My husband needed new running shoes. He has started to run each morning and what he had previously just wasn’t working out anymore. So, two nights ago he went to Finish Line with a friend to see what they had. He came home with a great pair of shoes and was really excited about it.
But, the very next morning, I was online and found a coupon code that would have gotten his shoes $20 cheaper. AAHHH! Oh man, I hate it when that kind of stuff happens. But, I’m guessing it probably happens a lot- not only to our family, but to yours too.
When you know the starting price of the item you are purchasing, you will be able to tell right away if what you are purchasing is a deal, or if you should wait. And sometimes impulse buying can really throw a wrench in your bargain plans.
We are able to purchase the deal online and take our receipt in to get the difference. So, we can get that $20 back. But, then you have to figure out if driving all the way to the mall (waste two trips in gas) to do the exchange is worth your time, energy and factor it all in.
So, learn from our family’s mistake this week, make sure you really shop around and stay away from impulse buys! 🙂
Any impulse buys you regret because you saw it cheaper soon after??
Carrie
Yesterday! You posted the old navy costume sale and the cash back through shop at home, and I just bought that same monkey costume for my son last friday night. I bought it a lot earlier in the season that I needed to, but at the time, there was only one left in his size so i grabbed it. I could’ve saved almost $10 if I’d waited and ordered it, but once I factor in the gas money now, it doesn’t make much sense to return it.
Sharon Farmer
Sometimes hesitation is my biggest enemy. I bought a Happenings book yesterday for $25 which I found on KSL.com. I didn’t think I would use one but I rented a car in Texas and my friend gave me a coupon for a double upgrade and that was worth the purchase of the whole book. I tried researching the book on your blog because I knew I had seem them but it was in June and they were all gone at $9.99 and were now selling for $35.00 Sometimes I just make the dumbest mistakes.
Laura
amen to that! It happens occasionally to us to. We have now learned to do our homework first, even if it takes a while.
Suze
It is frustrating sometimes. If you wait, you risk losing the item because the style/size you want isn’t available when you have a coupon or it goes on sale. Some retailers will give you the sale price if you ask after you’ve purchased it and a sale occurs later. I think Target’s policy is at least a couple of weeks but it might be 30 days. Kohl’s sometimes will let you return the items and repurchase them with a coupon. Or I find I need the item after the coupon or sale ends. It’s a tough call sometimes, to be patient or buy it when you see it. I do balk at paying full price, though.
Bethany
Sometimes that happens to us too. But it just happened to us when we had done our homework on a certain car seat that we wanted and we were waiting patiently for a good deal. The car seat retails for $379. We found a site online that was selling it for $258 with free shipping. That was the lowest we had ever seen it. I wasn’t familiar with that website, so I called Babies R Us and they priced matched it for us. A couple of weeks after the car seat came, amazon had it for $246. I called Babies R Us and they credited it back to us. So they really helped us get the best deal.
Jenny
Well, I married my husband (kind of an impulse). So far so good. However, he is an impulse shopper which drives me nuts. Luckily, he doesn’t buy much, but when he does, I just think “there goes the $20 I saved clipping coupons & waiting in the checkout line at Walmart on double coupon Tuesday for forty painful minutes”! Ha! Ha!