Would anyone else like to just be done with all of the "pricing games"

[Ottakee]

I don't know what else to call it but all of those gimmicks and special cards and secret deals, etc. in order to get the best price.

 

For the grocery store it is a "yes" card that gets you points but the biggest thing is that unless you have the card you don't get the sale price on items. Of course they can track your purchases with this card.

 

Then at a department store it is a game to stack the right coupons with the "special buyers" extra 10% off and then maybe time that along with special bonus bucks to be used for a later purchase.

 

Then another store has these special sales from 6pm- midnight on a certain day to get free sales tax and x% off and .............

 

This isn't even car shopping, etc.

 

I know that coupons and sales can save me a lot of money but it also takes time, loss of privacy, and a bunch of mental energy to determine where to get which item under the correct phase of the moon, etc.

 

Honestly, that is why for the most part I stick to Walmart for most of my purchases. I am fortunate that ours is very clean, well organized and has very few shoppers so I am almost always next in line and the only person shopping in any given aisle at one time. I don't have to juggle coupons, sales flyers (I do know they will match them), etc. I just get a basic price which stays the same from week to week.

 

Now with school supply sales and clothes sales it can make you nuts trying to figure out the deals, coupons, specials, etc.

[Tap]

Yep, tired of it here too.  Especially with stores like Safeway that now have the Club card, coupons in newspapers, and Just For You (online coupons you can add to your club card).

 

 

[KatieJ]

Yup. I mostly shop Costco for those reasons. Prices are good, return policy is pretty much non existant elsewhere. Just makes my life easier.

[Dandelion]

That's why I generally don't do coupons.  Unless someone hands me a coupon for something I'm about to buy right at the checkout, it just doesn't happen. ;)  Not that I'm anti-coupon - I just can't keep track, and it takes too much time and energy.

 

I do love the customized coupons that one of the grocery stores I shop (King Sooper's) prints out for me along with my receipt. Those are all based on my past purchases (since this store has a loyalty card program), so they're for things I actually buy.  However, even with those I don't always get around to using them, as I only shop there occasionally. I just threw a bunch out that expired on 7/14.  Boo.  ^_^

[Annie G]

I'm with you- it drives me crazy.   I nominate Kohl's as the worst offender. 

[Dandelion]

I nominate Kohl's as the worst offender. 

 

It's amazing.  Every time I shop at Kohl's, I save more than I spend (e.g. I spent $50, but just saved $75!!!).   :001_rolleyes:

 

ETA: Sales are great.  But it seems that Kohl's regular prices are way overpriced just so they can claim the AMAZING savings you get with their sales.  

[Annie]

Gosh, yes! I don't like shopping at all, and clothes shopping is especially dreaded. The thought of going to bunches of places multiple times to get "good deals" on basic clothing makes me twitchy. I refuse to shop at Kohl's anymore because the "sales," plus the coupons, plus the Kohl's cash, plus the early bird whatever is just out of control. If I'm out shopping for a pair of black pants, it's because I * need* a pair of black pants. It's so frustrating to go in there an have the one thing I want be the one thing that isn't on whatever random sale they're having that week. I just won't play with them anymore.

 

I keep a very simple wardrobe and replace things as needed. I don't really shop around to get better prices. I make up the money by just not buying much over all.

 

I'm disappointed that the always low price thing didn't seem to work for JC Penny. I thought there was a glimmer of hope for the end of the insanity.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I'm sick of "loyalty cards" too. I go to Stapls about twice per year and I don't want to be pestered about another card. Between the four grocery chains in my area and a few other places, I have enough cards already!

[Luanne]

I totally agree.  Just give everyone the price and do away with all the stupid cards.

[happypamama]

My favorite is that if you don't have your store bonus card at the grocery store, they use the generic store card to get you the discounts anyway.  While I appreciate the discounts (my bonus card is on my keyring, and if I'm using a different vehicle, sometimes I forget to bring that keyring with me), it seems a little silly -- how is that encouraging store loyalty?

[Swimtaxi234]

I use one grocery card because it gives points to lower their price of gas, but since their groceries are so overpriced I rarely shop there.

