(A) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ADVERTISEMENT. Includes any offer to sell a consumer commodity to the public at retail by means of any form of public notice however disseminated or utilized.
COMPARATIVE PRICING. The use of two prices in advertising, the selling price and the reference price.
COMPUTER WAREHOUSE. A warehouse with a data processing system for the control and distribution of inventory.
CONSUMER COMMODITY. Any article, product or commodity of any kind or class, which is produced or distributed for sale at retail.
PERSON. Any individual, association, partnership or corporation.
REFERENCE PRICE. An advertised price to which a selling price is compared in advertising which employs comparative pricing. REFERENCE PRICE shall include the use of terms such as: if perfect, list price, regular price, full price, retail price, former price or words of similar import.
SELLING PRICE. The price at which a consumer commodity is sold at retail on any given date. In the case of commodities weighed by retailers, the SELLING PRICE shall only be computed by using the price per one pound as the basis for the sale; provided that the metric system may be employed where customary.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to display for sale any consumer commodity unless the selling price of the consumer commodity is accurately stated in a clear and conspicuous manner upon the consumer commodity, and further provided, that the selling price shall be stated on a sign contiguous to the point of display of the consumer commodity.
(1) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any consumer commodity when the selling price is electronically coded upon the consumer commodity, and provided the selling price of the consumer commodity shall have been conspicuously displayed upon the point of display of all those consumer commodities.
(2) Consumer commodities sold through vending machines shall have the selling price of the consumer commodities conspicuously displayed upon the vending machine dispensing the consumer commodity.
(3) When any consumer commodity whether electronically coded or not is sold out-of-doors, the selling price of such consumer commodity shall be stated in numerals on signs contiguous to the point of display, which numerals shall be not less than three inches in height and one and one-half inches in width.
(C) It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise a 'sale' or other temporary change in prices unless the duration of the sale or other temporary change in terms of time is disclosed by stating the number of days or termination date. Provided, however, that where a termination date has been advertised in good faith, the date may be extended.
(D) It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise a reference price unless: the reference price is disclosed in a clear and conspicuous manner or can be readily ascertained by disclosure of the dollar, fraction or percentage reduction in prices.
(E) It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise a reference price based on sales of the identical article unless the reference price is the actual price at which the article was offered to the public by the advertiser or by principal competing persons in the advertiser's trade area for a reasonably substantial period of time in the recent regular course of business, honestly and in good faith.
(F) It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise a reference price based on sales of a comparable article unless:
(1) The two articles are, in fact, substantially identical in all significant respects and the comparability can be established by reference to generally accepted standards of identity or performance or otherwise; and
(2) The reference price of the comparable article is the actual price at which the article was offered to the public by the advertiser or by principal competing persons in the advertiser's trade area for a reasonably substantial period of time in the recent regular course of business, honestly and In good faith.
(G) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise in a manner which expressly or impliedly offers lowered prices on commodities as a result of some unusual circumstances, unless the circumstances are true and the advertised prices are actually lower than the advertisers' usual prices.
(2) UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES shall include, but is not limited to terms such as SPECIAL PURCHASE, EXCEPTIONAL PURCHASE, CLEARANCE and MANUFACTURER'S CLOSE OUT.
(H) The provisions of Village of Calumet Park this section shall not apply to a price reduction which results from a retailer's purchase of a consumer commodity in bulk or in large scale or at a discount or under similar conditions and where that price reduction remains in effect while the inventory from that purchase is available for sale.
(Ord. 78-291, passed 12-14-1978; Ord. 83-409, passed 6-21-1983; Ord. 01-754, passed 1-25-2001) Penalty, see § 111.99