Blooms Today Offering 50% Off All Orders

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They show that in one of our yellow pages too.

I think it is that loyalty program stuff that's getting such bad press.

Unbelievable that so many would fall for that.

But tough to compete with that ad.
 
When I went to Columbus last week for the Dreisbach/J show, I noticed in their yellow pages, Blooms Today had a full page ad with a notice that stated 50% off. How can they do that?
 
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Technically they are family owned. I didn't want to click all the way through to the 50% thing
Yeah but are they operated by family, I highly doubt it!
To me family owned & operated means you are their most of the time, and actually even answer the phones too, but WTFDIK:confused:
 
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Heck, I could offer 50% off also. I increase prices, make pretty deceptive pictures, add a higher fee at the end of the order process, decrease the amount to the filling florist, and skip to the bank.
 
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It's a promotion for "Blooms Rewards" program ($9.95 / mo).

At the 3rd step during checkout, just prior to the final confirmation page, you see this:

By Clicking "Yes, Sign Me Up" I am authorizing my enrollment in the Blooms Rewards program and acknowledging that I have read and agree to the terms and conditions. By authorizing my enrollment I am providing consent to Blooms Rewards for the electronic monthly billing of the $9.95 membership fee to the credit or debit card I provided. I may cancel anytime after the 14th day of enrollment and will not be billed for any additional months. Payment of the initial $9.95 membership fee is required to receive the 50% discount and access to member benefits for the first month. Maximum discount not to exceed $50.00.

Here's the version in normal size so that you can read:

By Clicking "Yes, Sign Me Up" I am authorizing my enrollment in the Blooms Rewards program and acknowledging that I have read and agree to the terms and conditions. By authorizing my enrollment I am providing consent to Blooms Rewards for the electronic monthly billing of the $9.95 membership fee to the credit or debit card I provided. I may cancel anytime after the 14th day of enrollment and will not be billed for any additional months. Payment of the initial $9.95 membership fee is required to receive the 50% discount and access to member benefits for the first month. Maximum discount not to exceed $50.00.
 
Maximum discount not to exceed $50.00.
That's not 50% off the entire site, is it?

And paying to get the discount reduces the 'discount'.

And it's not disclosed until after the user enters his/her credit card information.

And the service charges aren't even disclosed at this point.
 
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Total ripoff IMO - one would think this would cost them more goodwill than the customers it gains them, but they've been pushing it for some time now, so...wtfdik?
 
This type of thing will not only continue to happen, but grow and become more and more prevalent as we go forward in a tough economy.

The reason they get away with it is because florists continue to fill these heavily discounted orders, and they make up the loss on the 50% with the 20%+$9.00 Rebate+$13.95 Service Charge+$9.95 membership charge/month where most folks do not order each month, so the month you do not order the $9.95 goes to balance out the 50% from a month ago.

Did I mention that it's OUR FAULT?? It is you know... silly florists (some) keep filling these floral mafia orders...
 
This type of thing will not only continue to happen, but grow and become more and more prevalent as we go forward in a tough economy.

The reason they get away with it is because florists continue to fill these heavily discounted orders, and they make up the loss on the 50% with the 20%+$9.00 Rebate+$13.95 Service Charge+$9.95 membership charge/month where most folks do not order each month, so the month you do not order the $9.95 goes to balance out the 50% from a month ago.

Did I mention that it's OUR FAULT?? It is you know... silly florists (some) keep filling these floral mafia orders...

It's so sad that florists out there are filling these orders!:hammer::dunno:
 
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Total ripoff IMO - one would think this would cost them more goodwill than the customers it gains them, but they've been pushing it for some time now, so...wtfdik?

Consumers are used to deceptive ads. Anyone who clicks on "50% off" ad, I'm sure, >90% of them expect some kind of catch.

In fact, the catch is clearly displayed. A customer must choose clearly marked "Sign me up!" button or "No thanks continue" button to proceed. It's not like there is only one "Continue" button that secretly enrolls you into something you didn't realize. Like "Free" Credit report.

Deceptive? Sure it is. Illegal? Probably not, as long as they keep "Sign me up!" button.

Do they lose goodwill? I'm not sure they do. Customers who realized that they need to pay $9.95/mo to get 50% off would just shrug, and move on to click on "No thanks" button to checkout. I would. I mean, it's too much of a hassle to look for another online florist and start over. So yes, I would be trapped by this ad. "50% off" is irresistible.
 
I haven't looked in the last couple weeks, but the last time I did, the offer details were not disclosed until after the consumer was deep into the shopping cart and had provided both sender and recipient info including sender credit card number.)

Customers can decline, but they were induced to purchase without being told there was a fee to receive the '50%' off. And as I said earlier, the limit is $50 so any item over $100 is not 50% off.

The AdWords ads do not say 'up to'. They and the YP print ads say '50% off all products'.
 
Consumers are used to deceptive ads. Anyone who clicks on "50% off" ad, I'm sure, >90% of them expect some kind of catch.

I think 90% is high, I'd say 75%. goldie, we live in a world amongst many gullible people that get swindled and burned everyday. If my percentage is true, 25% is quite a high number and if they collectively came together with a class action suit, I think they'd have a strong case. However, the actual dollar amount that each individual got burned for is probably too insignificant to spark any initiative and/or these same gullible people probably don't even realize they got burned anyways.

I think these ads are deceptive and their adwords are blatantly deceptive. Adwords are a money machine for Google and I have strong feelings against them for turning a blind eye to many of it's deceptive advertisers. They are "bending" their guidelines and rules not to sacrifice the huge revenues that are flowing in.
 
I haven't looked in the last couple weeks, but the last time I did, the offer details were not disclosed until after the consumer was deep into the shopping cart and had provided both sender and recipient info including sender credit card number.)

Yup, you are correct. You type in recipient address, cc info, and all that just before the final confirmation page, I saw the offer details and two-button choices.

I would think gosh, I already entered all those info, so why not go ahead... and click on "No thanks" button to check out.

Customers can decline, but they were induced to purchase without being told there was a fee to receive the '50%' off. And as I said earlier, the limit is $50 so any item over $100 is not 50% off.

The AdWords ads do not say 'up to'. They and the YP print ads say '50% off all products'.


Your dignity in this area (and other areas, too) is admirable; that's why we all love you.

BUT... I'm afraid you are in the minority, like 0.1% of population. Most regular folks, the kind that buy flowers online and never call a florist, think differently.

Their overwhelming desire is to get the job done quickly and move on to next task. They didn't expect "50% off" would be a real thing, so they wont' get too pissed.

Have you opened one of those "You just won a million dollar" envelope? If you did and found the offer isn't true, did you get angry?
 
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I haven't looked in the last couple weeks, but the last time I did, the offer details were not disclosed until after the consumer was deep into the shopping cart and had provided both sender and recipient info including sender credit card number.)

Customers can decline, but they were induced to purchase without being told there was a fee to receive the '50%' off. And as I said earlier, the limit is $50 so any item over $100 is not 50% off.

The AdWords ads do not say 'up to'. They and the YP print ads say '50% off all products'.

Cathy's absolutely right - I just tried it.

After everything is filled out and the credit card number is in - it took me to the final page where it offered me the 50%. Even the "no thanks" button is down below the fold.

I really hope this loses them customers, but it apparently isn't losing them enough to stop doing it.
 
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