Editing Bait-and-switch

{{Short description|Form of fraud}}
{{About|the form of fraud||Bait and Switch (disambiguation)}}
'''Bait-and-switch''' is a form of [[fraud]] used in [[retail sales]] but also employed in other contexts. First, the merchant "baits" the customer by [[advertising]] a product or service at a low price; then when the customer goes to purchase the item, they discover that it is unavailable, and the merchant pressures them instead to purchase a similar but more expensive product ("switching").

Bait-and-switch techniques have a long and widespread history as a part of commercial culture. Many variations on the bait-and-switch appear, for example, in China's earliest book of stories about fraud, [[Zhang Yingyu]]'s ''[[The Book of Swindles]]'' (c. 1617).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-book-of-swindles/9780231178631 |title=The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection |author=Zhang Yingyu |translator-last1=Rea |translator-first1=Christopher |translator-last2=Rusk |translator-first2=Bruce |date=2017 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-23117-862-4}}</ref>

==Function==
The intention of the bait-and-switch is to encourage purchases of substituted goods, making consumers satisfied with the available stock offered, as an alternative to a disappointment or inconvenience of acquiring no goods (bait) at all, and reckoning on a seemingly partial recovery of [[sunk costs]] expended trying to obtain the bait. It suggests that the seller will not show the original product or service advertised but instead will demonstrate a more expensive product or a similarly priced, but lower-quality, product. In either case, the seller expects to earn a higher margin on the substitute product.

==Legality==
In the [[United States]], [[court]]s have held that the purveyor of a bait-and-switch operation may be subject to a [[lawsuit]] by customers for [[False advertising#Bait-and-switch|false advertising]], and can be sued for [[trademark infringement]] by competing manufacturers, retailers, and others who profit from the sale of the product used as bait. However, no [[cause of action]] will exist so long as the purveyor is capable of actually selling the goods advertised, even if they aggressively push a competing product.

Likewise, advertising a sale while intending to stock a limited amount of, and thereby sell out, a [[Loss leader|loss-leading]] item advertised is legal in the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dwivedi |first1=Yogesh K. |last2=Ismagilova |first2=Elvira |last3=Hughes |first3=D. Laurie |last4=Carlson |first4=Jamie |last5=Filieri |first5=Raffaele |last6=Jacobson |first6=Jenna |last7=Jain |first7=Varsha |last8=Karjaluoto |first8=Heikki |last9=Kefi |first9=Hajer |last10=Krishen |first10=Anjala S. |last11=Kumar |first11=Vikram |last12=Rahman |first12=Mohammad M. |last13=Raman |first13=Ramakrishnan |last14=Rauschnabel |first14=Philipp A. |last15=Rowley |first15=Jennifer |date=2021-08-01 |title=Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions |journal=International Journal of Information Management |language=en |volume=59 |pages=102168 |doi=10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102168 |issn=0268-4012|doi-access=free |hdl=10454/18041 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The purveyor can escape liability if they make clear in their advertisements that quantities of items for which a sale is offered are limited, or by offering a [[Rain check (idiom)|rain check]] on sold-out items.

In England and Wales, bait and switch is banned under the [[Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008]];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/schedule/1/made |title=The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 |website=Legislation.gov.uk |access-date=19 July 2019}} (See paragraphs 5 and 6)</ref> breaking this law can result in a criminal prosecution, an unlimited fine and two years in jail.
In Canada, this tactic is illegal under the ''[[Competition Act]].'' In Australia, bait advertising is illegal under the ''[[Competition and Consumer Act 2010]]''<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.brucelegal.com.au/bait-advertising-illegal-australia |title=Consumer Law Australia - How is Bait Advertising Illegal? |date=6 August 2018 |website=Brucelegal.com.au |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> (formerly known as the ''Trade Practices Act 1974'').

==Examples==

===In retail===
Car dealerships and auto brokers have been known to use various forms of bait-and-switch or similar tactics, such as advertising vehicles online at what seems like a bargain price, only for the customer to discover that the specific vehicle is no longer available, as well as adding on a plethora of additional fees or even changing the sale price when coming close to closing the sale.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publiccounsel.org/pages/?id=0003 |title=Common Auto Dealer Scams |website=PublicCounsel.org |access-date=19 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.carprousa.com/Beware-Of-Bait-and-Switch-Internet-Pricing-Practices/a/463 |title=Beware Of Bait and Switch Internet Pricing Practices |first=Jerry |last=Reynolds |date=1 March 2018 |website=Car Pro USA |access-date=19 July 2019}}</ref>

Online sellers use bait-and-switch by showing a photograph of a desired item to get sales, then shipping a cheaper copy of the item or a picture of the item.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Guy Accidentally Paid $700 for a Photo of an Xbox on eBay|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/XBOX-One-From-Ebay-Turned-Out-to-be-a-Shitty-Photo-of-an-XBOX-One/|access-date=2020-07-28|website=[[Vice Media]]|language=en}}</ref>

===Other===

A bait-and-switch job offer is when the actual work has large discrepancies with what was described in the job listing or interview.

A bait-and-switch interview is when a potential employee hires another person to be their stand-in during the [[job interview]] process.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Is a Bait and Switch Interview? |website=US News & World Report |author=Robin Madell |date=30 Nov 2022 |url=https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/articles/what-is-a-bait-and-switch-interview}}</ref>

In lawmaking, "caption bills" that propose minor changes in law with simplistic titles (the bait) are introduced to the legislature with the ultimate objective of substantially changing the wording (the switch) at a later date in order to try to smooth the passage of a controversial or major amendment. Rule changes are also proposed (the bait) to meet legal requirements for public notice and mandated public hearings, then different rules are proposed at a final meeting (the switch), thus bypassing the objective of public notice and public discussion on the actual rules voted upon.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-04-04|title=Political Adaptation of Bait and Switch Tactics|url=https://fraud.laws.com/bait-and-switch/political-adaptation-of-bait-and-switch-tactics|access-date=2020-09-17|website=fraud.laws.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[AIDA (marketing)]]
* [[Choice architecture]]
* [[Clickbait]]
* [[Contract of sale]]
* [[Cross-selling]]
* [[Door-in-the-face technique]]
* [[Foot-in-the-door technique]]
* [[Introductory rate]]
* [[Invitation to treat]]
* [[Low-ball]]
* [[Marketing]]
* [[Outline of marketing]]
* [[Permission marketing]]
* [[Promotion (marketing)|Promotion]]
* [[Pyramid scheme]]
* [[Sales]]
* [[Selling technique]]
* [[The switch (con)]]
* [[Trojan horse (business)]]
* [[Upselling]]
* [[Value-added selling]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/baitads-gd.htm |title=Guides Against Bait Advertising |website=[[Federal Trade Commission]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319112124/http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/baitads-gd.htm |archive-date=19 March 2013}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcleland/2011/09/22/googles-bait-switch-deception-exposed-at-hearing/ |title=Google's 'Bait & Switch' Deception Exposed at Hearing |last=Cleland |first=Scott |date=22 September 2011 |website=[[Forbes]]}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/00258.html |title=Bait and switch selling |website=Competition Bureau Canada |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805215051/http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/00258.html |archive-date=5 August 2014}}

{{Scams and confidence tricks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bait-And-Switch}}
[[Category:Advertising techniques]]
[[Category:Selling techniques]]
[[Category:Persuasion techniques]]
[[Category:Commercial crimes]]
[[Category:Consumer fraud]]
[[Category:Diversionary tactics]]