Retailers need money, too!

It may sound crazy, but consumers do have an advantage in today’s retail market. Everyone is looking to make some money and retailers are no exception. According to a recent article on The Motley Fool, if you are out shopping for a particular consumer item, it is definitely to your advantage to inquire about a discount.

Motley reports that a 2007 survey by Consumer Reports found that 90 percent of persons who bargained with sales people got a discount on at least one sale over a three-year period. Considering that the survey was done before retailers became desperate to keep customers, it is likely that the results for consumers would be even better now.

Where to look for a bargain

There are discounts to be had on all kinds of products and services if you don’t mind asking. Some people are better at bargaining than others so sticking to major purchases to start with is probably your best bet.

Do your research first

If you know the best prices ahead of time you’ll be better prepared to negotiate. If you enjoy getting out and really seeing everything, you can comparison shop the old-fashioned way by going from store to store or calling around. For those who prefer a less hands-on approach the process can be much quicker and easier. Many online sites offer a price comparison on products and tell you where the item is available for the lowest cost. You can also go from store to store online and compare for yourself.

Know all the little tricks

Do your research on the best times of the year to buy the item you’re looking for. If you can’t wait until that time,try to shop when stores are uncrowded and sales people are more eager to make sales. Also be aware of price-matching discounts offered by some stores. Different retailers have different rules, so be sure to have it all straight ahead of time, but the gist is that if your find a lower price elsewhere (not online usually) then the competing store will beat the price by a certain amount. This can be a quick way to get a great deal. Some of the locally owned businesses may be even more likely to bargain with you because they have no corporate office to contend with; they make the call about what price they want to offer.

Don’t go over the top

It is important not to get so carried away with your bargaining that you lose your cool. Sometimes the price simply can’t be lowered.  Even when the price can be lowered, the salesperson may only be willing to lower it for someone who is being reasonable. If you need to walk away for a few moments or a couple of hours to regain composure or to really think about the deal, then do so. It may even work in your favor to walk away for a while because the salesperson may become even more impatient for the sale and offer a better deal. So get out there and enjoy the wealth of savings available to you.

Everyone has an opinion about what constitutes summer fun.

Like many holidays, Memorial Day has morphed somewhat from its original. The day now is marked by several traditions that don’t really have much to do with honoring fallen soldiers.

Many people view Memorial Day, and the weekend preceding it, as a celebration of the imminent summer. Barbecues, picnics, camping, boating and hiking are the appropriate way to welcome summer, according to many. But some say “as seasons change, so must your wardrobe.” And voila, the tradition of Memorial Day Sales was born.

Stock up for summer

Of course, you can get many things besides clothing on sale during Memorial Day weekend. If you’re thinking “I need to spend my cash now!” you’ll have endless opportunities. In fact, if you are not into all of that sunshine and nature, you can take advantage of many Memorial Day sales without leaving your computer.

MemorialDaySales.us/shop is a great resource for finding Memorial Day sales online. If you want a lengthy list of Memorial Day sales, visit that site. Here are some highlights.

Today only

Some of the places holding Memorial Day sales are actually holding sales today and only today. Overstock.com is offering 10 percent off of health and beauty items today in its “Select Spring Clearance” sale.

Altrec.com is offering up to 60 percent off on summer footwear through the end of the day, and 15 percent off Mammut gear. Wine.com is offering a “summer stock-up” deal; it’s 10 percent off when you buy 12 bottles.

Saturday sales

Best Buy has many items on sale, including computers, appliances, cameras and iPods. You can take advantage of these sales either at the stores or through the Best Buy web site.

To prepare for summer fun, eToys is having a sale tomorrow on all kinds of warm-weather toys. Slip ‘N Slides, craft items and kids’ bicycles are on sale.

Kohl’s is having a big Memorial Day weekend sale, with discounts on items including sandals, swimwear, towels, outdoor furniture and sportswear.

Sunday sales

Buy.com sells just about everything, and several seemingly random items are on sale starting Sunday. Computers, calendars and digital picture frames are on the list. Dockers is having a sale on some summery clothing items for men.

Expedia is advertising deals on rental cars. RedOctane.com, the official “Guitar Hero” store, will give you a deal on “Guitar Hero: Metallica” and some controllers, such as the wireless drum kit.

