Rambling Zone

Shopping, especially for a woman (read: me :P), could be something very refreshing yet challenging. However, it could be stressful afterwards, to pay all those bills... :(
Therefore, no matter how much I love to shop.., I try to keep it under control... ;)

How to shop without wounding our financial standing so much....?
Hopefully few tips below would be handy....

1. Planning

Not only managing business that needs an organized plan, but shopping also needs a perfect plan so we can have a win-win solution for both our desirable needs and financial standing. It wont take hours to create a plan, but we may need weeks (okey maybe hours :P) to regret buying unnecessary things due to unplanned shop.
Inspired by 4 P's Marketing Mix.., following are Buying Blend *maksa mode on* we may need to consider:

a. Product

Yep.. First of all, we need to determine what will we buy. Make a list if we need to. Hopefully this list will assist us to be more focus (avoiding distractions). Moreover, it can be functioned as a reminder so we wont miss a thing on the shopping list.

b. Price

For me, price is essential.. The basic idea is how we can maximize our shopping cart with a limited fund.. First, we need to measure our capacity.., then arrange our budget.. Yep.., we need to keep our financial standing on the track.. Don’t let shopping make us bankrupt.. coz if we get bankrupt, we wont be able to shop anymore, right…..? :P
Anyway, I was inspired by Coles tag.. "Why pay more for everyday's basic.."
So for monthly shop.., if could find tho lowest price possible.. why not? :P

c. Place

After we find out what will we buy and arrange the budget, we may now decide where should we go. Is it a shopping mall, factory outlet or traditional market? If we want more specific stores, there are stores/markets that offer particular items such as shoes market @ Pasar Baru, electronics arcade @ Glodok, cell phone stores @ Roxy, etc.. Budget may affect shopping arcade selections.. For example, if we look for a low price textile, we could find it @ Cipadu, Tangerang. However, if we do have a spare budget, we could go to Mayestik Market which provides a more expensive textile. In conclusion, again.., all we need is measure our condition and capacity.

Another thing needs to be underlined here.. is to ensure that we know how to get there :p Don’t wanna waste time to search where the shop is.. Better use the time to shop longer… :P

d. People

Asking our girlfriends for shopping might have been the best idea since
they’ll never get bore or tired to accompany us exploring shopping arcades. They
could give the second opinion and they could be good managers, since they could
remind us if we’re shopping too much... What about men..? Well.., it depends on
their patience level.. :P :P

e. Phase

Timing is important for the sale hunter. Shopping malls usually provide the
great shopping sale in particular months (usually in the beginning, in the
middle and in the end of the year). Besides shopping mall, timing is also
essential for traditional market lover. For instance, buying things early in the
morning (as the stalls started to open) may let you to get lower price than
buying things in the mid day..

2. Sale.. Sale.. Sale..

As mentioned above, timing is really important for the sale hunter. Usually, sale wont last for a long time.. For example, some shops may offer 2 days or a week. Jakarta Great Sale takes time for a month around June (when Jakarta celebrates its anniversary). Therefore, we need to pay attention when the sale season is begin or end. If we have a chance, please check the price before and after discount. Is there any significant change, or do the retailers already rise their product’s price. Moreover.., we need to pay more attention for the product itself. Is it containing any damages? Sometimes bargaining goods are defected or rejected products. The last but not the least, please beware of the % signs. I am fortunate myself could read % signs from the distances.. hehehe.. Please pay attention as well to the small prints under the % signs which usually describe the discounts’ terms and conditions.

For example:

50% OFF
For the second pair of shoes

3. Bargaining Power

For me, the bargaining part is the essence of the art of shopping. It’s more like a personal satisfaction to succeed in the bargaining process.. What could be more delightful than getting lower price than any other stores…? hehe.. Maybe it needs a little bit more efforts to get. But that’s the challenge anyway.... :P

a. Personal Approach

Be friendly.... and smile... By a good personal approach, we could gain more sympathy from the seller and might get what we want. For example, since we dunno whether our bid price is reasonable enough... we could avoid the seller to get mad @ us, should our bid price is too low.. :P

b. Mini Survey

To set the benchmark of the bid price, we need to conduct a mini survey (just compare with 3 to 5 similar stores – depend on the population) so that the
price range can be found out.

c. The Rule of Thumb

Start to bargain with the price a little bit below our range. Usually it takes 1/3 times of the offering price. Then, we can gradually increase our bid.

d. Desire

Please don't show our interest so much to the targeted product. Pretend to walk away whenever the seller doesn’t want to give up. If the seller doesn’t call us back, it might indicate that the price offered is already the best price.

e. Ask First

Don’t hesitate to ask whether the price of targeted stuff is on a bargain. I often found fixed price stores or even shopping malls are willing to discount their fix price when I ask. Similar with a proverb: “Malu bertanya, sesat di jalan”…, this could be “Malu bertanya, ngga dapet diskon” :P

f. Fixed Price..? Ask For Extras.. :P

Major shopping centers or outlets may offer fix price. But it doesn’t necessarily it is a dead end. All we need is a negotiation. We could ask for extras eg. souvenir bag or other bonuses. For example, I ever got a charger as a bonus for buying a MP3 player (Thx mate :P)...

g. Timing

As discussed in point 1, timing is essential in a bargaining process. Buying things early in the morning (as the stalls started to open) may let us to get lower price than buying things in the mid day.. It happens probably due to the "Penglaris"myth... Buying things by the end of the day could also let us to get lower price..

h. Re-check the Price

Re-check the price if you dare. This way, we may evaluate whether our deal price is already the best price. There might be dissapointment should we know that other store is offering a lower price. But this is a priceless information that can be useful for the next shopping trip or for our friends and families.

4. First Hunch

Trust your first hunch. If we already like something at the first sight, that could be it. To avoid regret, we could ask the seller whether there are more stocks or maybe could ask him/her to keep ‘em for a while.

5. Know Our Rights

We need to know our rights as customers. For example, we could change defected stuff we bought. Beware of misleading and deceptive conduct that were captured under section 52 and 53 Trade Practice Act 1974 (Australia). In Indonesia, we could contact Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia (YLKI) should we have any queries.



Okeyy galls.. Let's Shop... But Not Till We Drop.. :)

Labels: Money Talk, Tips