Buying what we don't need in sales<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Sales, sales, sales! Signs, each bigger than the
\nother, smile at me whenever I go shopping. It is difficult to
\nresist the seduction, but usually I try to be strong.<\/p>\n
\"Buy things only when you need them,\" I say to myself. After a
\nfew days, I regret that I held out and I start to waver. But when
\nI finally have made the decision to buy, the sales are over or
\nthe items have been snapped up by other people.<\/p>\n
What is it that makes people buy so much during sales? My
\npsychological insight says it is the discounted prices that
\nattract. The sight of the old price with a bold cross through it,
\nusually done with a flourish of red ink, and the new price
\npositioned much lower is the draw for the prospective buyers.<\/p>\n
Discounts compel us to buy things we don't really need.
\nNotices about the alluring slashed prices -- 10 percent, 40
\npercent or sometimes even more -- are posted everywhere. As sales
\nare now held regularly, people think it is better to wait for
\nthem before buying goods, especially luxury items, provided they
\nhave not been grabbed by other shoppers.<\/p>\n
The biggest rush for discounts at the end of last year was
\nprobably at a closing-down sale for a branch of an American
\ndepartment store. It is not a luxurious store like Saks Fifth
\nAvenue or Neimann Marcus, but that did not really matter as most
\nIndonesians like to buy the goods in this kind of store and then
\nbrag they bought it in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Over here, its merchandise was considered too expensive and
\nthe store went out of business. The first sales were not very
\npopular, so more were held with bigger reductions, with the final
\nsales held in December, just when the rupiah had reached a
\nhistoric low against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
It was then that I went to one of the store's biggest outlets
\nto look at the sales for myself.<\/p>\n
There was my favorite underwear for 40 percent of the usual
\nprice, so I bought three. But my friend Tanya thought I should
\nhave taken home at least a dozen. She herself bought six
\nnightgowns -- enough for a lifetime -- all in different styles
\nand colors.<\/p>\n
\"Pure silk, you'll never get it again, at least not for this
\nprice,\" Tanya assured me. \"And you must convert everything into
\ndollars, then you'll find out how lucky you are.<\/p>\n
\"Come, you should buy some too.\"<\/p>\n
While I trotted dutifully behind her to find the nightgowns, I
\nnoticed that she had bought a lot during the short time I had
\ncontemplated purchasing the underwear. She opened one of the bags
\nand showed me ... dozens of socks!<\/p>\n
\"Pure cotton, 3,000 rupiah per pair, just 60 cents,\" she said
\nproudly. \"You can find them only in America. Over here everything
\nis mixed with polyester.<\/p>\n
\"They were my husband's favorite socks when he was studying
\nthere, and he still prefers this brand. He always asks friends
\nwho are going to America to buy them for him.\"<\/p>\n
When we finally finished our shopping and were waiting for our
\ncar, we spied a boisterous couple pushing their cart, or rather
\ncarts, for there were three of them.<\/p>\n
They were packed high with disposable diapers.<\/p>\n
I looked away in embarrassment because I had just received an
\ninvitation to their wedding reception. Brought up in a more
\nwholesome straitlaced era, I thought they should have at least
\nshopped in the evening when there were fewer people around.<\/p>\n
They saw me and, as they were having a lot of fun, they asked:
\n\"Don't you think that our baby will be the most wanted child?\"<\/p>\n
\"Well I should think so. When is it due?\" was my answer, which
\nprompted them to burst out laughing.<\/p>\n
\"No, there is no sign of a baby yet, but these diapers were
\ngoing so cheap that we couldn't let them go,\" they said.<\/p>\n
\"Isn't it our duty to save and to buy things when they are on
\nsale? Now we have enough diapers to welcome the baby when he or
\nshe comes -- we bought sizes from newborn to two years old!\"<\/p>\n
-- Myra Sidharta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/buying-what-we-dont-need-in-sales-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }