The Federal Court has just ruled that 13 of 14 Coles “Down Down” tickets put before it were misleading shoppers, the second major retailer caught on pricing in a fortnight after JB Hi-Fi. Meanwhile the ACCC has ordered Amazon, eBay, Kogan and Fruugo to pull listings for banned magnetic toys, Country Road\’s 25 per cent EOFY sale closes tonight, and we line up five fresh Australian sales worth your Sunday.
Coles Loses Down Down Case: 13 Of 14 Tickets Misleading
Justice Michael O\’Bryan of the Federal Court ruled on Thursday that 13 of the 14 Coles “Down Down” tickets considered in the joint liability trial misled Australian shoppers. The conduct ran from February 2022 to May 2023 and covered everyday staples, including 2-litre Coca-Cola, Arnott\’s Shapes multipacks, Karicare Follow On formula, Pedigree wet dog food, Colgate Total toothpaste, Rexona antiperspirant, Lurpak Slightly Salted butter and a 3-pack of Viva paper towels. According to Jack Revell at SBS News, the judge found that “the relevant products were not sold at the \’was\’ price stated on the ticket for a reasonable period,” and “the discount represented on the tickets was not genuine.”
The mechanic the court drilled into matters for every shopper this EOFY. Coles\’s own internal guideline required a 12-week minimum at the higher “was” price before a saving could be claimed, but evidence at trial showed the supermarket was frequently dropping that window to four weeks or less, then printing a “Down Down” red ticket. ACCC barrister Garry Rich pressed the point in court: “Why on earth are you telling your customers your prices are going down? They\’re not.” The legal analysis from Lavan confirms Coles was found to have contravened both section 18(1) (misleading conduct) and section 29(1)(i) (misleading price representations) of the Australian Consumer Law.
The penalty phase is still to come. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb told the court the regulator would “certainly make strong submissions on the level of penalty” and is seeking a “significant deterrent for such conduct,” per Liam Beatty at Yahoo News Australia. Former ACCC chair Allan Fels told SBS the penalty figure could land in the hundreds of millions of dollars range. Further case management was set for 10 June.
How To Spot A Fake Down Down This EOFY
The court\’s 12-week benchmark is now the consumer test you can run yourself. Before you trust a red ticket, do three quick checks. First, take a clear photo of the next price tag (in store or on screen) for a product you buy regularly: in four weeks, compare it to the next “sale” you see on the same item. If the “was” price never showed up in your own history, the discount is suspect. Second, drop the product into a price-history tracker (a free browser add-on covers most big AU sites): a genuine “Down Down” should show the higher price actually charged for an extended block, not a one-week blip. Third, ignore “was” prices that are obviously the original sticker from a year ago, the law expects the comparison to reflect a recent selling price, not the highest number ever printed.
This is the second pricing case to land in a fortnight. JB Hi-Fi began refunding around $250,000 to roughly 200 customers last Thursday over the same issue, “was/now” prices that did not reflect a genuine recent benchmark. Two of Australia\’s biggest retailers, two ACCC actions, one lesson for shoppers: verify, then save.
Amazon, eBay, Kogan And Fruugo Ordered To Pull Magnet Toys
The same week the ACCC was taking apart Coles\’s tickets, the regulator was also ordering Amazon, eBay, Kogan and Fruugo to remove banned magnetic toy listings from their Australian sites. The ACCC said it was investigating the supply of “magnetic chess” and “magnetic battle chess” games containing small high-powered magnets, which are subject to a permanent ban in Australia because of the risk of injury or death if swallowed. Full enforcement update on the ACCC Product Safety site.
The day after the takedown notices went out, consumer advocacy group CHOICE lodged a formal “super complaint” with the ACCC, asking it to investigate what CHOICE describes as a “significant volume” of potentially dangerous products still listed across online marketplaces, per InternetRetailing. The regulator has 90 days to respond. For shoppers buying toys for kids or grandkids this EOFY, the safest path is the same as every other category: buy from Australian-owned specialty retailers with local stock and Australian Consumer Law guarantees, not the cheapest third-party listing on a global marketplace.
Last Call: Country Road EOFY Ends Tonight
If you have been circling a Country Road piece for winter, today is the day. The Australian heritage label\’s EOFY sale runs for one week only and closes tonight (Sunday 14 June), with 25 per cent off full-priced and already-discounted items, per Better Homes & Gardens Australia. That stacks the discount on items already reduced, so it is the deepest cut Country Road runs all year. Mobile shoppers should also note felix mobile\’s 50 per cent off unlimited data offer ends today, flagged in finder.com.au\’s EOFY mobile round-up.
Five Aussie Stores, Five Categories
Five stores. Five categories. The deepest headline discounts surfaced from a sweep of every retailer on It\’s On Sale, audited at dawn.
Discount
KathmanduCampingUp to 50% off Kathmandu’s outlet: down jackets, packs, fleeces, thermals and rain shells from the New Zealand-Australian outdoor chain trading from over 40 AU stores, with free returns on full-priced gear.50%OFF2
OPSMGlassesUp to 50% off OPSM’s special offers: prescription frames, sunglasses and contact lenses from the EssilorLuxottica-owned Australian optometry chain, with bulk-billed eye tests and free shipping on all orders.50%OFF3
PortmansFashionUp to 50% off Portmans’ sale: workwear, dresses, denim and outerwear from the Premier Investments-owned Australian womenswear label, with free shipping over $100 and AfterPay across all states.50%OFF4
SunnylifeBeachwearUp to 50% off Sunnylife’s sale: pool floats, beach umbrellas, picnic gear and homewares from the Bondi-founded summer-lifestyle brand, with same-day Sydney despatch on weekday orders.50%OFF5
Scooter HutScootersUp to 50% off Scooter Hut’s sale: pro stunt scooters, complete builds, decks, wheels and helmets from the Gold Coast-headquartered Australian scooter specialist, with workshop assembly on all complete scooters.50%OFF% discounts shown are indicative across each store\’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.
Our Take
Two ACCC pricing cases in a fortnight, against two of the country\’s largest retailers, is not a coincidence. It is the inevitable consequence of an EOFY where every retailer is leaning on “was/now” headlines to win share, and where the watchdog has openly named misleading pricing as a 2026 to 2027 enforcement priority. Coles will pay (the only question is how many hundreds of millions), JB Hi-Fi is refunding, and shoppers are left to do the verification work the tickets were supposed to do for us. The court\’s 12-week benchmark is now the rule of thumb that protects your June dollars.
That is the gap It\’s On Sale was built for. We aggregate 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live products in one place, every store Australian-owned and locally fulfilled (so the warranty, the returns, the ACL protections actually mean something when something goes wrong). Our AI search reads the way shoppers ask questions, the Today\’s Sales page surfaces every store currently running a promotion, and we never carry Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local store. It is free, it is Australian, and it is built to keep your EOFY honest. Browse Today\’s Sales before the 30 June clock runs out.