As I was driving into work today, I was listening to the all-news radio station as usual. There was a story about how much of a discount people expect to be offered that actually get them to buy something.<\/p>\n
This time of year, many stores and vendors are offering sales for Christmas. Since mid-November, I have received email after email from vendors that sell boots. Offers of 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, or more. <\/p>\n
What amount of a discount motivates me to look? What amount gets me to consider a purchase?
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\nOne line in the above-referenced radio story, discounts of 10% don’t cut it. This time of year in particular, 10% discount doesn’t even get me to open the email, much less follow a link to a website.<\/p>\n
So I look at this matter differently. I really think about what boots I don’t have and that I have had my eye on. My boots interests have changed over time. For example, I have all the engineer boots and regular old cowboy boots a man could ever wear or want. I finally decided to try ropers just about a year ago. They’re okay and look good with dress slacks that I wear to the office. I also have found some good loggers, which were surprisingly comfortable and very useful during heavy-duty construction that I did this past summer. I also found cowboy boots that serve three purposes: a Vibram sole makes them useful to wear when I ride my Harley; solid construction and water resistance makes them useful as work boots; and good (enough) appearance that I wear them to work on “blue jeans Fridays” (in the summer when I also ride my Harley.)<\/p>\n
If I have my eye on a pair of boots that I want, then I wait to receive the inevitable flood of discount offers that always come from mid-November until mid-December. I do cost-comparisons of what those boots would cost using different offers.<\/p>\n
I realize that many of the discount offers are for very limited amounts of time, like two or three days. The message implies that the sale at that level of discount will never be offered again.<\/p>\n
That is not true. <\/p>\n
Discounts and sales are offered again and again. There is no real “black Friday” deep discount when it comes to boots. <\/p>\n
Sure, you will find discounts on boots offered on the Friday after U.S. Thanksgiving, but the same discounts or even deeper discounts, will continue to be offered over and over again through December.<\/p>\n
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Let me give you an example. I had my eye on a pair of Double H Gel Ice Western Work Boots. They already passed muster with my requirements: made in USA with quality materials and craftsmanship, and have durable soles suitable for use while operating a motorcycle. They also came with insoles that are supposed to be very comfortable. I checked on-line reviews of these boots and they were good.<\/p>\n
However, I already have a pair of boots by Chippewa<\/a> similar to these, so I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money on the Double H boots.<\/p>\n The original non-discounted price for these boots from various on-line vendors was about US$180.00.<\/p>\n Black Friday sales and discounts at a few vendors brought the price down to US$145. Not bad, but not good. I held out.<\/p>\n Two weeks ago, a “flash sale” from a reputable vendor offered these boots at a discounted price of US$130. Okay, better. But still, I held out.<\/p>\n Last week a vendor’s “immediate last-minute sale” brought the price to US$120. Okay, I admit, I was tempted.<\/p>\n But then I got distracted by my spouse’s needs and I turned away from the computer.<\/p>\n Yesterday, however, a “last-minute, final flash, major final last discount sale” was offered by the same vendor where the boots cost US$130 two weeks ago to — a new price of US$92.50. <\/p>\n Yep, that’s right — US$92.50 for a new pair of USA-made quality boots.<\/p>\n So yeah, I bought them. And according to their website, I bought the last pair. Personally, I doubt that is true, but we’ll see. I feel that the price I got, about 50% from the regular retail price, was excellent.<\/p>\n In summary, I suggest that if you want a new pair of boots and are deluged by offers this time of year to wait and not jump at the first offer. Inevitably there will be others and often at a better discount.<\/p>\n Life is short: remember that patience pays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As I was driving into work today, I was listening to the all-news radio station as usual. There was a story about how much of a discount people expect to be offered that actually get them to buy something. This … Continue reading