Class action lawsuit claims iCanvas uses misleading sale pricing

ICanvas pricing class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Tal Nelkin filed a class action lawsuit against Kroto Inc. d/b/a iCanvas and iCanvasArt.
• Why: The iCanvas websites allegedly advertise false reference pricing to mislead consumers into thinking they are getting a bargain even though the item is allegedly never sold at the advertised reference price.
• Where: The iCanvas pricing class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

Kroto Inc., doing business as iCanvas and iCanvasArt, is facing a class action lawsuit alleging it advertises fake and inflated comparison reference pricing to mislead consumers into thinking the sale price is a discounted bargain price.

Kroto sells custom home decor products through its iCanvas.com and iCanvasArt.com websites. The websites emphasize that iCanvas products are custom-made, touting that the company will “print, hand-stretch, and assemble all our pieces at our facility,” the iCanvas pricing class action lawsuit says.

Plaintiff Tal Nelkin alleges the iCanvas “business model relies on deceiving consumers with fake sales.”

For example, iCanvas prominently promotes sales offering a discount of a certain percentage from a higher reference price. This reference price is allegedly crossed out on the website next to the purported sale price, the iCanvas pricing class action lawsuit alleges.

At the end of one sale, another iCanvas discount of substantial equivalence is “promptly instituted,” Nelkin alleges. “The cycle continues over and over.”

Nelkin claims the iCanvas pricing is deceptive in order to dupe customers into thinking that the product was previously sold at the reference price. However, he claims, iCanvas never sells the item at the reference price.

ICanvas also allegedly creates a false sense of urgency to entice consumers to make purchases, claiming that a sale “Ends Today!” or “Ends Soon!” even though another sale will allegedly follow promptly.

Plaintiff says he was duped by iCanvas pricing scheme

Nelkin says he visited the iCanvas website to purchase a Barbie canvas print. At the time, the website indicated that all products were subject to 15% discount. When he visited the website the next day, he saw that all products were subject to a flash sale of 40% off. He purchased the item that day.

At the time he purchased the print, the purported regular price was around $100 with a listed discount price of $59.99. Several weeks later, the item was allegedly still advertised on sale with an increased regular price of $110 and a sale price of $77 after a 30% discount.

“This is further evidence that [iCanvas pricing is] bogus,” the plaintiff alleges.

Nelkin says he would not have paid as much as he paid for the item if iCanvas pricing had been truthful. He filed the iCanvas pricing lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed class of California consumers who purchased at least one product from iCanvas.com or iCanvasArt.com at a discount from a higher reference price.

In recent months, retailers such as Old Navy and Michael Kors have faced class action lawsuits alleging they used false reference pricing to mislead consumers into thinking they were getting a bargain.

Do you think iCanvas pricing is deceptive? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Nelkin is represented by Alexander E. Wolf of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC.

The iCanvas pricing class action lawsuit is Tal Nelkin v. Kroto Inc. d/b/a iCanvas and iCanvasArt, Case No. 2:23-cv-08241, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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