…..too good to be true

 

I am left perplexed by the current outcry regarding sale prices in stores! Do we really need to be told this? I think as consumers we have been aware that sale prices aren’t all they seem to be for a good number of year now. But why do shops feel the need to pull this type of stunt?

As consumers we want more for less. Dare I say that quality often factors low down on the scale for most when it comes to purchasing things. Having what everyone else has is high on the list. We can’t wait to buy, we can’t save up for something and then buy it. Marketers and sales people convince us that we need the latest thing and they change the latest thing regularly to keep us buying. What does this mean? Well, it means we want it cheaper. Or at least we want it at a price that convinces us it’s cheaper.

The biggest con in the supermarket is ‘buy one get one free’. It makes us buy more and consume more, feeding our nations ever expanding waist line. I wonder how much of the price of the first one in the BOGOF goes to subsidise the second one. I wonder if we didn’t crave the bargain would prices fall? I’d suggest not because we, and companies, are so entrenched in the game. I wonder how much food bought through a BOGOF gets thrown out? Worse than BOGOF is the ‘buy one for a pound get the second one for 50p’ type deal. I’ll wager a small amount of cash that the price of the second one still covers the producers cost. Businesses give nothing away.

So, back to sale prices….
Well…. if you think the price of the item justifies the purchase then buy it. It matters not whether it’s in the sale or not. I think we know the sale price is an illusion, so, if the price is right – buy, if it’s not – don’t buy. Simple! But don’t kid yourself you are getting a bargain.