Ad description
An ad, for a bed tray/book rest, on the Amazon website, viewed on 5 June 2011, included the price of the product followed by the text "... + £4.99 shipping", which appeared above an "Add to Basket" button. The page also included a link to further information about the seller, which was in the form of a hyperlink labelled "Vidal Regals Uk".
Issue
The complainant, who lived in Northern Ireland, challenged whether the ad was misleading, because it stated "... + £4.99 shipping" but he was charged more for shipping at the checkout stage.
Response
Amazon.co.uk Ltd (Amazon) said the Amazon marketplace platform allowed third-party sellers to list items available for sale and the individual seller was responsible for inputting the rates applicable to shipping their items. The rate could vary dependent on various factors, including the delivery address, the method of postage selected, whether a bulk discount was relevant for purchasing more than one item from the same marketplace seller, where the seller was shipping from and whether the seller used Amazon fulfilment, whereby a customer could benefit from free delivery in certain circumstances.
They said the shipping rate that was inputted by the seller for the 'UK mainland' was displayed, by default, on the main product information page, in a box with the price and the "Add to Basket" button, and it was an indication of the shipping rate consumers would generally have to pay. Amazon said they believed that to be the appropriate rate to display because, although Amazon delivered to customers in over 200 countries, over 90% of shipments were delivered to the UK mainland and therefore the rate would be correct for the vast majority of customers. They said, in relation to pricing practices, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) had indicated that where there were a range of alternatives for a compulsory element of a product or service (for example, the delivery method) the cheapest option available to at least 50% of customers should be included in the headline price, with alternatives clearly listed and costed. Amazon said that, against that benchmark, the indicative shipping price provided an accurate picture of shipping costs for their customers, given that it would be accurate for well in excess of 90% of customers and alternatives were also clearly stated.
They said the shipping rate was displayed only after a consumer had identified the product they wished to buy; it was not used to drive traffic to the site or to inform a consumer's decision about which product to view. They said the product price was displayed in red and the shipping price was in a smaller, pale grey font, which was a clear visual signal that it was an expected price only. If the same delivery rate was applicable in all instances they would not need to draw a visual distinction between the price of the product and the cost of shipping. Amazon said they did not believe the shipping rate displayed on third-party product information pages amounted to a price statement, because it was clearly displayed separately from the product price and could potentially be replaced with text, such as "+ shipping", that did not include details of any cost.
Amazon said that once a consumer had placed items into the basket and logged into their account they would enter their own delivery details, including the delivery address and preferred delivery method. Following that, the final postage and packaging rate applicable to the purchase would be displayed and therefore any variation from the UK mainland shipping price stated would be clear before the purchase was made. They said full details of the seller's range of shipping rates were available at the checkout stage. In addition, a table that gave details of the relevant costs, including for delivery to destinations outside of the UK mainland and for expedited delivery, was available prior to checkout, within the 'seller detail' page, which could be found by clicking on the name of the marketplace seller from any product information page and then clicking the 'shipping rates' tab.
Amazon said the use of "from" before the shipping rate could be misleading, because the rate for shipping would in some instances be lower than the UK mainland rate stated. They said that if they included an indication that the price related to shipping to the UK mainland only it might deter consumers, in particular UK mainland customers, from reviewing the 'shipping rates' page in full. They said they encouraged customers to view that page, which was easily accessible from the product information page, in detail in every instance and adding to the existing information would obscure the clear and easy to understand shipping rates. They believed consumers who required delivery outside of the UK mainland could reasonably expect to pay a higher rate for shipping. Amazon said their customers were familiar with the way the site worked but, nevertheless, the average consumer who was not located on the UK mainland and had previously ordered an item on the internet was likely to know that they might pay a slightly different shipping rate to that shown. They said large or internationally based third-party sellers might not have different shipping rates for customers who were not on the UK mainland and even where there was a difference in shipping rates it was likely to be quite small. They said deliveries to Northern Ireland formed only 1.5% of purchases made on the Amazon.co.uk website and it was also possible that shipping for those customers might cost less than the UK mainland shipping rate shown, for example if the seller was based in Northern Ireland. Amazon provided details of the information available to consumers, and where it was located on the site, at each stage of a transaction. They strongly believed the ad was not misleading.
Vidal Regals UK said shipping costs changed dependent on the 'shipping zone' but that all shipping rates were clearly explained on the 'shipping rates' page; £4.99 was the shipping cost for the UK mainland. They said consumers had to confirm twice before completing a purchase and therefore they would be aware of the shipping rate that applied to them before they paid for the product. They said they understood the text "... + £XXX shipping" was displayed in the same format for all third-party Amazon sellers.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA understood the stated shipping rate was likely to apply to most Amazon customers but noted the price consumers actually paid for shipping could vary according to various factors. We noted Amazon marketplace customers would be aware of the final shipping rate applicable to their purchase before completing the process and that full details of a seller's various shipping rates could be located prior to making a purchase. We also noted, however, that information was on a separate page and the ad did not make immediately clear where details of the shipping rates could be found. We considered the shipping rates page could easily be bypassed. Nevertheless, we also considered that, without immediate qualification, the text "... + £4.99 shipping" was likely to be interpreted as suggesting that was the standard shipping rate applicable to all consumers who purchased the product in question, rather than that it was a typical shipping rate that might vary according to circumstances. Because the ad did not make clear that the stated shipping price was a typical rate only, and that rate was not available to all consumers, we concluded that it was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(Misleading advertising),
3.9
3.9
Marketing communications must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.
(Qualification) and
3.17
3.17
Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. They must relate to the product featured in the marketing communication.
and
3.19
3.19
If a tax, duty, fee or charge cannot be calculated in advance, for example, because it depends on the consumer's circumstances, the marketing communication must make clear that it is excluded from the advertised price and state how it is calculated.
(Prices).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Amazon to ensure future ads made clear if a stated shipping price was a typical rate only and, if applicable, that that rate was not available to all consumers.
