I saw a web site today expressing the differences between men and women. One of them said that a man will spend $2 on a $1 item he needs while a woman will spend $1 on a $2 item she doesn’t need. This is, of course true. It’s been shown through studies that a woman will spend more money at a store that is having a sale than she would if they are not. I don’t know if any such studies have followed the spending habits of men but I would imagine that men would be at least a little more likely to buy an item if it’s on sale or at least to chose the sale item over a comparable non sale item. I, myself, have purchased items that were originally priced higher than competing items but were on sale for less.
Here’s the thing though. I HATE sales. I consider them to be insulting. And the bigger the sale the more distaste I have for the store hosting it. I especially hate “perpetual sales” like those you see at the jewelry counter at K-Mart. Why would I hate stores for giving me such great deals? Well, it’s simply a desire not to be reamed.
You see, we all know that each and every item on the shelf has to pay for a certain number of things. It has to pay for the materials to make it, the truck to ship it, the lights to illuminate the associate to help you decide you want it and the cashier to take your money. If it can’t do that and still have a few cents to spare then it’s not worth it to the company to sell it. Another thing we all know (deep down) is that when an item is on “sale” it is still paying for all of those things but has fewer “cents” left over after the sale. No company is going to take a loss on their sales. Now it’s true that they may sell one item for less than the total costs of the aforementioned list hoping the sale will entice you to buy other things. That, however, leads me to my problem with BIG sales.
If a company can afford to sell one or two small things for less in order to get you to buy other items that’s fine. But when you see a “store wide” sale you KNOW they’re still making a profit on the items they’re selling. So if you go in and buy an item that was $10 and it’s now marked down to $6 but they’re still making a profit it just goes to show you how much they’re reaming you when you are purchasing the item at the regular price. For this reason it really bothers me when the sale is for high percentages.
The last thing that bothers me is the perpetual sales. I hate it that every time I go in to K-Mart I see a 70% sale on their Jewelry. If it’s ALWAYS 70% off it’s not a sale…that’s the price you’re selling it for. Do not try to insult me by pretending that the item is worth more but that you are offering me a great deal. If you have to TELL me it’s a great deal then it ISN’T a great deal.
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Edit: I just had to add this. I would accept this as the one exception to the rule that sales are bad
Here’s the thing though. I HATE sales. I consider them to be insulting. And the bigger the sale the more distaste I have for the store hosting it. I especially hate “perpetual sales” like those you see at the jewelry counter at K-Mart. Why would I hate stores for giving me such great deals? Well, it’s simply a desire not to be reamed.
You see, we all know that each and every item on the shelf has to pay for a certain number of things. It has to pay for the materials to make it, the truck to ship it, the lights to illuminate the associate to help you decide you want it and the cashier to take your money. If it can’t do that and still have a few cents to spare then it’s not worth it to the company to sell it. Another thing we all know (deep down) is that when an item is on “sale” it is still paying for all of those things but has fewer “cents” left over after the sale. No company is going to take a loss on their sales. Now it’s true that they may sell one item for less than the total costs of the aforementioned list hoping the sale will entice you to buy other things. That, however, leads me to my problem with BIG sales.
If a company can afford to sell one or two small things for less in order to get you to buy other items that’s fine. But when you see a “store wide” sale you KNOW they’re still making a profit on the items they’re selling. So if you go in and buy an item that was $10 and it’s now marked down to $6 but they’re still making a profit it just goes to show you how much they’re reaming you when you are purchasing the item at the regular price. For this reason it really bothers me when the sale is for high percentages.
The last thing that bothers me is the perpetual sales. I hate it that every time I go in to K-Mart I see a 70% sale on their Jewelry. If it’s ALWAYS 70% off it’s not a sale…that’s the price you’re selling it for. Do not try to insult me by pretending that the item is worth more but that you are offering me a great deal. If you have to TELL me it’s a great deal then it ISN’T a great deal.
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Edit: I just had to add this. I would accept this as the one exception to the rule that sales are bad
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