‘Discounts’ on Secretlab Gaming Chairs No More than a Marketing Tactic, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action alleges Secretlab has for years misleadingly advertised its gaming chairs online with false discount prices. 

The 24-page suit claims that, unbeknownst to consumers, the Secretlab gaming chairs at issue were never sold at their purported “original” prices, or were otherwise sold at those prices for “an inconsequential period of time” and then continuously discounted. 

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The filing alleges Secretlab’s false discount prices are “simply a marketing tactic” outlawed in California and “criticized” by the Federal Trade Commission. The fraudulent prices aim to “convince consumers that the product they are viewing has been long sold at an original higher price, and the customer should speedily purchase the product before it goes back to its original price,” the complaint reads. 

The specific Secretlab gaming chairs mentioned in the complaint are the Titan 2020, Omega 2020, Throne 2020, Titan XL 2020, Omega 2018, Titan 2018 and Throne 2018 models. 

Notably, the lawsuit says, Secretlab gaming chairs are sold exclusively on the company’s website, where its FAQ page states that “[b]y cutting out the middleman and selling directly to you, we get rid of extra expenses like retailer and distributor margins and storefront costs.” The case points out that in light of this, there was no other market price for the supposedly discounted gaming chairs during the relevant time period. 

Per the suit, Secretlab is one of the top gaming chair retailers in the country, and consumers trust the company “to be honest and forthright in its advertising and marketing of its products.” 

On its website, Secretlab states a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), or “original price,” with a strikethrough, followed by the “direct price” the chair is on sale for, the case relays. However, the gaming chairs were never for sale for this purported original price for a period of longer than three months, the complaint alleges.

“In fact, based on Plaintiff and his counsel’s investigation and belief, during the [relevant period], none of the Products were ever sold at their purported original price,” the lawsuit says. “To the extent they may have been offered at the ‘Original’ price for a short period of time, which has not been uncovered in Plaintiff and his Counsel’s investigation, this period of time was negligible and not ‘the prevailing market price’ for the Products.” 

The lawsuit looks to cover consumers in California who bought any of the Secretlab gaming chairs highlighted on this page within the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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