Retail Category
Charge cards vs. Credit cards
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Dec 10 2009 | 7 Comments
Charge cards let holders use them to make purchases, then at the end of the statement period, they are required to pay the balance, which is typically done on a monthly basis. There is no revolving credit (a balance can’t be carried from month to month and must be paid in full), there is also no pre-set limit.
With a charge card, you get all the security and convenience of a credit card, but without the risk of going into debt and without having to pay finance charges.
Charge cards also give some features that give consumers a bit of financial discipline when they are new to credit.
While late payments incur fees and charges, since there is no revolving credit, with a charge card, you don’t have to worry about APRs or finance charges. Business owners are also given extra rewards such as American Express’s “extended payment option” for equipment purchases or travel expenses. With this “reward”, finance charges are applied to balances associated with these transactions. They can also defer payment for 2 months.
So, why bother with a charge card? Being required to pay balances is a great incentive to keep spending in check while enjoying the convenience of plastic. But consider all features and your planned purposes before signing up for a new card.
Charge Card Summary
Essential features:
* No finance charges
* Balances must be paid monthly or every statement cycle
* No funds are automatically taken from bank account*
Typical features:
* No pre-defined spending limit
* Late charges billed for late payments*
Possible features
* No annual fee*
* Discounts on certain products or services*
* Specialized insurance (such as travel insurance)*
*These features may also be found in a credit card.
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Tags: travel expenses, financial discipline, charge card
What does theft and shoplifting cost you?
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Nov 19 2009 | 0 Comments
Living close to Memphis, TN means that when I watch the news, there is typically no good news. Every Friday night one of the stations features someone who has shoplifted in a segment called “Stop Thief.” At the end, after the reporter has shown you a picture of the person who committed the crime, they tell you how much you’re “stuck” paying for the same item due to theft.
The truth is, manufacturers and retailers have to tack on a little bit to the cost of every item that is purchased to make up for theft of the item. You think razors are expensive? Just a year or so ago, it was the most shoplifted item in the world.
This year, retail theft was up 8.8% according to the 2009 Global Retail Theft Barometer report that comes from the Center for Retail Research. The report not only stated how much retail theft had risen, but also stated that, in the United States, the average family pays an extra $435 for their retail items per year thanks to retail theft.
The most popular stolen items from stores included personal items such as makeup, razors and perfumes. One of the items that made it to the most stolen items list was the Wii. I just don’t see how someone could walk out of a store with an entire gaming system…I had a receipt in my hand and the system in a box and was still stopped at the door with my new XBox 360 the other day.
I was surprised to see how people could take things out of a store and the elaborate ways that they do it. Watching the segment on the news shows you some of the ways that people get away (for the time being) with stealing car radios and such from the stores by switching out boxes. It just seems like a lot of trouble to go through to likely be caught.
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Tags: gaming system, car radios, thief
Taking part in the Black Friday madness this year?
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Nov 19 2009 | 0 Comments
Sometimes people do things that don’t necessarily make a lot of sense. Sometimes we put ourselves in the way of large crowds that will likely crush us or screaming teenagers that will make our ears bleed (New Moon is coming out tomorrow and for some reason or another I really want to go see it TOMORROW instead of waiting). Why do we do it?
Of course, this time of year has people thinking about Black Friday specials and sales. Because I am in the market for a laptop this year, I will likely be found camped outside one of the Best Buys within 2 hours of my house for the Sony Vaio that is going to be on sale that day. I have never camped outside a store for hours and hours for one of the big ticket items like this.
However, the crowds will form every single year regardless of what is on sale or what kind of tragedies happen the year before (last year the crowd of people at a Wal-Mart in New York trampled one of the employees to death and injured others). I have been in line before two years ago waiting for a Nintendo Wii and had a man walk into the store just because there was a crowd. He didn’t know what was on sale or why the people were there, but he stood in line as well.
There are going to be some measures that stores like Wal-Mart will be taking this year to try to hopefully make sure that people aren’t killing each other this year, but I’m just not looking forward to the fight for the laptops.
Then again, I know exactly why people will be camped outside some Best Buy stores DAYS before Black Friday…To save money. There are plenty of people out there with loads of time and little money who still want to buy Christmas gifts. The laptop I am after is selling for $399 or $479 with a blu-ray player. Anywhere around the internet, just with a brief search the NW series from Sony often costs around $700. I think I can stand in line for a few hours to save that much money, but I think the one thing that I’m worried about is that I’ll miss out on it.
