If you study hidden fees and price distortions for a living, Valentine’s Day is
your Super Bowl. Can you name another industry where the true price of an item
is routinely more than double the advertised price? Yet that’s precisely what
you’ll encounter this week, when you realize that Valentine’s Day is Sunday and
you’d better get your order in fast.
In fact, really fast. Before we get to the nitty-gritty of the free market mess
that is Valentine’s flower shopping, let me tell you procrastinating lovers out
there this important news: Because Valentine’s falls at the end of weekend this
year, price distortions are even worse than usual. To get a good deal, you’re
going to have to accept shipment on this Thursday , Feb. 11, a full three days
early. Most sites are applying weekend shipping rates to Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. So as we click through the thorny world of flower shopping online, know
that you should really place your order immediately to avoid paying a serious
procrastinator’s premium.
On this romantic holiday, the stars align for confusion marketing and consumer
gaffes. Unlike airline tickets or lingerie, which can be purchased at an
early-bird discount, flowers are perishable, so there’s really no way to avoid
the last-minute price spikes. Also, men aren’t great comparison shoppers, and
they feel quite a bit of pressure — some real, some imagined — to perform on
this day. Finally, as the calendar clicks down, and the price of store-bought
roses climbs, a swarm of radio and television advertising promising romantic
rescue completes the perfect storm of consumer risk.
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Red Tape Chronicles/MSNBC