Shops and stores are great at promoting, and very smart when it comes to making you feel like something is exceptional value. It’s what they do and it’s how they make a profit. It doesn’t matter where you go you will see shelves stocked with bargain items, buy one get one free offers, heavy discounts and price comparisons. For the most part this is great, the ability to get products at a reduced rate from their retail price is not a bad thing, but when you throw in marketing and strategic product placement designed to target the impulsive this can commonly turn your shopping experience from getting a bargain, to forking out on unnecessary or unneeded products.
So how do you keep a bargain as a bargain, how do you make sure you don’t fall foul to impulsive buying and when is what would appear to be a bargain not a bargain after all?
There are a few things to consider when you spot something that screams out at you from a shelf, some of which should hit you before you even consider the price. The first of these is quite simply ‘do I need it?’
If the answer to this question is no, then the product is not a bargain. It doesn’t matter how cheap the product is, if you don’t need it, then it’s not a bargain. Not for you.
A bargain is when you purchase an item ‘that you need’ or ‘that will be well used’ that is of exceptional value. If you do not need it, then the purchase has resulted in you sacrificing money that could have been spent on something useful for what is essentially something useless, therefore reducing your available funds whilst not increasing your quality of life. This is not a bargain.
Another example of this is 2 for 1 promotions. If you only need 1 of an item then only purchase 1. It doesn’t matter if the second is heavily discounted, such as 1 for $4 and 2 for $6, if you only need one then buying two will cost you more than you really need to spend. It’s only a bargain if you need it.
Cost Vs Impact
The next thing to consider is the impact on your life. As this poor racoon demonstrates, there is no point eating all the pies if it leaves you worse off. If purchasing the product will increase your quality of life by a greater value than it will burden you, then that is how you judge good value. If it will increase your quality of life by a considerable amount in this equation, then it is a bargain.
The last thing we will look at in determining a bargain is to look at ‘personal price’ as well as the ‘shelf price’. It is important to consider when buying a product, the personal cost of doing so. Too many people focus on the actual shelf price and that, while useful, does not help you determine fully if a product is a bargain for you or not. You certainly want to pay the cheapest price you can for a product, but just because one place is cheaper than another, it doesn’t mean the product itself is cheap, or that it is good value for you. The shelf cost is essentially only one side of the equation for determining a bargain.
The personal cost can be determined by looking deeper into the ‘impact on your life’ equation above. If for example you see a good item on a shelf, it’s a great price and it is something that you will use then initially the shelf price will pull you towards thinking it’s a bargain. But if you then evaluate that the cost will eat up a sizeable amount of your expendable income or your shopping budget, leaving hardship for your normal necessary purchases, then the personal cost might be too much to make it comfortable. In this case, while the shelf price is good the personal price is not, and for you it is not a bargain.
The Add-Ons and the Impulse Buys
Even when you do find a bargain that is a great price and it is something that will add more value than burden to your life, you need to be careful that you don’t nullify the benefit of that bargain by falling foul to impulse buys.
Retailers are very good at placing ‘add on’ or ‘impulse’ items on shelves near other products that they believe will encourage an additional sale. To use one case as an example, you might see bargain shoes on a shelf at a great price, but conveniently placed next to them are socks, insoles and polish at normal price, possibly even reduced. Even though you don’t necessarily need these, many will be impulsively drawn to buy them thinking ‘might as well while I’m here’ or ‘ooh that’s a good price too’ even when there is no need to buy the extra products.
It’s no good stopping and thinking ‘did I really need these’ once you’re past the checkout, by that point you have already committed yourself financially.
So when it comes to looking at when is a bargain not a bargain the answer, really is very simple. If you don’t need it then it’s not a bargain. If you do, and it is very reasonably priced or heavily reduced, then it is.
