- The best stuff is in the front of the store!
The lie: The lie is that the newest stuff is often in the front of the store. When a retail store changes over seasons, the old stuff heads toward the back of the store and the new stuff makes its way to catch your eyes when you walk into the store. Retailers will tell you this is the 'best' stuff, but that is only a matter of opinion. If you mean the 'best' new stuff, than that might be accurate, but last season's stuff is just as good, if not better, unless you plan to be on a show with the Kardashian's.
Your defense: The best defense for this retailer lie is simply ask the store salesperson where the clearance racks are, which is always where you want to start in any mall or department store. To curb your spending appetite while going shopping, the odds are you will find at least one thing you like on the clearance rack in your size and you'll walk away with a great deal.
- We're going out of business!
The lie: This is the lie that always amazes me. I have seen one store downtown that has been going out of business for almost two years now. Even if the store really is going out of business, it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be getting the deal of a lifetime. In fact, sometimes prices at "going out of business" sales are higher than normal sale prices.
Find the store owner and ask them why and when they are going out of business and be sure to shop prices before you take any action on anything, especially when it comes to rug stores which are often notoriously going out of business.
Your defense: Do not let those "80 percent off" signs trick you. Often, the signs include the words "up to" or "on limited items only" which are intentional to get you in the store. The best way to prevent yourself from being taken by these sales is to treat them like any other shopping experience.
- 100% Guarantee Or Your Money Back
The lie: When you hear these words, retailers often know that you'll be too lazy to return the stuff even if you don't like it. This is infamous when it comes to infomercials. The real lie is that the guarantee isn't generally a lifetime guarantee, but in fact is only good for 30 days or 60 days. Often, this won't even give you enough time to determine whether or not you will really enjoy the product.
Your defense: Scan the fine print or look for disclaimers somewhere on the packaging or ask the questions about the guarantee when you are in the store. If you can't find the answer, then you might just decide that 100% guarantee shouldn't be the real determining factor to whether or not you buy the product.
- Satisfaction guaranteed
The lie: What does this even mean anyway? Do you need to be in an eternal state of nirvana to know that you are truly satisfied? Is there a new test that you hook up to that determines if you pass the satisfied test? There's a reason that refunding with retail stores is often difficult. They don't want you to refund so this statement helps to kill the ultimate buyers remorse.
Your defense: Your defense is to not believe everything you read. Remain skeptical of the terms "risk-free" and "no obligation."
I'd add the biggest lie which is FREE, but you ought to know from reading my columns that there is simply never a FREE lunch. Never. Keep an eye on these four big lies next time you go shopping.
Written by:
Ted Jenkin
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