[Dandelion]

My favorite is that if you don't have your store bonus card at the grocery store, they use the generic store card to get you the discounts anyway.  While I appreciate the discounts (my bonus card is on my keyring, and if I'm using a different vehicle, sometimes I forget to bring that keyring with me), it seems a little silly -- how is that encouraging store loyalty?

 

Because you'll be forever grateful that they saved you from having to pay full price during your time of need?  :tongue_smilie:

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

 

You should read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. You might never use a loyalty card again.

[Annie G]

Thanks for the book recommendation- I put it on hold at my library.  From the reviews I read, the first three chapters are really good but the rest is filler. Did you think so? 

[redsquirrel]

The store I regularly shop at doesn't have a 'loyalty card' but it does have a card so I can write a cheque, other than that I don't have much experience with what you are talking about. But I know my purchases are tracked etc with that one card at the grocery store. Unless I pay cash it is tracked where ever I shop so there you have it.

 

I don't take those other cards or anything where I am expected to give an email address etc. I don't give my zip code when asked either.

[SKL]

Yeah, at some point I figured out that I spend more when I'm trying to "save."  LOL.  So mostly I ignore all that.  Once in a while I'll keep a coupon aside in case I decide to buy that item before the expiration date, but I won't buy something just because I have a coupon.

 

The ones that bug me the most are those emails you get saying "ONE day only - Tomorrow!" or "Last day to save!"  (and I get them from the same companies over and over again, so it's obviously not the last chance).  I am not going to drop everything so I can rush to a store in the middle of my already-scheduled-up week.  So make me feel bad about missing it, why don't you?  Blah.  It made me so mad that I vowed to never shop at those stores again.  LOL.

[Ottakee]

Just a fun aside about them asking for zip codes. I was shopping with my friend's daughter and the daughter's bio sister (friend adopted her dd but kept contact with bio family). They asked at the store for a zip code and the sister rattled hers off. Obviously not a local one they asked where it was from. Sister replied "Alaska". Then the clerk asked them "have you ever seen an Eskimo?"...............to which the girls laughed and said, "yes. You are looking at 2 of them".

 

The girls are obviously Eskimo in looks but the clerk was just floored that they were "real" Eskimos........guess they didnt' look the part that day.

[bobbeym]

I mainly shop at one particular grocery store b/c it has a loyalty card that gives me gas discounts, plus my kids work there so I use their keytag and save 10% off all store brand items. 

 

We don't use many coupons b/c we perimeter shop so it's always a nice bonus when the store mails out loyalty coupons for the things we do buy.  I'm certainly not going to turn down free eggs, butter, and rotisserie chicken.  :laugh:

[athena1277]

One thing that I really like about the grocery store I use is that there are no cards.  None.  The prices are good.  I do check out and print a few online coupons before I go, but only for things on my list that day. 

[HS Mom in NC]

I hate it too.  Just give me the best price you can and be done with it.

[twoxcell]

Yes I find the club cards annoying and in general rarely shop at stores that use them. Even with all of the club card deals and coupons Safeway is still one of the most expensive places in town. I have no idea why people shop there.

[Parrothead]

I don't use loyalty cards except at BAM. I wish I remembered to bring cash for every grocery trip. I hate that I'm tracked by my credit card.

[Julie Smith]

I do all my shopping at the expensive grocery store and don't use coupons, except when the cashier lady who likes me gives them to me. (She also comes up to me sometimes and tells me what to buy that my boys would like that is on sale)

 

But I do all this on foot. So I save on gas, and dont' need a gym membership.

 

Everything else I get my hubby to do. Then I don't ask and never know what it costs, what and if he collected points...

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Thanks for the book recommendation- I put it on hold at my library.  From the reviews I read, the first three chapters are really good but the rest is filler. Did you think so? 

AMDG

 

No, I did not think that.  Rather, I thought it was two books that, neither being sufficient of itself, were published together.  Not only that, it was the other stuff, not the habit stuff, that was of interest to me.  The part about Target and rewards cards, the elderly married couple, the woman who gambled . . . I found that stuff pretty interesting and we had some interesting conversations at the supper table about it even though I was the only one who read it..  It was the first part, about habit, that wasn't particularly interesting to me.

 

odd, I guess.  

 

It's a really quick read, too. 

