1. I agree that tiny amounts off don't make it a sale. I remember one clothing store that would, for example, take a $50 top and mark it as being "on sale" for only $46.90. Ooh, yeah, that makes a huge difference. I couldn't afford it at $50, but at $47, it's a real bargain. Lame.

2. Stores find expected, typical ways around laws governing sales. For example, I worked at a department store that would have some items permanently "on sale," then maybe two weekends a year (every six months), they would go OFF sale so the letter of the law could be met regarding regular price v. sale price. Our experienced sale setters (I was a sale setter but relatively new) would just leave these items on sale, having decided that it was a waste of time to swap out a bunch of signage on Thursday night, only to have to swap it back to the sale price a few days later.