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"How retailer traps can end up costing you more at Christmas"

By admin | December 2nd, 2008 | Featured

When it comes to Christmas we all prepare ourselves for having to spend more money, as this is traditionally very expensive time of year where people tend to splash out on gifts, extra food, drink, entertainment, socialising, and new clothes amongst other things. However, this year is slightly different in light of the financial problems that most households have been suffering because of increasing living costs, soaring inflation, and tight credit availability.

With sales on the High Street set to hit rock bottom many major retailers have been slashing their prices before Christmas rather than waiting for the traditional January sales in the hope of getting consumers to spend more in the run up to Christmas and boosting sales levels. Many people have been able to pick up real bargains as a result of the sales, which means that many have been able to cut back on the cost of Christmas at a time when money is very tight.

In fact, many industry officials have said that nobody should have to pay full price for their Christmas purchases this year, because so many retailers have cut their prices or introduced special offers such as buy two gifts and get a third free. However, whilst there are plenty of savings to be made by shopping in the right place there are also many different tactics that shops may use to try and extract extra money from you in a different way.

There are a number of different traps that retailers may use to try and get your money from you, so even though you are making big savings on the items that you buy you may end up throwing the money at additional extras that you do not actually need simply because you get a convincing sales person selling the service or product to you.

One way in which you could find yourself getting fleeced for cash even though you have saved money on your purchase is through the purchase of insurance for the item you have bought. Many retailers try and push the sale of insurance with purchases such as electrical items and jewellery, but this insurance can literally be a waste of money, as you may not even benefit from having additional cover because the items may be covered already under your home insurance and by the manufacturer’s warranty.

Another thing to watch out for is that you do not fall for the sales patter relating to store cards, as many retailers will try and push store cards at this time of year because they can make millions of pounds from them due to the high interest rates charged. However, this money comes from the pockets of consumers, and you could end up paying a huge amount more for your purchases when you use a store card because of the interest that you have to pay on the purchases.

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