[Excelsior! Academy]

Walgreens new card drives me batty! I love stores without cards!

[Jenny in Florida]

My favorite is that if you don't have your store bonus card at the grocery store, they use the generic store card to get you the discounts anyway.  While I appreciate the discounts (my bonus card is on my keyring, and if I'm using a different vehicle, sometimes I forget to bring that keyring with me), it seems a little silly -- how is that encouraging store loyalty?

It doesn't encourage loyalty, but that's not the primary goal of such programs. Mostly, what they want is to track data about your spending habits and preferred brands and such. The savings they award you are just the bait to get you to agree to it. (I have a couple of those cards, too. But I have a little talk with myself each time I sign up, reminding myself of what I'm consenting to allow in the name of saving a few bucks.)

 

The reason they scan a generic card to award savings when you forget yours is that they don't want to lose that day's sale when you realize you don't have your card.

 

I recently started working in a retail store which shall remain nameless (since, despite what I'm about to say, I like both the job and the paycheck), and we play all kinds of games with our policies regarding coupons and promotions and special offers and sales and price matching . . . Some days, it makes my head spin when a customer arrives at the checkout with a fistfull of scraps of paper and a webpage ready on a smartphone to prove that the store down the street is having a sale on one of the items and I have to start sorting paper into piles and figuring out what will scan and what won't and for which items I'll need management approval and in what order to scan the little slips of paper in order to maximize the savings and the chances that it will all actually work. But what I've found really fascinating is the constant drumbeat in our training about not losing a sale over details like an expired coupon. Essentially, we will pretty much bend any rule (with a manager's approval) and go to ridiculous lengths to try and corral as many sales as possible and keep them in our store. Because, if we don't convince them to spend that money right here and right now, they might go somewhere else tomorrow, instead.

 

And, honestly, it all seems so silly to me. I mean, why bother putting a price on an item or posting a policy about coupons if the truth is that we're willing to discount anything and everything for the most far-fetched reason? It's exhausting and really just punishes the customers who walk into the store assuming they will respect the posted prices and not ask for special favors, not to mention wasting the time of the employees who have to perform the aforementioned juggling act and the managers who have to be called to the register every five and a half minutes to punch a code into the computer and assure the customer we'll do this for him or her "just this one time."

 

I find myself wishing that JC Penney's had been successful with their recent attempt to cut back on this silliness. But, it seems most consumers get so caught up in the "savings" that they can't see it's all a shell game.

 

Ah well, it makes people happy, I suppose, makes them feel like they "won the game" and maybe keeps them enthusiastic about coming back to try again next week. And that makes it possible for the company to employ me, which means my son can take those extra dance lessons he's been agitating for since last fall. So, I guess I'll keep playing my part in the charade.

[Barbara H]

Great article in Forbes magazine "Never Give Stores Your Zip Code." Worth a read. The short version, when they for your zip code it can easily be matched with a name from a card swipe and they then tie that into databases and have all your info.

 

 

[KungFuPanda]

I use 'Jenny's' number a lot. I get the lower prices without the tracking. I haven't tried it in other parts of the country, but it works in all of my grocery and pet stores so far. I just tell them I want to punch in my number and use (local area code) 867-5309.

[LucyStoner]

Unless I always pay with cash, any marketer will get my info because my name needs no zip code to match itself.  There is precisely one person in the world with my name.  Take one uncommon name, marry a person with another uncommon name, use 2 last names/hyphenate and you will never be anonymous again.  

 

I use an old, old phone number and zip code of all of those store programs and give only my initials and a misspelled last name.  Not that I think this matters much, as like most people I use a debit or credit card and my name is to my knowledge unique to me and my husband.  

[Ottakee]

I do like bargains and sales, etc. but I just hate the games.

 

I try to shop at Aldi's when I can but it is about 30 minutes away and with the price of gas I only go there if we need a lot of stuff or if I am headed that direction anyway.  Otherwise it is Walmart for me.

 

Clothes shopping is so hard as you really have to play the games to get decent prices.  I try the local thrift stores and Goodwill first though as those are likely to get me the best bang for my buck.

