Shopping for bargains
(Today’s column)
It was a strange sight. We passed by Dampa sa Libis on Sunday evening and the parking lot was not even half full. The only times I’ve seen that parking lot in such a condition was on weekdays during the dead hours between lunch and dinner. I wondered if it was because most people were in the malls doing their Christmas shopping or whether it was a sign that people were indeed spending less despite the usual practice of splurging at this time of the year.
Then, I remembered stories from friends and family members on the throngs of people in Divisoria and Dapitan and I knew that the usual holiday shopping sprees were going on as usual. Filipinos may be buying less expensive items but few are cutting down their Christmas lists.
The Wal-Mart incident dubbed as Black Friday by the United States media, where a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by rampaging Christmas shoppers eager to enter the store at 5 a.m., has shocked many. It has been described as a situation where consumers have turned shopping into a “contact sport” where the weak getting hurt is just part of the game. In places like Divisoria, flea markets and the malls during weekend and midnight sales, this contact sport doesn’t only take place during the holiday season. Filipinos engage in the jostling all-year round while young children get squished and pickpockets engage in their own sport among the shoppers.
Not too long ago, I would have attributed the urge to spend for Christmas gift giving exclusively to the Christian value of sharing. As twisted as it might sound, the story about the Three Wise Men who came bearing gifts to the child Jesus finds commemoration with the massive gift giving that has become the benchmark of the Filipinos’ Christmas traditions. But now I realize it is more than that.
For decades, Filipinos have been programmed to spend money and the holiday shopping is already an automated reaction to that programming. It is all part of the pervasive capitalist culture where spending money is no longer associated with the acquisition of things that people need but the acquisition of things that people think they need and cannot do without—a mentality carefully shaped and honed by the powerful media and savvy advertising.
It’s a mind game. Storeowners have marketing professionals in their payroll, or didn’t you know that? And these marketing professionals, trained in the art of consumer psychology, know that majority of shoppers go to malls not really to buy anything specific but merely to browse through items, find ones they think are good bargains and buy them whether or not they have a need for them.
This is especially true with non-essential and luxury items. Maria goes to the mall as is her weekend habit, sees a pair of shoes with a tag that says 50-percent off. Even though it’s a pair of shoes she has seen before, she never really considered buying it because it was expensive and she had no real need for it. But at 50-percent off, she starts telling herself it is a good buy and she even manages to convince herself that she has a real and good use for it.
The real trick to buying quality items at rock bottom prices is to buy as close from the source as possible.
The thing is, despite the slashed down prices, it is very rare that shoppers get value for money during sales. Stores conduct sales not to play good Samaritan but, rather, to get rid of items that are clogging up their storerooms and warehouses goods that, sold at regular prices, won’t even merit a second glance from shoppers.
And there’s even another angle to pricing. When a new item is initially put on display, a storeowner assigns a price that is much, much higher than the item’s real value. After a couple of weeks, the store conducts a sale and puts the same item at 20 to 50-percent off, the slashed down price still above the real value of the item. The store still manages to sell the item at a profit.
It’s like a thriller. The storeowner is prepared for the slow sales during the initial phase (introduction) but knows that he’ll make a killing during the well-timed sale (climax) previously built up with the just the right amount of teasers and announcements (rising action).
The real trick to buying quality items at rock bottom prices is to buy as close from the source as possible. Most store items are expensive because between the source and the retail store, it has passed through many places, each one adding a percentage to the price—dealers and wholesalers, exporters and importers, and finally the retailers. You add the cost of tariff and customs duties (if imported) and grease money, where applicable, and the price of rent if the retailer is renting space in a mall, and you know you’re kidding yourself that you’re buying imported items at cheap prices.
Visit weekend markets where most of the sellers produce their goods from backyard businesses. Multiply (multiply.com) and Etsy (etsy.com) are bursting with products made and sold directly by their makers—from free range chickens to cakes and pastries to lamps made from indigenous materials to just about anything. Forget brand names. Forget status symbols. If you can’t get rid of the shopper’s mentality, at least be a smart buyer and get your money’s worth.
