One of my readers previously commented that the you can indeed get a deal on tech items such as a HDTV from a big box store.
While I agree that this can, and does occasionally happen, it tends to be done only to push the “up sell”.
I learned about the concept of the “up sell” many years ago, while working at a local Kinko’s.
For whatever reason, my manager, decided to stock Altoid mints as a compulsory buy item, like the candy and gum at the grocery checkout. We were instructed to push the Altoids to every person picking up an order below a certain dollar amount. By giving the customers a bit of a discount, they were more inclined to spend additional money (which more than made up for the less than stellar discount provided on the copies) on something they did not need, want or which could be purchased elsewhere for less.
Now I know that printed goods and mints are not even remotely related, and perhaps that is why that manager is no longer the manager today, but the concept of the “up sell” remains the same. Give the customer the sense of savings, then get them to buy something additional, which is not on sale, or that they do not need to make up for the so called “discount”.
Most people when presented with such a “deal”, seem to jump at the opportunity for whatever psychological reason unknown to me.