Memorial Day sales on Monday

Blair.com, which has clothes for men and women as well as bedding and kitchen stuff, is having a Memorial Day sale on Memorial Day, Monday. Champion Sportswear, Fingerhut.com and Hanes have sale items.

Kmart is offering discounts on watches, tents, canopies, pools, jewelry, home decor and more. OmahaSteaks.com and Vans.com are offering free shipping when you spend a certain amount. Overtock.com and MacMall.com are having huge Memorial Day sales on all types of items.

We bought ours back in the early 80’s when we still had some money and the price of a week at a fancy holiday resort on the Sea of Galilee was really cheap. We then waited a couple of years for it to be built and then we started using our investment. And we enjoyed it.

Over the years we found a quiet nook at the pool where the noise level of the children was low and where few guests feared to tread. We went armed with a stack of the latest books which we bought with Quick Payday Loans the day before we travelled. We kept our shirts, hats and sunglasses on in the strong sunshine and we simply rested. No phones, no radios, no newspapers (except the crossword page) and no TV news. It’s called pigging out.

The days

We lunched up in our apartment, and took an hour’s nap. Then we would walk, explore the different surroundings, do a little shopping and then look for afternoon tea or coffee. A rest before dinner and then the search was on for a good restaurant. What a rough day. And we did it year in and year out.

We aged

After 25 years of this once a year enforced holiday that we loved we decided that maybe it was time to sell the time-share and then we discovered that all is not as we thought. Perhaps it is possible to sell a time share but it is probably very complicated and the only evidence of “sales” that we ever saw were “for sale” notices in the papers. We never met anyone who had sold their timeshare.

One day we received a phone call asking if we were interested in selling our week at the resort. I said yes and tried to ask what the caller was offering. She was evasive and invited us to an evening in the city. I went unwillingly. There must have been almost 20 couples there that evening.

The hard sell

These are hard-selling salespeople using high-pressure tactics. I thought that they lied too and were completely immoral. The main salesman of the evening was an Englishman from Yorkshire with an accent and speed of speech that made him difficult to understand. He didn’t let up on his pitch for a second and stormed around the room slapping table tops and stamping his feet. A full-scale heat merchant – and an outright liar to boot.

In the end it turns out that they were not offering money for your timeshare unit. What they offer is membership in a holiday club in exchange for ‘taking your unsalable’ timeshare week off your hands for you. What you gain is that “the subscription to the holiday club is vastly reduced”!

My lost work time

I am self-employed and I only earn when I am sitting in front of my computer. This won’t take long, they said at the reception when we arrived. “The sales presentation will only last about 90 minutes.” I lost something like 6 hours working time what with traffic, parking and watching the super salesman answering and stretching out stupid questions. They know that the longer the pitch lasts, the more likely you are to break down and open up your checkbook.

Stay away from these people.

I had a birthday recently and last night my young brother rolled up and handed me a present. I appreciate the thought. It was a finely knitted cotton sweater. Just what one needs for the end of winter and the start of spring before the temperatures get out of hand. I rushed off to try it on and to my dismay it was a little tight. I took it back to the store today to exchange it for a larger size, a simple task. The new one, of course, had a price tag on it and I almost collapsed when I saw what he had paid. Little brother sure likes me!

$220 for a sweater?

The assistant was waiting for my verdict and I asked if the sweater really cost $220. “It did when we first started selling them,” she told me. “But over the months, the price has been steadily reduced. These sweaters now sell for $79.”

Relief

I was relieved that my brother didn’t need to take a Payday Loan to pay for the sweater and relieved that I hadn’t walked into the store some months ago, seen it, liked it and bought it at $220.

On second thought…

Second thoughts tell me that something is not right. How much did the storekeeper pay for it if he’s selling it for $79 and presumably still showing a profit? $60? And when he sold some at $220 at the beginning of the season did he not feel twinges of guilt at making a profit of $160?

The end of season sales

Notices are already appearing in the windows of the stores offering ‘end-of-season’ reductions. Some of them are up to 70 percent. I always have a problem with such a huge reduction. As I see it, the store keeper set his prices too high in the first place. Surely he would have sold more stock had he set the prices more reasonably at the start of the season. In that case he would be offering ‘end-of-season’ reductions of 25 and 30 percent now.

Other deals

The other highly popular incentives are the ‘2 for 1’ deals, the ‘3 + 1’ deals and the ‘second item for $1’ deals. The problem with these deals is that you end up with unwanted stuff. My sons and I happened to pass a store that was selling shirts at 6 for $100 last season. We listed our sizes and those of the grandchildren and sent one person in with two $100 bills and we split the 12 shirts between us all. That one paid off!

Last year’s goods

I feel good in last season’s clothes and maybe my children do too. But the economics stop there. The big brand names have done too good of an advertising job and my grandchildren wouldn’t be seen in anything bearing a famous name that could be recognized as old stock.

The rules of sales shopping

• Before hitting the sales decide on a budget. Decide how much you want to spend and be strict with yourself.
• Always bring cash to sales. It is quicker, easier and when it runs out, you have to stop spending.
• Don’t buy on credit at sales.

Payday loans of the gargantuan sort may or may not be enough to fix the trouble that America’s automobile industry is facing. It is no stretch of the truth to say that the automakers are responsible for the mess they’ve made, and most have been all too eager to beg at the door of big government for handouts to keep their parties of excess going.

Yet not all automakers prostrated themselves in a mock display before government. Ford, for instance, decided to gird up their loins and go it alone. And if Associated Press reports are an accurate indication, they may have found the sales light at the end of the tunnel.

Credit is available

Sales have been in a nosedive for months for Ford, which is hardly out of place in the current economic climate. However, Jim Farley, the automaker’s global marketing chief, has said that adjusted new sales demand has “held steady” since November. Used sales have come “roaring back” since January. The implication, notes Farley, is that credit, from bank loans to credit cards and cash advance,  is available for consumers.

According to the AP, U.S. new car and truck sales dropped by 37 percent in January 2009, so Ford’s optimistic outlook hasn’t caught on. However, one analyst (Erich Merkle) believes that we’ve reached a plateau. “We’re really at that crucial inflection point right now. And with all the money right now that’s being pumped into the system … I think that we’ll start to see some revival in our economy and we’ll start to see sales on a sequential basis exceed that of the first quarter,” Merkle said.

Second half of 2009?

That’s what Merkle predicts. Farley hasn’t been that specific, but he did acknowledge that February sales indicate a similar positive trend. Positive as in no continued drop, that is.

In January, Ford sales fell 40 percent in the United States, but  F-series pickups and Fusion sedans provided enough of a boost to continue their market share increase for the fourth straight month. New products like the Harley-Davidson F-150 and Transit Connect van have increased expectations, but perhaps their ace in the hole will be the much-improved 2010 Taurus. With EcoBoost technology, Ford claims the engine will combine V6 economy with V8 power.

Ford shares up; will they drive it home?

Of course, no automaker is out of the woods yet. It remains to be seen whether such gains will continue, or whether Ford will have to go to the government payday loans well like their less competent business competitors. Cash Advance Mojo wishes Ford well, and reminds you that if you find yourself in an emergency cash situation, payday loans can help until your next pay period.

Related articles

• Officially Official: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO! (autoblog.com)
• Ford Officially Looking To Sell Volvo [Carpocalypse Now] (jalopnik.com)
• Ford better positioned to ride out recession (msnbc.msn.com)

Photo: flickr via 35899785@N00

You may be thinking of getting a payday loan so you can run out and take advantage of Circuit City’s going out of business sales, but you might want to think twice. If you’re like me, you assume that because these firms are trying to get rid of all their merchandise the prices will be as low as they can go.

Makes sense, right? If the companies are just going to close up shop, they’ll take whatever they can get for their leftover merchandise. But there is more to it than that.  Big chains, including Circuit City, Linens ‘N Things and Whitehall Jewelers, don’t handle the process themselves.

Liquidation firms

Big chains usually hire a liquidation firm to handle the going-out-business process for them. The liquidation firms buys up the remaining merchandise from the retailer. So by the time the consumers walk under that “GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!” banner, all of the products have already been sold.

The liquidator promises to pay off all of the company’s creditors, and any additional profit they keep for themselves. In cases like Circuit City’s, where the business filed for bankruptcy before finally deciding to close the business, the liquidation firm needs to make a significant amount of money in order to profit from the deal.

Getting their money’s worth

Liquidation firms do start the sales off with discounts, but often you’ll see discounts of just 10 or 15 percent at first. You might say “a sale is a sale,” and think that you have to be hasty to get the good stuff before it’s gone. However, sometimes liquidators discount the manufacturer’s prices instead of the store prices. Often the prices manufacturers set are higher than the retail store’s prices.

As a result, it’s possible for customers to end up paying more for an item than they would have paid before the liquidation firm took over. As one would expect, the firms will wait to slash prices to their lowest until the last possible minute. So instead of rushing out to get a payday loan so you can buy “the good stuff” as soon as the sale begins, you might want to wait a few weeks until the real savings begin.

Liquidators also have been known to bring in outside merchandise to offer at the going-out-of-business sale. Any money they make on merchandise they didn’t have to pay the retailer for is just extra cash for the liquidator.

Where the real savings are

The best prices on merchandise can be found at the retail store before the merchandise is turned over to a liquidator. Prices are usually at their lowest the week before the going-out-of-business sale begins, when the company is trying to sell merchandise while they can still profit from it instead of selling it to the liquidator.

So if you hear that a retailer will be going out of business, that would be the right time to grab a payday loan while the getting is good.

Adding to the perception that shoppers will always find discounts of 70 percent or more: liquidation sales. After the worst holiday shopping season in years, many retailers are closing up shop. That means they are selling their merchandise for next to nothing while those merchants lucky enough to still be in business are putting their new spring products on the shelves.

Economics of expectation

After weeks of being able to find products at deep discounts, shoppers are used to it. Furthermore, they expect it. Other factors contribute to this demand for super-low prices. For one, with a shrinking economy and unemployment on the rise, many consumers simply can’t afford regular prices.

Another factor is perception regarding the value of merchandise. After being able to acquire goods at a fraction of the original price, people are questioning the value of these items. Shoppers figure if a retailer sold a $200 pair of jeans for $50, then those jeans must really only be worth $50.

70 is the new 50

Retailers used to be able to attract customers by offering 40 to 50 percent off. Now shoppers are saying that’s not enough. A professor of marketing at the Golden Gate University’s Ageno School of Business says the perception of what is a good deal has changed. She says a sale has to be at least 70 percent off to be considered a bargain now.

Upscale retailer DKNY in New York is offering “Up to 90 percent off” on items left over from the holidays. Being able to get items at 10 percent of the original price certainly changes the perception of the value of an item. Shoppers aren’t going to run out and get a payday loan to buy the newest fashion trend if they think they can buy it later for a fraction of the price.

Strategies in the war on deflation

Some retailers are trying to find creative ways to combat this trend of slashing prices. Some electronics merchants are offering bundled products — throwing in a free DVD player with purchase of a new TV, for instance. But many market analysts do not believe this strategy will work.

Some retailers, like J. Crew are simply marking down their new merchandise from the beginning. Even though J. Crew is offering brand-new merchandise, many are already on sale for 25 to 40 percent off.

So what is the real price?

So, I have to question: If an item is already discounted 25 to 40 percent off when it hits the shelf, who is to say that’s not the actual price of the item?

It reminds me of those commercials starring Billy Mays, where he professes that the “Big City Slider Station” is really worth hundreds of dollars, even though no one in the history of the world has ever had to pay that much for one. In fact, if you ACT NOW, you can have one for only $30 and he’ll throw in an extra one! And a bunch of other free stuff. A gazillion dollar value for just $29.95!

Future of value perception

Yes, it will be interesting to see if this new trend in retail expectation causes stores to jack up their prices just so they can mark them down. I predict that will be the new trend.

In the meantime, if you’re thinking of taking out a payday loan to buy a Bedazzler or a year supply of OxiClean, you might want to hold off. Even if Billy Mays says you have to call within the next 10 minutes to take advantage of this GREAT DEAL, I’m sure the same commercial will be on again after your next paycheck. But if you’re worried about late fees on bills or bounced checks, a payday loan could be just the right fix.

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