Yeah, it's true, I'm a compulsive coupon clipper. Always have been and always will be. I could win one of those enormous lotteries and I'd still be shopping the clearance aisle. It's a matter of principle. I worked retail for too many years and I know all to well what mark-ups are. Can you say 700 to 1200 percent??? And it's not that I'm a tightwad either. Hell, I love spending money. I just enjoy getting stuff dirt cheap so I have money left in my pocket to go buy something else dirt cheap with. I have managed to amass an incredible amount of shit over the years (whether I really needed it or not) simply because it was on sale. Hell, I'll buy stuff just to keep other people from having it! If you've ever seen my kitchen you know exactly what I mean. Let me give you a couple of examples.
I was in Boston Store one day and spied a top of the line Braun toaster oven on the back of the shelf that had multiple prices marked onto the box. So many in fact that I couldn't actually make out what the lowest one was. But I was able to make out the last two digits of one price and it ended .88. I knew I had hit pay dirt with that one! You see, in the retail world when something has a price like that on it it means only one thing: discontinued item. They want to get that sucker out of the store by any means possible. OK, the original price on the box was a ridiculous $149.99 and since I really had no use for toaster oven in the first place I would never have considered dropping bucks like that on one. So I walked up to the counter and had the clerk scan it for me. Guess what? They had that puppy marked down to $13.88! SOLD!!! God knows what I was going to do with the damn thing but at that price I had to have it. My heart was beginning to race a bit at this point because I had a coupon for an additional 20 percent off. Down to $11.10! As the clerk was ringing me up she asks if I would like to put this on my Boston's card because she could give me an additional 20 percent off. Down to $8.90! With tax a mere $9.35! Happy camper! I think I have managed to use the damn thing 4 times in the 10 years that I have had it but hey, I saved a bundle. And I know the store still made at least $5.00 in the deal! Slave labor is obviously alive and well overseas.
At Macy's (BTW, I hate that store! When they gobbled up Marshall-Fields they never got around to replacing my card. Kept my old account open, just never gave me a way to effectively shop at their store. More on Macy's in a later posting) I managed to find two wonderful designer saute pans and a wok on clearance. The original full price for all of them was a around $155.00. Not unreasonable but again, full price. This time I have a $10.00 Macy's gift card in my wallet. Again, if I use my Macy's account an additional 20 percent off. I was swooning! Bottom line, I walked out of the store with everything for a whopping $21.03!
Ever bought a new car with a credit card? I have. American Express to be exact. And I even managed to wrangle a $600.00 "cash" discount in the process. My AX Optima account had sent me some balance transfer checks that included no transactions fees and only charged me 1 percent interest for the life of the balance. I paid that thing off so fast it hurt!
You should see me in Mexico! I truly come into my own down there. Haggling over prices in stores is not just a way of life in Mexico it is apparently some sort of Federal law. If you don't haggle you get your shorts screwed off. Mexico REALLY is the home of the $600.00 orange. And if you don't know what you're doing you can end up paying $700.00 for the damned thing. I love walking into a store there and seeing that nothing has a price tag on it. My pulse quickens, my nostrils flare and my palms get sweaty because I know that I have just entered Price is Right Central! When I ask the clerk how much a blanket is and he says $50.00 (a complete and utter gouge) I will counter offer with $20.00. If he counters me with $45.00 I will come back with $18.00! That one always freaks them out. They quickly realize I am not the typical tourista and resign themselves to the $18.00. Then I ask them what kind of discount if I buy three blankets. Clerks will give me discounts in Mexico just to get me out of the damned store!
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