicuous places within the stall if placing
price tags is impractical or the merchandise is too
small, as the case may be.
The lack
of price tag is a turn-off for consumers. Shoppers in a
hurry would rather leave a product without a price tag
than look for a sales representative and ask for its
price.
Thus,
the placement of price tags is one of the best
attractions that a store could provide to its clients.
It shows the store’s transparency and ability to provide
affordable products. As such, it has become an
important element in the Department of Trade and
Industry’s Certified Establishment Program, which gives
due recognition to consumer-friendly stores.
* * *
Send
your feedback and queries to konsyumeratbp@gmail.com.
For in-depth information on consumer issues, listen to
Konsyumer Atbp. every Saturday, 10:00-11:30 a.m.
over dzMM 630kHz. For consumer complaints, call the DTI
Consumer Assistance Hotline 751-3330 or Text
DTI<space>complaint and send to 2920 for Globe and Smart
subscribers. |
