When holiday sales are no big deal
During the holidays, it seems that everything is on sale. But often the “sales” are nothing more than retail smoke and mirrors designed to make your money disappear. Here are a few tricks to keep in mind while shopping this holiday season and beyond:
The marked-up markdown. True story. A leather tote bag at Banana Republic that retailed for $98 was marked up to $120 the week of a storewide, 25 percent-off sale. A very obvious sticker had been applied over the original sales tag. It's a classic retailer move to reduce an apparent discount by pricing an item above the manufacturer suggested retail price. Some retailers are better at hiding it -- they use electronic devices so you can't determine the MSRP -- but it is the same game. How can you win? Always comparison shop for better deals online and, for specialty items, monitor the price for a while to see what happens.
The BOGO bluff. Buy one, get one free, or buy one, get one half (or some other percentage) off, always seems like a good deal, but only if you need two. If you can use the other item as a gift or if you really love it that much, then proceed. But remember, the discount applies to an item of equal or lesser value so make sure you choose two items of the same price to get the most for your money.
The shipping and handling swindle. How many times have you found an item for the lowest price only to discover that it really isn't when you add shipping and handling fees? Here's another true story: A chair from West Elm was on "sale" online for $399, a full $100 less than the in-store price. But with shipping and handling, tax and a delivery surcharge, the total was about the same as buying the chair in the store. Many retailers make up for deals by charging high shipping fees and even if the shipping charge is reasonable, it might not make sense for cheap or bulky items.
The not so liquid(ation) sale. This is a lesson from the December issue of ShopSmart magazine. Stores going out of business don't always offer you the lowest price and some actually try to give you one last gouging. In a 2009 check of Circuit City's liquidation sale, ShopSmart found Circuit City intended to advertise a Hewlett Packard computer printer for $150 that became $270 during the liquidation sale. Don't be fooled.
The "sale by any other name" sham. Door-buster. Deal-buster. Bargain basement. Value priced. Particularly during the holidays, the big "deals" are often not even close to being the best. Here's my last true tale: A Bissell multi-surface deep cleaner was advertised on "sale" during Macy's one-day sale for $99.99, shipping was free, but taxes pushed the price to $106. A web search turned up the same cleaner on Amazon for $95 with free shipping and no tax for a total of $96. Ten dollars saved. Sounds like a deal to us.
About the Author
Nedra Rhone is a lifestyle columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where she has been a reporter since 2006. A graduate of Columbia University School of Journalism, she enjoys writing about the people, places and events that define metro Atlanta. Sign up to have her column sent to your inbox: ajc.com/newsletters/nedra-rhone-columnist.
