Have you ever walked past a small business on your local high street which states on its signage that it is “closing down” and so it’s offering a discount on its goods? Have you ever experienced walking down the same high street, perhaps a year later and that same shop states it is still “closing down”?! I’m sure like us you probably have a wry smile on your face because you know the owner is “trying it on with this scam” but given it’s owned by a family or an enterprising individual trying to make a living, that you can perhaps forgive the falsehoods they are stating.
Well the same tricks are being played in plain-sight and most shoppers never see it. Why? Because it’s a multi-billion revenue earning corporate conducting the scam.
Consumer Good Pricing Scam
In today’s video, we learn how in Australia, the competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) identified what it described as a deceptive pricing tactic used by the supermarket giant Coles1. The practice? Something known as “price spiking.”
Here’s how it works.
A product is sold at a stable price for months, sometimes years. Then the retailer quietly increases the price. Shortly after this price increase, the product is then reduced in price and advertised as being “discounted” but the discounted price is still higher than the long-term original price.
One example cited, involved Strepsils honey and lemon lozenges2. They were sold consistently at AUS $5.50 for two years. In October 2022, the price rose to AUS $7. The following month, they were promoted as “discounted” to AUS $6. Customers believed they were getting a bargain, yet they were paying 50 cents more than the long-standing price.
The ACCC alleged this behaviour applied to at least 2453 other products, including butter, deodorant, and paper towels. Everyday essentials. The kinds of items families buy without a second thought. That’s the mechanics. But there is a bigger issue here.
The Incentive Structure That Creates the Scam
Public companies don’t just sell groceries. They sell quarterly results. Large corporations are structurally bound to maximise shareholder returns. Executive bonuses are tied to profit margins. Market analysts scrutinise earnings calls. Share prices respond instantly to performance. If profits slow, pressure builds.
When growth through innovation is hard and cost-cutting has limits, pricing becomes the lever. And pricing tricks, like artificial spikes followed by “discounts” create the illusion of value while quietly increasing margins.
The unaware consumer, trusting the brand, trusting the label, trusting the red “special” sticker, thinks they are ‘getting a bargain’ but actually pays more. They are literally being manipulated to think they are saving money, when they’re paying more and seemingly happy about it! That’s why this is a scam, and no mere ordinary price increase.
This is not just about one retailer or one country. It’s about the system of incentives that drives behaviour.
Why Government Regulators Rarely Push Too Hard
Now you may be saying to yourself “well surely the government regulator prevents this, which is why the regulator got involved in the first place?” The reality is that governments depend heavily on big business. As we covered yesterday, large corporations generate substantial tax revenues through corporation tax, payroll taxes, VAT collections, and employee income taxes. They create jobs. They anchor supply chains. They provide political talking points about economic growth and stability.
When a multinational employs tens of thousands of people, governments are reluctant to destabilise it. When a retailer supports domestic producers, funds advertising ecosystems, and influences inflation statistics, it becomes economically significant, even politically sensitive. Big business doesn’t just operate in a country. It has leverage within it. Governments won’t bite the hand that feeds them too hard! Remember that the next time you hear the government say they are acting in your best interests.
Through lobbying, regulatory consultation, political donations (in jurisdictions where allowed) and economic influence, corporations gain access to policymakers. That access doesn’t always mean outright scams and corruption all the time, but it does mean they carry heavy influence and clout. And that shapes outcomes.
Regulators may investigate. Fines may be issued. But systemic change? That’s far harder, especially when governments rely on the same corporations to fund public spending and employment targets.
The Wider Consequence: Erosion of Trust
When consumers discover that a “discount” is higher than last month’s regular price, the scam is revealed and trust collapses. And trust, once broken, is extremely expensive to rebuild.
The danger is not just financial loss, though that matters, especially in a cost-of-living crisis. The danger is normalisation. If deceptive scamming tactics become widespread across 200+ everyday products, the public begins to assume that all pricing is actually manipulation.
Markets depend on transparency. Once opacity becomes standard practice, cynicism replaces confidence.
This Is Bigger Than One Case
Price spiking isn’t just a retail quirk. It is a symptom of a deeper multi-entity scamming dynamic. Corporations must keep shareholders satisfied. Governments need corporate tax revenue and employment figures. Consumers have been conditioned by the mainstream media and advertising scam to want to buy goods, to feel they are making progress in their lives. When those incentives collide, the public is often the weakest party in the equation and loses out.
What can we do about it?
