Bargain Hunting

Since the beginning of the Great Recession we have been able to find some great bargains.  Some people have gotten a great deal on a house, perhaps at the expense of the seller - but it was a bargain.  Most have less expendable income or are being careful with their money which seems to have inspired more bargains in the area of home repair or maintenance items that we might ordinarily put on hold, such as windows, roofing, etc.  Many other sellers have been forced to become more competitive.  This is all good for us, the consumer.  Not everything is the bargain it appears to be, however, and a little bit of critical thinking helps.

Today I received a letter telling me that I could get a different cable, internet and phone package for a bargain price.  In fact I could save over $600 for the first year over the regular price.  Wow, I thought, that probably means that next year they will be adding over $50 per month to my bill.  That's the price I should really use to compare, unless I plan to switch back and forth between cable companies on a yearly basis - oops! the very small print on the back says it requires a 2-year agreement and a $35 setup fee.  So it wasn't such a great deal after all.

Likewise, I see ads in mailings, on TV, in the newspaper or on the Internet saying that each major insurance company can save me hundreds of dollars a year on auto insurance compared to all the others.   How does that work?  It reminds me of one of those M. C. Escher drawings where the waterfall feeds itself or where no matter how many times you go down the stairs you keep ending up on the top floor.  They can't all be less expensive than each other.  As I mentioned before, one even  boasts that 85% of the people who switched are paying less.  Isn't that just another way of saying that 15% of our customers are not too bright?  When these ads are looked at closely, they defy logic.

Marketing people are tricky; they are paid to lure you in.   Fortunately, they are not allowed to lie to us directly, but some of their promises seem really fishy when exposed to basic critical thinking.  I read recently that America was a pioneering society where action was often valued over thinking.  When you are being attacked by a grizzly bear, it's not time to stop to contemplate options; but when you are being enticed by an advertisement or a salesperson, you have all the time in the world.  No matter how often they tell you it's for a limited time only, we all know similar deals will turn up in a couple of weeks or months.  Think of the possibilities for saving and to force more forthright advertising if more people's behavior reflected strong critical thinking!