Introduction

This is one in a series of money-saving tips. For more information, please visit my home page.

Why Pay Full Price?

My wife is the shopper in our family. She can get discounts on merchandise when none appear to exist. It takes a bit of perserverance though. I usually go to another part of the store when she's going into action.


She'll usually start out with something like "Isn't this on sale?" (and there are no sale signs to be seen). Notice how this has the clerk on the defensive right from the start. If the clerk says it was but the sale ended yesterday she'll come up with all sorts of reasons why she couldn't go shopping yesterday and most of the time the clerk will give her the discount. If the clerk won't do anything for her she'll ask to speak to the department manager. Frequently that person will.


If the item wasn't recently on sale she'll next ask if it's going to be on sale soon. You'd be surprised how often a clerk will admit that the item goes on sale in a few days. At that point my wife will either go back when it is on sale or, fearing that the item will be gone before she gets back to the store, she'll buy it at full price but then return a few days later to get a credit for the lower price.


When both of the above attempts don't pan out she'll ask if there is a senior discount today or within the next few days. Or, if she's interested in buying multiple items, she'll attempt to get a "volume" discount. This sometimes works when you're buying several of the same item, which she does a lot as we have a bunch of grandchildren. Again, the department manager may need to be summoned.


In the rare instances when she was unable to get any kind of discount she'll buy the item but just let it sit at home. Then, when she's out shopping at some other stores she'll see if the same item is available at a better price or she is able to "negotiate" a better price.


Furniture stores are much easier than clothing stores and department stores. My wife can usually get the price reduced even when the item is already on sale. If the sales person won't budge on the price she'll try to get the delivery charge dropped. And, of course, there's always the store manager. She manages to let them know that there's no way she'll buy the item unless she gets a discount.