There's this Stompin' Tom Connors song that goes, "We'll save a lot of money spendin' money we don't have." I thought of it when I bought this absolutely necessary pair of Thierry Rabotin slingback heels on sale, for a party last weekend. I was given a $65 off coupon, good till Janu
ary 30. I immediately beetled to the rest of the sale shoes, racks and racks of brands I like (Rabotin, Arche, Anyi Lu, Cole Haan) to see what else I could buy. That coupon was like a triple shot of espresso to my wallet.Just a little minute. I don't need another pair of shoes, and I'd blast through over $200 even at the sale-plus-coupon price.
The coupon was bait for Princess Dollars; you know, when you get a $400 jacket for $80, like the brilliant shopper Deja Pseu, and then figure you have "earned" $320 Princess Dollars to spend on something else, not that Pseu was pseuduced by this incentive.
And if you have that mental $320 (theoretical) savings, and then they add a sweetener... whoosh, spending frenzy!
What Princess Dollar bait works best on you? Buy One, Get One Free? Private Sale? Coupon with minimum purchase? (I am totally hooked on Sc
ratch n' Save because I once got 80% off.)
As we begin to refuse to carry so much debt, marketers have to find more alluring and novel enticements.My favourite is a local prepared food store who offered free manicures and martinis on Friday evenings, if you spent $30.
5 comments:
Hmm, I think I am past most of those. A dollar saved is still a dollar saved if it isn't spent. However, as I have always gone down to New York or other places to shop, usually with a vague list and a total budget in mind, I might have succumbed to the sale frenzy sparked by Saks and bought more things as long as I was within my hypothetical budget. But then again I might not have.
There are days however, when I would go for the manicure and a martini ploy in a flash.
I am a glutton for the sales racks, but only buy what really suits and that I love (no point in wasting money) but I do love to feel that I have got the better end of the transaction by very rarely ever paying full price for an item.
Factory outlets are my other great love!
Mardel: What discipline and common sense! Can you send me some?
Imogen: Your comment made me think; I feel most satisfied when I find something at a resale store that's never been worn. Not only is it usually less than a sale rack but I have the odd sense that I have somehow rescued it.
True - today I'm wearing a pair of pants that I got at a secondhand shop, never worn, but they fit me like a glove and I love them! There are some true gems at places like that.
I used to get suckered in by DSW (shoes)sending me all sorts of "rewards" in the mail. But I have been so good lately. I have all the shoes I can handle, thank you.
Which makes me think: We should trade coupons and rewards with our friends! We could have martini parties and pass around coupons, old gift cards etc. That way, I might trade my shoe coupons for someone's Children's Place reward. You might have to shop together to make it work, but it could be worth it.
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