On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 10:06:36 -0500, Secret Squirrel
wrote:

Mark & Juanita wrote in
:

On 9 Sep 2004 20:29:15 -0700, "Bob" wrote:

I stand corrected on my post and I am sorry for misinformation. The
web page for DesignCad has a BUY NOW link that takes you directly to a
page with price listed at $199. However, this is for bundle package
with several products. This is their so-called Platinum bundle and its
very misleading. There is a fine print link at the bottom of the page
that says "No thanks, proceed with original order" where I find out
the
CAD package alone is available for $89.95.

Bob


Seems a strange business practice.




Add on sales are a strange business practice?

Not at all. However, in most cases, the add-on is very clearly marked
and is a selectable option, not the default. I haven't verified the OP's
claims vis a vis the cited web site; however, if you read his description,
the add-on is the prominent display and the purchaser's initial intent is a
small, hidden option.

All that happened is he
said I'd like to purchase product X and they said, in essence, "would
you like to buy the super deluxe bundle which includes product X and
well as products Y,Z and Q? " No, well thank you for your purchase of
product X then. Every retailer on the planet has done this in some form
or another.

What is strange is that the prominent display (according to the OP, I
haven't checked this out myself) defaults to the add-on, and it is only
through a small, fine-print option at that bottom of the page that the
purchaser's initial desired purchase is selected.

This is what I referred to as a strange business practice -- what is
likely to happen when a purchaser runs into a larger than expected cost is
for the purchaser to clear the window and leave the site. I suspect the
site designer is hoping the purchaser will simply click through and wind up
spending more money than intended. Most sites that have add-ons clearly
mark the add-ons as such and provide *them* as the option.