The sale that never ends: what James Lane and Vuly just taught every retailer about Black Friday
If a countdown timer resets when it hits zero, is it really a countdown timer?
That's the question behind this week's ACCC announcement. Furniture retailer James Lane, and play equipment retailer Vuly have paid $59,400 between them over Black Friday sales that didn't end when they said they would.
Black Friday 2026 is eight weeks away. Here's what happened, and how to run a sale your customers and the ACCC can both believe.
What happened
James Lane told shoppers its sale would end on 3 December 2025, backed by "Sale ends today!" messaging. But as soon as the sale ended, the discount started again and ran for another week. The ACCC alleged “James Lane created a false sense of urgency for consumers by using an early end date for its sale and statements such as “Sale ends today!” despite the retailer deciding in advance that its sale would be extended” and issued James Lane with an infringement notice of $19,800.
Vuly ran a Click Frenzy sale in early November 2025: up to 30% off, with a countdown timer. When the timer hit zero, the discount went up to 45% and a new timer appeared. Later that month, its Black Friday sale offered up to 45% off with a timer ending on Black Friday. When that timer hit zero, the discount stayed and the timer reset again.
The ACCC issued Vuly with two infringement notices of $39,600.
Both businesses have committed to the ACCC that their future sales advertising will comply with the Australian Consumer Law.
Why a deadline is a legal claim
A sale end date isn't decoration. It tells the customer something specific: buy now, or pay more later. If ‘later’ turns out to be the same price, or a better one, the claim wasn't true.
The Australian Consumer Law prohibits misleading conduct (section 18) and false or misleading representations about price (section 29(1)(i)). Countdown timers and "ends tonight" banners sit squarely within both if they turn out to be untrue.
The ACCC's concern is pressure. False urgency pushes people into rushed decisions and stops them shopping around, which hurts customers and the competitors who play it straight. Its message to retailers this year is blunt: sale end dates, countdown timers and limited-time claims must be genuine.
Note how much weight the ACCC put on James Lane's extension being planned in advance. If there's a real chance your sale will roll on, the safest move is simple. Don't promise an end date you don't intend to keep.
This isn't a one-off
The ACCC has swept Black Friday advertising two years running, and the consequences keep arriving months after the sales end.
2024 sweep: In June 2025, Michael Hill, MyHouse and Hairhouse Online each paid $19,800 over "sitewide" sales that had exclusions.
2025 sweep: The ACCC reported that around half of the 50 retailers it reviewed made concerning claims. James Lane and Vuly are the latest outcome. digiDirect paid penalties this month over discount claims the ACCC first spotted during a sweep.
The sweep happens while your sale is live. The letter arrives when you've long forgotten which banner you ran. Misleading pricing remains an ACCC enforcement priority, and it has been clear it will look at retailers that don't learn from earlier warnings.
Your pre-Black Friday checklist
Deadlines
Set the end date, then keep it. If the discount might continue, don't advertise an end date at all.
Make timers count down to something real. When the clock hits zero, the price goes back up. No auto-resetting plugins.
Don't relaunch the same deal under a new name. Click Frenzy into Black Friday into Cyber Monday, with the same or a better discount and a fresh timer each time, is exactly the Vuly pattern. Plan a sale calendar where each event genuinely ends.
Discounts
"Sitewide" means sitewide. If there are exclusions, say "selected" or make the exclusions prominent, not buried in the fine print.
"Up to" needs to be visible and real. The headline discount should apply to a meaningful range of products, and "up to" shouldn't shrink next to the percentage.
"Was" prices need a genuine history. The comparison price should be one you actually charged for a reasonable period before the sale.
Housekeeping
Keep the paper trail. Screenshots, price history and internal decisions about sale timing. If the ACCC asks you to back up a claim, you'll want receipts.
Brief everyone who touches the campaign. Your agency, your email flows and your Shopify apps don't know the Australian Consumer Law. You're the one who pays the penalty.
What it costs
An infringement notice is $19,800 per notice for a company, and the ACCC can issue more than one. Vuly received two.
That's the cheap version. If the ACCC goes to court instead, penalties for false or misleading representations can reach the greatest of $50 million, three times the benefit obtained, or 30% of adjusted turnover during the breach period. Then there's the media release with your brand name in the headline.
Keep the urgency. Make it true.
None of this means you can't run a sale with a deadline. Urgency works because customers trust it. Keep it genuine and you get to keep using it.
If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your Black Friday campaign before it goes live, get in touch.