1) Yesterday I was in a framing shop looking at frames for my degrees. The guy suggested matting and some frames and when the guy went to tally up the prices, told me he was having a slow day, and so he would give me this 50% off coupon code he was not supposed to give me. My grand total with the supposed 50% off…$317 for two to be framed. Somehow I doubt that anyone pays $634 to frame two degrees. I’ll call this one the invisible coupon…the discount nobody has…except the store.
2) Similarly related is the "constant sale." Items have these fake regular prices put on them, but somehow 7 days a week there is some sort of discount that you can take on them. There is no sale…the fake price is too high to begin with.
3) Next up is coming up with "retail price" and then listing "our price" beneath it. Again the "retail price" is way higher than anyone would spend, making the easily susceptible think they’re getting a great bargain.
4) One of the dumbest phrases is "the more you buy, the more you save." NFL Shop just sent me that one in my email box today. While you may be taking discounts if a buy more than one, chances are I only need one. The more I buy…THE MORE I SPEND.
5) Gym initiation fees are another one of those ridiculous techniques. Why, you ask? I’ll tell you. You are getting no discount on the monthly fee. Instead they invent some "regular" initiation fee to join the gym that no one has ever paid in the history of the company, and then tell you for the next week only, next month only, or sometimes, TODAY ONLY (holy crap, hurry), you can join for only $29 for initiation instead of the "regular" $99. Meanwhile most people either get the fee waived or only pay that price to begin with.
6) I’ll finish up with one that is near and dear to me. This is mainly because back when I was in high school I worked at a Kmart. You advertise these great sales on items, and only stock five of that item or some other absurd amount. For the next 6 and three quarter days you have to constantly tell people you are out of the item. Most people will not think to ask for a raincheck. The store accomplishes getting you into it, hoping you’ll purchase something else. Also, those items that were rainchecked…they may not come in for six weeks, leaving many forgetting they even have the raincheck or having lost that slip of paper.