I have, in the past, always gone to Wal-Mart on Black Friday to “people watch”. There is something strangely entertaining about watching people rip open plastic and push and shove people out of the way to get some towels, sheets, or a Barbie doll. Last year, I saw madness for EVERYTHING that the store had on sale. I didn’t ever think I would see people hurt each other over fake Christmas Trees, but it happened.
Overall, I believe that Black Friday is more about the frenzy than sales. If you follow some of the “deal” websites on the internet, then you can see that there are places throughout the year when you can find GREAT deals on things that are offered on Black Friday.
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Tags: sony vaio, wal mart, black friday specials
DVDs are the next target of the “price war”
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Sat, Nov 07 2009 | 1 Comment
A week or so ago, there was a story about how Walmart, Amazon, and Target were in a price war over books. Best sellers were getting the most attention and were selling for a lot off of the cover price of the book. While this price war between the retailers is still going strong, there is a new price war that is heating up.
Now the retailers (the exact same three: Walmart, Target, and Amazon) are trying to find out how low can they go on DVD prices.
Target started by lowering the price on 10 DVDs which include the newest Star Trek movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood, Prince, and Julie & Julia, all for $10. These were some of the summer’s hottest movies that are now well under what everyone was paying for the same movies just a few weeks ago.
Walmart followed suit by lowering prices on the same highly-anticipated movies to $9.98. Amazon is also offering the movies for $10.
Of course, the prices are simply promotional prices rather than actual long-term prices. The retailers are certainly paying more than $10 for each DVD (new releases anyway). Typically a new release DVD costs between $15 and $20.
At these prices I would be more willing to pick up the movies that I really want. I always shy away from DVD purchases because I don’t watch them often enough to justify paying $20 for a DVD when I can rent it at RedBox for $1 per night.
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Tags: amazon, harry potter and the half blood, target
Retail stores want you to shop…now!
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Sat, Nov 07 2009 | 0 Comments
It is just the first full weekend of November and already retail stores like Wal Mart, Sears, JCPenney, and online retailer Amazon.com want you to stock up on gifts for the holidays. All these stores are offering specials and pretty good deals today.
These were the specials that were going on today:
* Walmart’s Saturday Sale – valid Saturday, 11/7 at 8am
o Xbox 360 Arcade Console w/ $100 eGift Card – $199
o Sharp 42″ 1080p LCD TV (LC42SB45UT) – $498
o Panasonic 46″ 1080p Plasma TV (TC-P46U1) – $788
o HP 15.6″ Laptop w/ 2.2GHz Processor (G60-W519WM) – $298
o Sony Blu-Ray Disc Player (BDP-S360) – $148
o Magnavox 1080p Up-conversion DVD Player (DP170MGX) – $29
* Sears’ Black Friday NOW! Sales – valid Saturday, 11/7 from 7am to noon
o Zenith 42″ 720p Plasma HDTV – $499.99
o Sony Blu-Ray Disc Player (BDP-S360) – $148
o Samsung Blu-Ray Disc Player (BD-P1600) – $149.99
o Kenmore 30″ Freestanding Gas Range – $374.99
o Craftsman 8-Drawer Pro Tool Chest – $99.98
o Colormate Basics Bath Towels – $2.99 Each
o Coats & Outerwear for the Family – 60% Off
* Kmart’s Better than Black Friday Online-Only Sale – valid 11/6 – 11/7
o Sylvania 32″ 720p LCD HDTV – $349.99
o 40% Off Family Outerwear
* JCPenney “Biggest Sale of them All” - valid Saturday 11/7 from 7am to 1pm
o Men’s and Women’s Coats (Outerwear) – 60% OFF
o 3 Star Down Comforter (Any Size) – $39.99
o $10 off $50, $15 off $75 and $20 off $100 No Exclusion Coupons
There are several things on sale today because the retailers really want everyone in their stores right now so they can start tallying up their $$.
Some of these sales are pretty good. I am even in the market for a new laptop and for $298 for an HP, it didn’t sound too bad. However, that really is a low end model and from what I have read online, they aren’t that great.
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Taking part in the Black Friday madness this year?
Tags: sony blu ray, plasma tv, blu ray disc player
