Things you never play full price for...

[coachgrd]

I think it might be interesting to hear from all of you some items that you never buy at full price.

I'll throw one out there...

Obviously no one pays sticker price for a new car. Anytime I'm in the market for a vehicle, I research the invoice price on edmunds.com, then e-mail the sales manager at every dealer within a 150 mile radius asking for a quote within 3 business days. Once I get all the quotes, I contact the second lowest dealer and ask him if they are willing to beat the lowest quote. (They've always done so.) I then take this new best price into my local dealer and simply state that "if you will beat this price I will buy the car from you today." I've always been able to get deals much lower that what the internet says I should expect to pay.

How about all of you...what items do you never pay full price for and if you don't mind, how do you pull it off?

 

[texasjohn]

At HF, only purchase things on sale, sign up for their preferred customer list, get their discount coupons via email

Buy metal and stuff at iron/metal recycling businesses

Use Craig's list

At Home Depot, go to the Contractor's desk, bunch up all your purchases and ask for a discount... take same list to Lowes... come back to HD and show them Lowe's discount....

Deal with individuals when you can... ask for discount.. or offer under their requested price... all they can say is no... you can always move up to their price if you wish.

offer a lesser price for real estate... have agent reduce his commission to make the sale.

 

[Highbeam]

Milk, ice cream, and soda pop. Well milk is sometimes an emergency so I have to pay full price.

My pet peeve is at the supermarkets with the savings cards, where they try and tell you that "you saved X dollars with your card". No I didn't. You simply raised the regular price in an effort to make me feel like I am getting a deal.

Diesel fuel. I know it's not exactly what you area asking but by buying off raod fuel I am saving the cost of road taxes and so as I drive home with my full barrel I look at the advertized prices and feel like I cheated.

 

[schmism]

My pet peeve is at the supermarkets with the savings cards, where they try and tell you that "you saved X dollars with your card". No I didn't. You simply raised the regular price in an effort to make me feel like I am getting a deal.

ah we call those inconvinece cards. because they inconvince everyone who doesnt have them. AND (even more important) we can track your shopping habbits and sell that information to advertiseing firms.

(perhaps you advertise a sale on tostitos and right next to them you place some doritos, when people check out with there card to get the sale price on tostitos you notice 90% also have a bag of doritos also. so with such data in hand you approach bob's chips... hey for $_____ we'll place your chips next to the ones on sale this week)

 

[dmccarty]

I resisted getting the VIP cards for years. The cashier's would often use their id to safe me money and I eventually noticed how much I was saving. So I got the card.

I save about 15% a week on groceries because of the card. Sometimes it might go up to 20%. I wait for stuff we need to go on sale and then buy a bunch of it if it has a long shelf life. Right now I'm waiting for hamburger to go on sale.

The prices don't go up before they put the item on sale at the store we shop. The old marker is usually still on the shelf next to the MVP pricing. I did catch them once where the MVP price tag was the same as the regular price thus a savings of 0. But that is the only time I have seen that happen.

Foster's beer has been real cheap lately $9 for a 12 pack. Usually its $13. And that is not the MVP pricing. Which puts me in a quadry because that is a very good price and a brewery just opened up locally. They sell 1/2 gallon jugs of really good beer for $8. But that is expensive.... Real expensive.

Later,
Dan

 

[n8wrl]

I know this thread wasn't about frequent-buyers cards, but the reason I use them is other perks. uPromise is a great way to save for college. Every time I or a member of my family buys with one of these cards some pennies go into that fund. Last year it was over $300. Free $$.

-Brian

 

[RobertN]

867-5309... Jenny, I got your number...

At the Safeway stores on the west coast, if you forget your saver card, they ask your phone number, since most people use that on thier card.

If you don't have your card with you, or simply don't have one at all, try that number. A friend in Portland, Or told me about it. Works pretty much everywhere.

that's the phone number from that '80's song. Can't remember who sang it. But that number works at most Safeway's. Probably works at other places that use saver cards...

ah we call those inconvinece cards. because they inconvince everyone who doesnt have them. AND (even more important) we can track your shopping habbits and sell that information to advertiseing firms.

