Lawsuit Claims Kate Spade Advertised Imaginary Outlet Prices

In yet another of alleged imaginary discount prices, Kate Spade shoppers have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit claiming that the brand’s outlet stores sold items marked as a steal of a deal, when really they were never sold at a higher price or in higher-end boutiques in the first place.

The lawsuit filed in California accuses Kate Spade’s outlet stores of advertising big markdowns on merchandise that was originally made to be sold at that discount price (h/t Racked.com).

One plaintiffs says she bought a handbag from a Kate Spade outlet that had been advertised as 70% off the retail price of $355. She scored it for what she thought was a discount at $142, but claims in the lawsuit that the bag was never intended to be sold for the higher price.

According to the lawsuit, “Kate Spade misrepresented the existence, nature and amount of price discounts to consumers in its outlet stores by purporting to offer specific percentage discounts from expressly referenced former retail prices, which were represented as ‘our price’ retail prices.”

The plaintiffs allege that the brand has been selling merchandise that was “made exclusively for sale at the outlets and never intended to be sold at non-outlet stores,” the lawsuit states, claiming that “thousands of consumers … were victims of Kate Spade’s deceptive, misleading and unlawful pricing schemes and thousands more will be deceived if Kate Spade’s practices continue.”

This isn’t the first time a big name brand has been accused of peddling wares at fake discount prices: Michael Kors recently agreed to pay consumers a total of $4.88 million to make up for years of imaginary price tags.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist