By Joseph Palumbo III
After every holiday season, we all try to cash in on buying quality products for discount prices. Stores have less than a month to make their last quarter profit margin. In this trying economy, many retail stores have a “kill or be killed” sales mentality. You must be on-point for possible retail trickery.
Many stores will take your naivete to satisfy their bottom lines. Beware of stores that forever have “going out of business” or “clearance” sales. More often than not these are tactics to lure you in by offering fantastic markdowns and percentages off.
We all crave getting in on a great deal. This is true when it seems a store is in trouble and is looking to quickly liquidate its merchandise or it is after the holiday season and we think stores have to sell merchandise at low prices. Beware you are not paying a price for goods which is what the retail price would have been anyway. Shop around to see if an exceptional deal is valid or hype. If the deal is real, come back to the store.
Coupon sales are great, especially the after-holiday shopping passes that offer 20 percent to 50 percent off. Read the fine print at the bottom of passes. More often than not we only see 50 percent off but not the fine print, which says many of the items do not qualify for 50 percent off. These items are usually electronic and high-end brand name items.
Take your time when looking to purchase a high-end appliance or electronic item. Many stores offer 0 percent down with your not having to pay until later in the next year. If possible, pay now and not later. Hidden in the fine print is almost always an exorbitant interest rate you will be paying if you are not able to pay for the item in full.
So How’s Business regarding shopping smartly after the holiday season? We all work hard for money, so do not be so quick to fork over your hard-earned dollars to find out you were outfoxed by slick and savvy marketing. Do your homework by shopping around and surfing the Internet to distinguish the real discount from the dud.
Contact Joe Palumbo at 516-297-4034 or jp@c21amhomes.com.