[Wildcat]

And, honestly, it all seems so silly to me. I mean, why bother putting a price on an item or posting a policy about coupons if the truth is that we're willing to discount anything and everything for the most far-fetched reason? It's exhausting and really just punishes the customers who walk into the store assuming they will respect the posted prices and not ask for special favors, not to mention wasting the time of the employees who have to perform the aforementioned juggling act and the managers who have to be called to the register every five and a half minutes to punch a code into the computer and assure the customer we'll do this for him or her "just this one time."

 

I find myself wishing that JC Penney's had been successful with their recent attempt to cut back on this silliness. But, it seems most consumers get so caught up in the "savings" that they can't see it's all a shell game.

 

Ah well, it makes people happy, I suppose, makes them feel like they "won the game" and maybe keeps them enthusiastic about coming back to try again next week. And that makes it possible for the company to employ me, which means my son can take those extra dance lessons he's been agitating for since last fall. So, I guess I'll keep playing my part in the charade.

 

I liked your entire post, but I expecially agree with the above, and super especially with the bolded. It annoys me to NO END what people will ask for (and GET!!!) at stores. It ticks me off royally that most stores will bend over backward for those who pitch a fit and make a huge scene and make the rest of us pay full price.

 

I, too, wish JC Penney had been successful.

[school17777]

I find myself wishing that JC Penney's had been successful with their recent attempt to cut back on this silliness. But, it seems most consumers get so caught up in the "savings" that they can't see it's all a shell game.

 

I didn't find JC Penney's prices lower than Kohl's or Bontons, when you had a coupon. The list price may have been cheaper, but not when you applied a coupon. My kids weren't happy with JCPs clothing selection.

 

I have not had luck with coupon matching at Walmart. My local Walmart won't match store prices where you have to have a loyalty card, which basically means that they don't match prices except for Home Depot or Target - all the other stores have loyalty cards. A manager and I got into an argument over this when I tried to match a CVS price. Couldn't understand his reasoning, so now I just shop CVS and Rite Aid when they have a good sale. I could understand if we had to pay for the card like at Sam's Club or BJs, but not a free loyalty card.

[Jenny in Florida]

I didn't find JC Penney's prices lower than Kohl's or Bontons, when you had a coupon. The list price may have been cheaper, but not when you applied a coupon. My kids weren't happy with JCPs clothing selection.

The goal of the JCP pricing wasn't to make items cheaper than competitors, but to make them an equivalent price without the need for a coupon or sale.

 

When JCP first went to the new pricing approach, I went through the websites of JCP and Kohl's and found that, when comparing exact item to exact item, the regular JCP price was within a dollar of the "sale" price or the regular price minus coupon at Kohl's. And shoppers got that price every day, without clipping a coupon or watching for a sale or jumping through any hoops. There are certain items, of course, for which there is no exact equivalent, such as house brands or labels that Kohl's carries that Penney's does not. But, from my admittedly quick research, I vastly preferred the JCP approach to pricing.

 

I was not crazy about some of the other changes they made at the same time, such as the way they reorganized the stores into mini "boutiques." I found it frustrating to have to wander from room to room searching for a pair of jeans, for example, rather than walking into the denim section and being able to pick up several styles from different labels all in one place.

 

We don't have the other store you mentioned. I've never heard of them, in fact. I used to like Kohl's for selection, but we stopped shopping there a few years ago when they got onto the HRC naughty list. So, at this point, it doesn't matter much to me whether they are cheaper or not, because I don't want to give them any of my money. I'm just wistful for the year or so when I knew I could walk into JCP and get the best price without having to worry about whether I remembered to put the coupon in my purse.

[ksr5377]

I'm disappointed that the always low price thing didn't seem to work for JC Penny. I thought there was a glimmer of hope for the end of the insanity.

 

I agree with this.  I was trying to do most of our shopping there, but obviously our limited budget wasn't enough to save an entire business.

[ChristusG]

I hate all the cards!!! I don't even do them. I just want a price, pay it, and be done with it.

[Ottakee]

Seems like I am not alone here.

 

Now I can be as "dutch" as can be (in our area that means cheap/frugal, etc.---not really a racial thing) and love bargains but I just hate spending the mental energy to figure out the best sale on.......... and then maybe driving somewhere extra to get that "deal", and having to come back to spend my "bonus bucks" which are good only on certain days, etc.