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J
John26516438w4ya
Participating Frequently
October 10, 2022
Question

Fake discount scheme targeting Adobe Acrobat

  • October 10, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 1792 views

There is a company advertising on Google on the term "Adobe Acrobat" that uses a fake discounting scheme in order to lure buyers away from Adobe.  Beyond the fake discount (which is simply renewed every 15 days), also note that there is no discount at all. The prices shown are simply the regular price. This is misleading. Screenshots and examples are shown below.

 

 

 

 

This activity started in June earlier this year and then briefly stopped in late August and early September. The ads showing the fake discounts can now be seen again (at least in the US). As of today, the "discount" ends on October 15.

 

Please also note the use of false pricing (the total does not total correctly, even after selecting/de-selecting the add-on) on the company's other domain. The price is initially indicated at $49.97 on Google Shopping and in various advertisements on search engines. 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

try67
try67
Community Expert
October 10, 2022

It doesn't say Adobe or Acrobat anywhere on their site. They're selling a product called "PDF Pro", which they are allowed to do, as "PDF" is not trademarked by Adobe. They paid Google to include their ad on the search results for "Adobe Acrobat" to attract people to their website, instead of to Adobe's, which is also allowed (if not entirely ethical). It's up to the consumer to be vigilant and look at what they're paying for carefully. Caveat emptor.

J
John26516438w4yaAuthor
Participating Frequently
October 10, 2022

The issue is the price/discounting scheme. 

 

The product is continuously advertised as being "on sale". The "sale ends" date is simply pushed backwards every 15 days. e.g. "sale ends July 15", "sale ends July 31", etc. Secondly, there is actually no sale as the price is the same as what is advertised on the home page at all other times. 

 

It concerns Adobe as it is difficult to compete against such schemes. Furthermore, these advertisements appear when buyers attempt to purchase Acrobat. 

try67
try67
Community Expert
October 10, 2022

This has nothing to do with Adobe. You can report it to Google if you think it's a fraudulent/misleading site.

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