The solution is not blind anti-business outrage. Nor is it naïve trust. It is informed awareness. Don’t believe everything you see at first glance. Realise that most large institutions do not actually have your interests at heart, even if they say and act like they do. Consumers must come together and hold companies, regulators and associated bodies accountable, together. Only when there are enough conscientious people coming together will these bodies pay attention. If you have not yet signed up to Citizen Intervention to learn how you can be involved, you can do so here. Concerted and consistent reach is crucial. We will soon be sharing our plans to hold the BBC and the media regulator Ofcom accountable as a starting point. In the meantime please make a comment below if you have been a victim of a pricing scam.
References
- Australian Competition and Consumers Commission – Supermarkets Enquiry 2024-25 ↩︎
- Law Society Journal New South Wales Feb 2026 ↩︎
- Australian Competition and Consumers Commission Court Filing September 2024 ↩︎
Related articles:
One Voice Is Enough to Start – A Teenager Willing To Stand Up Against Scamtology
The Price Rise Scam — And the Company That Refused to Play Along with Scamtology
Finance Scamtology: How Elon Musk Is Controlled By The Banking Elite
Jeffrey Leigh-Jones – Victim to Scamtologist Predator – Part 1: How The BBC Groomed Jeffrey Leigh-Jones to Become Their Living Sacrifice
I can relate to the “closing down” store scam. But seeing this in a national retailer. It just goes to show the degree to which companies go to increase profit and expand market share so they have more control in the market to get what they want. Very win/lose which will become lose/lose.
While this is outrageous, there’s something gnawing at me that is not surprised to know that I have most likely been scammed by shops and supermarkets for a very long time. Driving prices lower and lower is not sustainable or based on true value, so something has to be fabricated, there has to be a scam somewhere. This is one of the many pieces I’m seeing that make up Scamtology and Scamtopia. Thank you for the investigative work here. God bless you all.
Wow — the level of discernment and knowledge needed when buying anything in this day and age is so often missing. It’s no wonder “scamtopia” continues to perpetuate itself with each generation. Thank you for shedding light on this. It’s awful to consider how much we may have been taken for a ride by massive conglomerates through their pricing structures. This is incredibly important for people to understand — truly eye-opening.
There are numerous retailers I see who seem to always offer discounted prices to entice purchases. This makes me wonder who has actually paid the full price. It’s amazing how many people (like myself) fall for this. It’s almost a subconscious appeal to getting a ‘good deal’ which can be used to rationalise the purchase that may not have actually been needed!
The way supermarkets manipulate prices and use subtle tactics to encourage people to buy more is truly outrageous. I remember learning in school about how they play certain types of music to make customers feel more relaxed, and how store layouts, flooring patterns, and product placement are carefully designed to guide shoppers in ways that increase spending.
When you become aware of these strategies, you start to see how intentional and sophisticated they are. Greater transparency about these practices is important so people can make more conscious, informed choices.
Thank you for this article.
I’ve noticed over the last few years especially how much the prices at supermarkets have risen and fluctuated and so I often look for the little red or yellow labels that show for discounts. Hearing this it’s enraging and also not surprising to be scammed even further on the back of all the tax we also have to pay. That they have the hubris to do this at such scale is an insight into how much contempt and hubris companies actually have for their customers.
This video here shows you how prices actually ought to be going down rather than up over time!
Trust is surely dying with corporations. Looking out into the world, I distrust so much now. Sale tags are not taken at face value, is there really a sale or are they just using a tactic? Discernment, as the Bible tells us, do not be deceived. If it is not from God, it is highly likely to be limiting in some way. Another important message, thank you.
I know this is just a glimpse into the deep and global scamming that is in place but wow, this is vile. The calculated price spikes on items they know are necessities, is especially disturbing because of the merciless exploitation of our trust knowing that we can’t avoid buying certain items. Shame on them!
Retailers using the same spins tricks as the media to alter the publics perception and get them to behave in a certain way. In this case it is to exploit their wallets, whereas the media might exploit their votes or opinions for example.
In both cases as the public we must be aware of these scams.
What you are helping us to open our eyes to is sickening. The scams we have fallen for, believing we were getting a bargain when, in reality, we were paying more. But it’s not about the money, it’s about how we are deceived and duped into believing that we are being looked after when we are not. We have been so blindsided and indoctrinated. What will be exposed next? Thank you for this article and I look forward to reading more.
This article really brings into focus how “savings” are often just illusions designed to make us feel clever while corporations protect their margins. What looks like a deal can easily be a psychological trick — and most people never stop to question it. Thank you for unpacking this so clearly and helping us see through these everyday illusions.