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Thanks for this article! The East Germans and the Swiss only buy what they need, and don’t care how expensive it is, basta quality product. When I went to Spain, I was surprised at how wasteful they were, buying things that broke down after two days, and things that they didn’t need were sold out. Then I remembered, ganun din as Pinas. I think we inherited this from both the Spanish and Americans.
Never experienced dampa in that condition. We always had to go there early so that we can get a good parking spot.
I was surprised too. Used to be so difficult making a u-turn in the parking lot to exit but last Sunday, hay, ang luwag!
Great post! You’re so right about the urge to buy things simply because they’re on sale. I need to work on that.
Me too hahahahaha Sometimes, they can get irresistible LOL
“find ones they think are good bargains and buy them whether or not they have a need for them”
Is this a female thing or what? My wife is like that. She likes to rummage on stores with big BARGAIN and SALE signs and buy things we don’t need just because it’s being sold on a much lower price than its regular price. I hate it when she do that! : (
Hi Connie, Just a clarification- Black Friday is actually the day (Friday) after Thanksgiving (the third Thursday of November) when retailers put most of their merchandise on sale so that they start to see their balance sheets go from red ink to black ink, from deficit to profit.
BlogusVox, I know a lot men who do the same. Perhaps, statistically, more women do it because 90% of the merchandise in stores are targetted towards them.
Aggie, ah I see. So there’s a Black Friday every year.
Thanks for this post Connie. My youngest son who still lives at home does his clothes shopping mostly on the net and he says it’s cheaper than most big stores here in Melbourne. I do my big clothes/homewares shopping once a year after Christmas sales – then I don’t need anymore after that. But as you say be a smart buyer – trying to locate quality items during sales is hardwork.
Yup, there’s a Black Friday every year. People actually line up outside stores the night before to avail of the best deals that stores offer (let’s say laptops at $350 but there will just be 20 of those available per branch).
I read that some people shopping in that certain WalMart in Long Island actually complained when it was announced that the store was closing early due to the incident. Some even had the gall to say that it was unfair because they have been in line since the night before. Tsk, tsk. A person actually died and it was unfair to them?!
Black Fridays here in the states is always horrible. Here in Penn we have signature outlet stores and you can’t believe how people line up just to be the first one’s in line. Right after thanksgiving dinner, they will head out to the stores armed sometimes w/sleeping bags and small tents. I don’t think that being in those long lines makes them smart bargain hunters. What’s being smart is when you just wait for those regular signature brands to go on sale w/c happens in a month or so. Or better yet, buy summer things when summer is almost over that you can use for next summer. Coats and winter attires when winter is almost over. I buy my kids things at gap verytime. When the season is new, I go and browse around for the new stuff, after two or 3 weeks I go back and voila, the things that were priced at $25-$35 when they first came out will be priced from $5-$15 nalang. School bags that will first sell for $35, you can get for $10. This kind of bargain hunting is what I consider my monies worth.
This is a nice post Ms. Connie, nowadays, we really need to maximize our hard-earned money. It may be hard to change from a compulsive shopper to a smart shopper, but a little attempt and effort each day will turn to a smart habit one day. We don’t have to be 100% smart shopper, we just need to always try and make an effort to be smart all the time.
The another angle of pricing you stated is really true. I worked before in one of the leading department stores in our country and a month or so before the 3 day sale or christmas sale, the operation side will issue additional mark up based on regular selling price, afterwhich they will reduce it again to its regular sellling price as if there is really a discounted sale or something. I can’t blame them. That is part of their strategies in order to augment the bottomline figure.
I agree. Mahal masyado sa malls. I have my own multiply store you can check lots of bargains here from orginal perfumes, victoria’s secret 400 lang sa mall 600 and up. Also derma products from Belo and Bioessence more than 70% real prices ksi we’re direct sa manufacturer. And a lot lot more. We’re also an ebay powerseller so you can be assured of the quality of products and read feedback of more than 1600 satisfied customers i the Philippines and abroad.
When i went to Hongkong super mahal pala unlike before. Mas mahal pa dun, yung ladies night market nila 1 shades would cost you 250-500 pesos the same shades at divisoria that only costs 50-100.