 

[DocHeb]

Tommy Tutone.

 

[Bird]

if you forget your saver card, they ask your phone number

Robert, we no longer have Safeway in this part of the country, but Kroger does the same thing. And when I tell them I've changed phone numbers since I got the card, they use their own card (or their own phone number).

We have those cards for Kroger, Albertson's, and CVS Pharmacy, and I never carry mine; too many cards in my pockets already. And those stores having those cards are the reason I seldom go into their stores. They may not know it, but that's what makes me primarily a Walmart and Walgreen's customer.

 

[hitekcountry]

And those stores having those cards are the reason I seldom go into their stores. They may not know it, but that's what makes me primarily a Walmart and Walgreen's customer.

I'm with you on that, I avoid Safeway just for that reason. Who are they fooling? Why not just lower the prices by what ever amount they discount from your tab when you punch in your phone #, and be done with all that nonsense. I don't know if it's only you and I that feel that way, but there must be others.

 

[WVBill]

Every store around here, if you say "I forgot my MVP (or whatever) card" the checker just scans the one she has hanging from the cash register key. - at least that's what I've experienced....


WVBill

 

[Podunkadunk]

I'm not going to say that this will work for YOU, but it has worked for ME twice now...

I am a frequent shopper of Home Depot and Lowes. When I know I'm going to be buying a lot of items where I know I'll be spending several hundred dollars, I'll go to the post office and request a "just moved here packet" or "new to the area packet". I've found that there are usually coupons in there for Lowe's and/or Home Depot. The first one I received was for 10% off of each store, the second one had a 15% off Home Depot coupon, which ironically I used at Lowe's because they had my brand of paint. They honored it.

Not much, but it helps.

Podunk

 

[RobertN]

We usually shop another local market; it is a local chain started in the Sacramento area years ago. They don't have the silly cards. We use Safeway now and then.

Funny, Ralph's tried to come up here from southern Calif; they didn't last long in our market.

Robert, we no longer have Safeway in this part of the country, but Kroger does the same thing. And when I tell them I've changed phone numbers since I got the card, they use their own card (or their own phone number).

We have those cards for Kroger, Albertson's, and CVS Pharmacy, and I never carry mine; too many cards in my pockets already. And those stores having those cards are the reason I seldom go into their stores. They may not know it, but that's what makes me primarily a Walmart and Walgreen's customer.

 

[riptides]

...some items that you never buy at full price.

Women, you always pay more



-Mike Z.

 

[themichelob]

I never pay full price on anything at Sears. They always seem to have some kind of sale or 10% off gimmick going. They want you to use your Sears charge card so they can nail you 18-20% interest. I never do that either!!
Regards, Mike

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

clothing: there's always a clearance rack and if it has something on it that fits and doesn't make my eyes bleed, it may go home with me.

Groceries is an interesting concept -- full price where? I'm with Bird in that I hate the inconveneince cards, but will use them if Dillon's discount price beats the super Wal-Mart next door. Or I'll take the Dillon's ad into the Wal-Mart next door, where they honor the competitor's price. We don't have Safeway here any more, either - and the only thing Price Chopper cuts is you - off at the knees... (Always Save rarely does and Best Choice rarely is)

Sam's club - start at the "make it go away" table in the back corner.

Paint - there's almost always some mis-mixed paint for half price or less that's close enough to what the wife wants and Lowe's sells theirs for $4 a gallon which beats the $22 regular price for Val-Spar! Wal-Mart sells theirs for half price. (she picks out the paint - I'm not that suicidal!)

Lumber - Lowes generally has a "cull cart" for 75% off retail and I've gotten some pretty good GP construction material that way.

 

[elalexander]

If you want to get serious the Motley Fool web site use to, don't know about now. But use to have a forum called living below your means. Wow, things like seperating 2 ply butt ribbon to save on consumibles. There were several good ideas like many of you mentioned. When we moved to another city 30 years ago the local Montgomery Ward, or Sears store and welcome wagon gave us a 10% off coupon. We got a freezer. The department head said nobody ever did that they usually get a shirt, sweater etc. They honored it, and we felt good as well. PS: Buy a side of beef, you get your roast and steaks for hamburger prices