I have been paying particular attention to a toy called Butterscotch the Pony. Not especially from an affiliate mindset - although perhaps I should of done as it seems to have been a hot toy last Christmas - but as a general customer, as someone in the family wanted it as a gift. We managed to get hold of one, but it broke, so now the hunt is back on for a replacement.

Prices have been fluctuating quite heavily on this toy, but for most retailers the price has been put up since Christmas, perhaps to take advantage of stock shortages as it tends to go out of stock quickly.

One shop hasn't put the price up though. Before Christmas, Tesco were selling Butterscotch for £199.99, although it was out of stock from the time I first saw it. I signed up to get an email when it came back in stock, and the item never came back into stock. In fact, it is now marked as discontinued. But oddly, the price on the Tesco website has been put down to £149.99. So despite the item never coming back into stock, and therefore never having the chance to sell it as a revised price, they are listing the item with a price far cheaper than anyone else is selling it for, although they aren't able to supply it at that price.

So maybe I am just being cynical, but it looks like to me like they have cut the price just to make their rivals who do have stock look more expensive. Are these the kind of murky games that retailers play?

Labels: butterscotch