I am just back from my 2nd (and hopefully last) visit to the Summer sales and I have to admit that I've been very disappointed this season. There are very few "great deals" to be had and some of the sneaky tactics I've seen retailers employ clearly tell me that they are desperate and will stop at NOTHING to show both top-line growth and profitability. Majority of the half page ads with FLAT 50% off are downright misleading since most of them are valid only on MULTI-BUY (Buy 3, get 50% off) and then there is always the 5% VAT to add :( Also, some of the sales had stock as old as Manufactured in Dec 2011 which leads me to believe that we, in India, are probably also going through a phase of cautious consumer spending. Considering I have sworn NEVER to pay full price for clothes in India, I still left with enough to last me till January or even next July so can't really complain, can I? :(
Crossword bookstores was the final pit-stop for today and I was bemused to see them advertise 15% off on books as "Massive savings". That's the bare minimum available on the net, even at places like Flipkart (who have completely lost the plot btw), so unless you don't have an internet connection at home or simply have loads of loose change to blow, there is no reason/excuse to buy at the store. Yes, Crossword have woken upto this trend and their store's real estate has dramatically shifted to 30-40% books, 10-20% music & movies and the remaining is now all Toys and Games - yet, I saw a typical DICW1CBA1LAB buy books worth INR 6000 odd during their short 20 mt detour into the shop. There was none of the opening the book, flipping through the pages, reading some stuff, liking it and dwelling on the "to buy or not to buy" idea.... It was just like a department store - they came, they saw (the cover, and recognised a few authors), they picked and they paid. Whew !!!!
The saving grace of the whole outing was eating pani-puri (or golgappas as my Northy friends would call 'em) outside the mall despite the slight drizzle. They were so yummmmmm... and they cost me just 10 bucks for 7 pieces. Now, that's a deal that I get all year around :-)
PS: DICW1CBA1LAB - Double Income Couple With 1 Cute Baby and 1 Loud, Annoying Brat
PS1: There was 1 awesome deal in the DVDs sales section. The Master was available at 50% off - I deliberated a lot but finally ended up not buying it. Much as I really like Paul Thomas Anderson (and you SHOULD see Punch Drunk Love) and have a crush on the gorgeous Amy Adams, Philip-Seymour Hoffman in a serious movie is an absolute no-no. Remember DOUBT !
Crossword bookstores was the final pit-stop for today and I was bemused to see them advertise 15% off on books as "Massive savings". That's the bare minimum available on the net, even at places like Flipkart (who have completely lost the plot btw), so unless you don't have an internet connection at home or simply have loads of loose change to blow, there is no reason/excuse to buy at the store. Yes, Crossword have woken upto this trend and their store's real estate has dramatically shifted to 30-40% books, 10-20% music & movies and the remaining is now all Toys and Games - yet, I saw a typical DICW1CBA1LAB buy books worth INR 6000 odd during their short 20 mt detour into the shop. There was none of the opening the book, flipping through the pages, reading some stuff, liking it and dwelling on the "to buy or not to buy" idea.... It was just like a department store - they came, they saw (the cover, and recognised a few authors), they picked and they paid. Whew !!!!
The saving grace of the whole outing was eating pani-puri (or golgappas as my Northy friends would call 'em) outside the mall despite the slight drizzle. They were so yummmmmm... and they cost me just 10 bucks for 7 pieces. Now, that's a deal that I get all year around :-)
PS: DICW1CBA1LAB - Double Income Couple With 1 Cute Baby and 1 Loud, Annoying Brat
PS1: There was 1 awesome deal in the DVDs sales section. The Master was available at 50% off - I deliberated a lot but finally ended up not buying it. Much as I really like Paul Thomas Anderson (and you SHOULD see Punch Drunk Love) and have a crush on the gorgeous Amy Adams, Philip-Seymour Hoffman in a serious movie is an absolute no-no. Remember DOUBT !
No comments:
Post a Comment