To think influencers should share the price of the things they get sent for free?

[HoleyJesus]

I don’t generally don’t follow influencers on SM as I think they’re mostly full of shit, but there are one or two that I follow for tips and advice about a particular item I use in every day life. I need to replace my current one and an account I follow has repeatedly posted one in particular that looks great, and they have a discount code, so I decided to look it up.

LOL. I knew it wouldn’t be cheap (to buy the same one I currently have again would now cost over £1400), but this thing costs in the multiple thousands, and the account’s discount code amounts to roughly 2%. Not a fucking hope, and a complete waste of time looking it up at all.

It just feels disingenuous, tantamount to dishonest, that, for as much as they go into great detail discussing every aspect of whatever it is they’re flogging, not one of these people ever says “I got sent this for free but if you want one, the current price is the equivalent of 6 months rent £XXXX.”

AIBU to think, in the interests of full disclosure, they ought to share the price as well as all the other details?

I would assume that that's also because prices change.
Don't they get info to say from the supplier?

They are salespeople with shady practices who present themselves as someone relatable. They should declare everything, but they don't.

I am certain there are pretty strict rules for influencers who advertise products. My understanding is that they have to make clear it's an ad or if the item has been gifted. So maybe they haven't, in this instance, been gifted the item. Maybe they are just being paid to promote it? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Influencers are just advertisers. You don't expect every product advertised on tv to have full info on price etc so why would you expect an internet advertisement to?

Why? How many adverts on TV or in magazines, internet have a price displayed?

This. Surely you'd check out the price, features etc independently before committing to buy because adverts will gloss over these things.

They're not repeatedly posting about how great the item as their only motivation, but because that is their job that they're being paid to do and is one of the ways that they make a living.

People don't really just buy something costing ££££s without doing this because they watched a video where a celebrity said 'look at this nice thing, you should get one too' do they?

As a PP said, print, online and TV ads don't usually have prices so why should this be any different.

Or does this only apply to expensive things you'd like to buy but can't afford?

On influencers/advertisers, as well as treating a post by an influencer just like an advert, it's also worth noting that this is often very lucrative for the celebrity endorser.

Not so long ago I listened to a podcast featuring a celebrity, can't remember who it was but they'd just been in a TV campaign for something that might have seemed a bit random/not quite 'them' and the interviewer commented on it, to which they replied that such work paid very very well and they could literally cover their living costs for a year or two from a single day's work, so as well as getting their face out there to keep them 'current' it was in their interests to take up that sort of work where possible because they have a precarious income that could stop at any time, are self employed so have to cover their own pension etc and have high costs as have to pay agents, travel/subsistence etc and many 'mid range' celebrities aren't as rich as many perceive.

For celebrities who's target audience are more likely to engage with them through social media/streaming platforms rather than standard TV, the above will apply this way as well. So it's still an advert, it just presented in a different way.

So just like Judith Chalmers is telling you how great Saga Cruises are on TV halfway through Countdown because she's being paid to do so, the influencer you're referring to (the clue is in the name!) is telling you about this mystery ££££ product on her insta story for the same reason.

Just stop following all of them

Well generally, when a shop I follow posts products on instagram or whatever, you just have to tap the screen and the price is right there.

I don’t read magazines any more but from memory when they do fashion editorials they do indeed include info in the manner of “blue dress, £20, H&M, silver shoes, £35, Office” and so on.

This is easily solved, become an influencer?

Alex Stedman (frugality) sells stuff on Vinted. Cheeky.