If you don't the price of something you want to buy then there's a high likelihood that you might be ripped off. Someone I know bought something for her child and then later found that an alternative to the product she'd bought [that would have served her better] cost half the money she'd spent . . . and yeah, she was really angry when she found out. Though it might not be possible to visit all stores to compare prices, you at least have the net. Look up the price of anything you want to buy. That way when you want to buy something you don't regularly buy, you won't get ripped off.
No doubt about it - it definitely does and totally agree - that taking the time to compare prices, check specifications etc before purchasing anything - not just items you don't regularly buy - is for sure the smart thing to do. Particularly considering - that not only is it relatively quick and easy to do these days - as most of the information is easily obtained online - but more importantly - its the only way of ensuring that you are getting the best value for money and are not spending money unnecessarily by paying way more than you actually need to.
I totally agree, @Denis Hard! I don't know how people can actually go ahead and buy something without checking first. My husband and I always shop around and compare prices. We look at the high street as well as online to be absolutely certain. We never just delve right in before we're happy we have the best price going. However, I know my mum and dad in law always seem to buy the first thing they see. A few times we've observed they paid way over what they could have, and we try to educate them. But I guess old habits die hard. Maybe for them it doesn't matter as long as they have the money? I don't know if it's a generational thing or not.
I have learned to always check and compare prices at different stores before I but items. Even if I am only going to save a dollar on a particular item, those dollars add up over time. It is just smart to research and make sure you are getting the best possible price for everything you buy.
Certainly. Information is key to make good judgement purchases. This is capitalism, prices are affected by the current balance of supply and demand, thus is speculative. Something that you find in a place for 10$ could be available somewhere for less than 1$, and any good selles will go for the most profitable scenario.
I don't know the cost of everything and it does take me a while before I get accustomed enough to the average prices of my purchases to know whether or not I'm overpaying and also to familiarize myself with the alternative brands to know when there might be better options elsewhere. This is why I try as much as possible to research as much as I can on a certain product before purchasing especially when the item costs a significant amount. Still sometimes it's impossible to avoid making these mistakes and when they do happen I try not to get too worked up about it and just tell myself I know what to buy next time.
I am always ready with prices of what I would buy when I go to a flea market. With the supermarket or mall boutiques, it's not that relevant for they usually have fixed prices unlike in flea market when there is no standard when it comes to pricing. As I had posted before, I roam around the flea market to survey the prices before I actually haggle to get the biggest discount. It always works. So how can I haggle if I don't have an idea of the actual prices of items?
Yes, it's better to learn the prices of the items or services that you're buying so that you don't get scammed. I remember asking in a beauty parlor how much is their hot oil service, and I was told that it's around $12, when in reality it's only around $6.
This brings up the subject of Savings Catcher. You can find it in the Walmart App. You submit your receipt (through your phone) after shopping. They go out and search all the local sales and if they find an item selling for less than what you bought it for at Walmart, they refund you the difference on a gift card. I submit mine each week and have made back several dollars, which are accumulating until I get the them to cut my gift card.
You are so right @Denis Hard! My husband's cousin is one example of someone who was ripped off because he didn't know the real price of what he bought. He was just visiting that time when he decided to buy a pair of sunglasses from a street vendor without asking us how much the prices of those things are in our place. Upon finding out how much he bought his new pair of shades, we learned that he bought 3x more than how much it really cost.
This is why its important to conduct window shopping is important. There are myriads of products which are overpriced in the market and one could do with some window shopping to compare prices. Some of the most overpriced items I have come across in the market are drugs intended for human consumption.
I do that all the time and especially for electronics. In my area, it doesn't matter if the product is the same in each store. Each store and even the same exact store but from another location would have a completely different price. There was a microwave in a nearby WalMart that cost 100 dollars while in another WalMart, it cost 60 dollars.
When in the mall, we do a little window shopping just to get a feel of actual prices of the items that we intend to buy. We also do that in the market especially in the meat and fruit section where the price is always changing and haggling is the order of the day. So how can you haggle when you don't know the actual prices? We are in the process of buying a laptop now and we are on the lookout for the best bargain. This plan has been ongoing for months now and until we still haven't decided finally. But I already bought a hard disk for my additional storage, a 2 TB that will be delivered today by the vendor.
