Archive for November, 2009
Play Let’s Make a Deal when Holiday Shopping
November 27th, 2009
Black Friday is officially upon us and my wife is out somewhere using all of her cunning and physical prowess to best other women in the eternal hunt for doorbuster deals. If she doesn’t make it back, we’ll remember that she died doing what she loved.
But there’s no reason to get trampled for low priced gifts this holiday season. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that except for those extremely limited quantity blowout deals designed to get people in the door, people aren’t filling their shopping carts this year. And it’s no wonder why. With consumers cutting back on spending, banks cutting back on credit and so many people out of work, it’s not looking good for retailers.
What does this mean? It’s a buyer’s market and it’s time for you to haggle your way to big savings.
Americans are not accustomed to negotiating in stores, except for when they buy a car. But the rest of the world both expects and enjoys the process. You should too. Whether you’re in a mom-and-pop outfit or a big box chain store, you can always ask for a better price, even on sale items. Consider that sticker price a starting point and work from there.
First off, do your homework. You should be holiday shopping with a list in order not to break the bank with impulse purchases. Use the web to find the lowest price you can for all of your buys and make printouts of jot them down. Most stores will beat or match a competitor’s lowest prices, so those are easy wins. Sometimes you’ll even find that stores have lower prices on their websites than in the stores and you can demand the lower price for your in-store purchase.
Need help in haggling? Check out this article from the New York Times that profiles some super-shoppers who have no fear of store managers and offer advice on doing what they do. A little gamesmanship and subterfuge is clearly part of their toolkit. Like in the following deal struck in a Polo store:
He told the salesperson that he had seen a similar pair on the Internet for $65, adding that he thought the pair on the rack looked worn (even though he did not really think so). He got the pants for around $50, he said.
Internet searches are again mentioned as a key part of the art of the deal. Remember that if you are browsing and want to check for deals on the fly, you can bust out your iPhone or Droid and go a quick Google search on the item you want.
An article in Time Magazine reminds us that a lower price may not be the only thing to haggle for. If the price is right, how about asking for free accessories for electronics or free delivery and installation of appliances? Anything of value that you can get for free is worth them forking over.
So good luck Christmas shoppers. This is a great year to wait until the last minute for big buys and hone your negotiating skillz. Retailers will be more and more desperate at times goes on, so take advantage of their situation. They’d do the same for to you.
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Happy Thanksgiving!
November 26th, 2009
Debtbeat taking the day off from our usual excoriation of credit card companies, banks, brokers, bureaucrats and all other enemies of our financial state to give thanks for all the good things that we have.
…on second thought, nah.
Happy turkey day folks. Enjoy all your blessings.
Congress Takes Holiday on Credit Card Reform
November 25th, 2009
While it seemed at one point very likely that Congress would get real gangsta and move up the effective date of legislation prohibiting banks from (among other things) raising interest rates on existing balances of certain credit cards unless the customer is two months late in paying the bill, those hopes are dwindling. Whether it’s because of too many higher priorities or too many steak dinners from the financial sector lobby, the little man is again out in the cold for now.Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that credit card companies started hiking rates almost immediately to lock in their profits before the new law kicked in.
A measure was passed in the House of Representatives to move up the start date to take effect right away but the Senate has introduced a different version of the legislation and with the current debates on war funding and healthcare, there has been little enthusiasm to take up the House bill. Last week, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut tried to move this agenda forward but he was thwarted by Republicans in the chamber.
This means that any congressional effort to provide immediate protection for consumers during this holiday shopping season is all but a dream.
What that all means is that you must still monitor your credit card statements and inserts for any funny business, create a good budget for the next few months of holiday spending and use cash and debit cards whenever possible for your holiday shopping.
