“It’s FREE – just pay Shipping & Handling”

מאת דניאל נכון

How many times have you seen that on commercials and literature? How many times have you been deceived by that? Probably more times than you care to say!

Deceiving or confusing advertising has been used for a long time. Caveat emptor is Latin for “let the buyer beware” and that expression has been around for nearly a century!

My father, a rich kid (before the Depression!) was required by his father to work during the summer break from school so that he could learn marketing skills and manual labor. One year he experienced (and shared) something that has stuck with me these many years!

That summer (1918) he worked for a mid-Eastern department store owner (I won’t identify his nationality any closer than that!). It was near summer’s end and they had a lot of (then fashionable) men’s straw hats still in inventory. The hats were normally priced at $3.95 but dad was told to make and display all of them with a sign, “SPECIAL! Today only – $4.95“. He said they sold every one of them!

In the 1990′עם, I purchased Bible software from a (Christian-operated) company in Iowa.  Every so often they would offer an “upgrade”; easier functioning applications plus a newly-available version or translation. For years I did “upgrade” until I had 13 versions of the Bible available at my fingertips!

Then they did something that stopped me from purchasing from them any longer – they offered the latest version with all-new bells and whistles. “ו, you can have it at no increase in price”. I jumped on that and when they billed me for it, they had replaced the usual “postage” of less than a dollar to a new charge – “shipping & handling”, of $4.95. I called them with my complaint and eventually sent it back for a refund (it cost me 30¢ to mail it back).

We see this ALL the time on just about every TV ad. Even prices on automobiles are not as you think because the very fine print that flies by on the screen so quickly that you can’t read it anyway requires qualifications that NO one could meet! Tape one sometime and you can read the fine print.

I once saw another  item advertised for only $24.95. I found out that their “עם&H” היה $19.95!

The point I am getting to is that, whether it is a church selling tickets to a contemporary Christian music concert, or a FREE product, או “I’ll כפול your order for free if you call right now -just pay the extra shipping”), if we “hide” exorbitant charges and fees in the transaction, we are being deceptive. Literally translated, deception means LYING! Is this what God would approve (WWJD)?

As I told the “נוצרי” software company and the electric utility (and many others) who charge us for “franchise fees” , “fuel adjustment” or other operating costs that THEY should be paying, at least be honest with us and just increase the cost of your product!! I can adjust to that better than their trying to deceive me with their hidden charges.

If you are merchant, even though $9.99 is easier to sell than $10.00, let’s be realistic. And honest. God will bless us but only if we are honorable and not greedy or lustful.

(Yeah, I’m still using my 1994 Bible softwware. Hey, the Bible itself doesn’t need an upgrade - it  still works as good as ever!)