Friday, August 16, 2013

Why smart people will always buy stuffs at a discount?


Most people like discounts and sales. Everytime during the great Singapore sale, there will be long queues outside retail shops and the shopping malls will be packed with people. However, i suspect some of them are the same people who also shop when there is no discount. Just that during discount, they will buy even more!

So what do i mean when i say smart people will always buy things on a discount? I'm referring to those people who will only buy things at a discount and i really mean ONLY! No exception. These are the really smart people.


Why do i say that? It is because you'll realise that you can always buy a similar stuff at a lower price. Let me give you an example and scenario one of my friend encountered. So i got a female friend, she likes to shop for clothes. She is also smart and will buy only at a discount. Her favourite shop is Cotton On which sells many nice female apparels. There was one time when she bought a skirt at a 15% discount at one of the Cotton On outlets. She was really happy about it as she got something she liked at a lower price. The next day when she went out, she passed by another cotton on outlet at another shopping centre. She saw the same skirt and out of curiosity, she went to take a look at the price. To her surprise, the skirt was even cheaper with 20% discount. This is a true encounter and i do not know why different outlets sell at different prices. Lucky my friend was smart to buy at a 15% discount which is better than nothing. Imagine if she bought at original price without a discount, she would have felt really sad.


A second example is my own personal encounter. If you've followed my blog post, i wrote that i recently bought a two way flight to taiwan at only $200. Scoot had a free return flight sale. I was really happy as i feel that the offer i got was really good. I told many of my friends, relatives and colleagues and they all said this was a really good deal. True enough, even though Scoot had other promotions throughout the next 2 months, none was as good as the offer i got. I was following Scoot's Facebook page and there were many comments on its page on the other promotions. Then i saw people writing to complain on its promotions page. What were the comments? Some people were complaining that they bought at full price without discount. They were really sad about it. Same flight, same date, same time and one ticket was cheaper while another was much more expensive. Now when you book your next flight, remember to take note of this and always book your flights at a discount.

Just 2 months ago, i heard my colleagues talk about some deals they found online. The name of the site was AliExpress. It is gaining popularity among online shoppers. If you've not heard of this name before, you might have heard of the site called Alibaba. AliExpress is setup by Alibaba. Now this sounds a bit funny with the name Alibaba. But well, weird name but good deals!

My colleagues were buying electronics, kitchen equipments etc. The items were really a bargain deal and it is delivered to your doorstep. Most of the items have free delivery. The comments were quite good and they were satisfied with the service provided. They also have a very good buyer protection scheme with full money back guarantee. Apparently, they don't release payment to the seller until you the buyer confirms the satisfactory condition of your item. This really protects the buyer's interest in my opinion. Check out the site here: AliExpress by Alibaba.com

Hope you find some good deals too. As a finance blog, i wouldn't encourage readers to spend. But its good to be able to buy stuffs that you need on a discount. Buy if you need it.

So after the above 2 examples are you convinced that you should buy only at a discount? Are people who buy only at a discount smart people? You decide for yourself. Have a happy weekend ahead!

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2. The history of 9.5% Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) interest rates and the effects of inflation

2 comments:

  1. Hi sgyounginvestment,

    I always but my shoes at factory outlets and clothings mostly when there's discounts. Why buy it at say $100 when you can get it for $60?

    A while ago, I bought a pair of Nike runners at Changi City Point Factory Outlet. It was in season and retails for over $120. They were selling it for $50 because the coloration/shade of the shoe were a tiny bit off. As I wasn't really particular, I got it. It was a no-brainer. I got a good pair of runners, paid little and they made a sale. How good can it be!

    Thanks
    Pok Chow

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Pok Chow,

    Yes, we should always buy at a discount. Looks like you really got a good deal!

    ReplyDelete