In India , we have many festivals and it is very convenient for any retailer to offer discounts . Then , we have the new year and year ending discounts , monsoon discounts and last but not the least stock clearing sales . I have noticed shops which sell merchandise always on discounts – say 30 to 50 percent on coupon price , or buy one and get three free etc .

With the rise in disposable income with the middle class , there is a quantum jump in retailing especially in clothes and house hold items . The shops overflow with merchandise and dealers are anxious to turn over the stocks in quick time .

Recently , we were contemplating changing our sofa set and were looking for an exchange offer . I found one retail chain which offered the exchange . When contacted , they told me the price of the old sofa will be 25 percent of the cost of the new sofa selected . I noted the price of various sofa sets and promised to get back soon . However , when I called on them during the next week which happened to be a festival week , I was told that the exchange offer is not there now and instead there is a festival discount .  What I found out was under the exchange offer , the cost price of the sofa was Rs 15,000 more than the festival offer price , clearly indicating to me that the exchange offer was a clear trap !.

The ‘ buy one and get three free ‘offer is another technique by which the actual cost price is hiked four times and the freebies are adjusted within this range . Bundling of different items as a package also follow the same process .

The bottom line is , we shopaholics like discounts and the retailers play to our sentiments and make a sale with a good profit margin at the end .


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