Hi. How do I know if a product labeled to be on-sale is really on sale? I know a lot of stores just use the 'sale' approach as a strategy. They only label a product to be on sale but sell it on its regular price. Any street-smart tips you can share?
Are you asking whether they are possibly marking up the RRP and then reducing it on the label to show that it is discounted? It is easy to check the actual price of a product by checking online. There are many free price-comparison websites that will list the Recommended Retail Price of a certain product. If you carry a smartphone with you while shopping, you can do this even as you are browsing in store.
That's why sometimes you just have to do your own research. There are plenty of times when something is market or advertised as a sale, just to bring people to the product. Sometimes, it really isn't on sale, we're just made to believe it is.
One of the best things I've used a smart phone for us comparison shopping while in a store. It's nice to be able to check that. I'm surprised the stores do still have the best deals sometimes once you factor in shipping charges.
You can always compare prices online and on some websites you can even check to see if the item is in stock at a local store. If the item needs to be shipped, always factor the shipping cost as part of the total price of the item. I will usually try to compare prices on more expensive items from at least five different stores and websites. It can be pretty surprising how much different the prices are. I have also been surprised by which store was the cheapest. The one that I thought would be the most, turned out to be the least.
Usually the store will list the regular price as well as the sale price, but you have to remember that the store paid one price and in order to make any money they have to charge more than twice what they paid originally. Depending on the item, the markup could be very large. If a retailer says they are selling something at cost, they are trying to get back what they spent. However, that can be tricky as well, because it could be the total cost with shipping, etc.
being on sale If you realy wanna know if an item is on sale then do some comparison shopping amongest a few stores check out local coupon saving sites,get a extra savings coupon and then it will be truely on sale.
I have been browsing some forums, and I read one customer of The Body Shop that was told by the saleslady that the item was "on sale" when she has been eyeing that item for quite some time already, because she was just a student, so buying that item was a luxury for her. And she swore that it was the same price before and after the item was declared to be "on sale". She then pointed it out to the saleslady, and then the saleslady wasn't able to say anything. So you're right, the stores just use the word "sale" to make people think that they're getting a discount, but it's just a blatant lie. So I guess the best thing to do so that you can't be fooled is to always take note of the original price and compare it to the "discounted" price to see if there indeed was a discount.
If you have your phone with you, you can go online and check other stores to see if there is a big price difference. If there is, it's likely that the product is on sale, hence the reduced price.
Just check online. But a product on sale isn't really on sale, I mean, I sold custom made shirts before and we sold them at a price point where we can still recover our expenses. Say, we made a shirt and it costs us $10, then we will have a price higher than that, say $20, then we will have a 'sale' and Lower the price down up to like $12, in that way consumers will think they got half the price off. But I guarantee you, sellers won't sell they're product if they're bound to get less.
Lol good question sometimes you seriously gets confused i mean because things gets weird but what i feel is getting better certainly at something needs to grow i mean yeah sometimes it just sounds sale but actually isnt but yeah the brands which are conscious about their identification or image they actually mean it.
Make educated decisions. It is so easy to compare prices online nowadays. Especially if you know you want something. Just keep an eye on it and you'll know when it is a deal and when it isn't.
Yup! You need to pay close attention to prices at different stores and at different times of the year. Researching online sites like amazon.com, walmart.com, and thefind.com can be a big help. At least then you'll know approximately what the retail prices are. I keep a price book for myself on groceries, household items we use, and on items on my wish list. The lowest price I've been able to find on things goes in my price book so that I know when to stock up. For example, I know cereal ends up on clearance at Dollar General every now and again for $1.60. I know when I see that price anywhere, that's a good price on cereal and I should stock up. It's a big help to know what my bottom line is.
I came to find out that there's a reason behind everything. Compare prices as it has been suggested but also ask yourself why that product is on sale. I once bought something I thought was on sale but found out later that it was not of the same quality as other products I'd got before.
Another trick, especially in terms of consumable products is to put things on sale which are reaching their sell by date.
I think it depends on the store, I use my app that scans items with the barcode, this way if I have a paper that says it a sale when I arrive to the spot of the sale I am already comparing questioning sales. I like to see the tag that was before it was marked down, sometimes these are not available but I check anyway.
If you shop at a place on a regular basis, you will get a feel for the pricing. Also places like Walmart will list the regular price along wth the sale price.
Like most have mentioned, I really just pull out my smartphone and scan the barcode in. "Barcode scanner" is a great app for this and will help you look it up on places like Amazon or alike. From there you can get a general idea of what the item is worth as Amazon tends to have reasonably low prices. If you want to take it a step further you can look up Amazon price trackers and see the lowest the item has ever been on sale and that may give you some insight as to what the lowest price may be. I also do most of this any ways just to see the reviews on the item.
This is also my dilemma. Often I would be tempted to buy something because, it's said that it's sale. But later on I would figure out by looking on the same item at a different store that it could still go way a little cheaper. Also some sale products are not indicating their original price so it's just less convincing that the item is really sale.
