Just as traditional retailers are faltering, so are list prices. This article exposes some of the secrets regarding list prices and online sellers.

Questions:
1. Discuss the question in the article and what it means for you personally? “If everyone is getting a deal, is anyone really getting a deal?”
2. Explain the case against Overstock.com. How should the company account for the $6.8 million? Present the journal entry and/or note to the financial statements.
3. What is the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) role with respect to list prices?
4. What happened to the Amazon lawsuit and list prices?
5. Why are list prices so important for online merchants?

Source:
Streitfeld, D. (2016) It’s Discounted, but Is It a Deal? How List Prices Lost Their Meaning. The New York Times, Mar. 6 (Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/technology/its-discounted-but-is-it-a-deal-how-list-prices-lost-their-meaning.html)