A “deal” is usually defined as an arrangement for mutual advantage but most “deals” aren’t. When a deal seems too good to be true, it almost always is, and it’s usually slanted in someone else’s favor.

Marketer’s have a huge playbook of techniques to make you think you’re getting the best of them, but consumer’s have to be  careful to not get ripped off and bust the budget. Here are 6 to look out for:

While supplies last …

The fear of scarcity can drive you and me to make a decision without thinking. We’re naturally afraid of limiting our choices and we worry about regretting it. Salespeople know it, play on those fears, and convince us to get out the checkbook.

10 for $10

What this usually results in is 9 too many. This type of pricing structure is most often used on items you wouldn’t buy 10 of anyway. Most of the time, you can purchase just one for a dollar. That means there never was a discount.

Buy one get one free – just pay shipping

Those “as seen on TV” items are major culprits of this tactic. “It’s only $19.95, but WAIT – order now and we’ll double the offer!” That item (according to Consumer Reports), costs approximately $5. By the time you pay postage of $8 on each item, so you end up paying $35.95 for two … and the TV sales guy makes a fortune.

Medium, large, extra large

People tend to favor a middle choice and by renaming “small” as “medium” retailers play on that tendency. They tend to leave off the fact that the small size is the one they make the most profit on.

Serve yourself – only $3.99/lb

Ever see that sign at a salad bar? Hey, how much could some lettuce weigh? A lot more than you think. Sure lettuce doesn’t weigh much, but bacon, cheese, salad dressing, boiled eggs, kalamata olives, and red pepper humus does. By the time you put your salad on the scales, you’ve spent $10.

Only 99 cents

I’ll bet you didn’t know that the net profit margin of 99 cent stores (7 percent) is double that of Wal-Mart (3.5 percent). Since people perceive prices that end in 9 as more appealing than those ending in whole numbers, those 99 cent stores are raking it in.

Though these marketing playbook tactics can seem sleazy at times, personal finance IS personal. That 10 for $10 deal may actually be something you need, so please don’t think you shouldn’t take advantage of purchasing opportunities that make sense for your situation. Just make sure you are doing what’s best regardless of the “deal” presented to you.

Photo by Derek & Kristi

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy in the footer of the site or on my About page.

Are you a gadget junkie? I’d call myself a semi-gadget junkie simply because I love using and learning about new electronic gadgets. I’m a late adopter though, preferring to let the bugs get worked out and, well, to let the prices come down (they almost always do).

I’ve bought various items through eBay from a company called Dyscern in the past and I was thrilled to learn that they now offer their reconditioned electronic gadgets via a new site at www.dyscern.com.

Dyscern specializes in portable consumer electronics, predominantly refurbished items, like this Apple iPod 5th Generation 8gb Nano (right now $104.99 USD). They’re able to offer exceptional prices on a wide cross section of products including MP3 players, iPods, HDTV’s, Computer Systems, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and more.

If you’ve been looking for a GPS system for your car, take a look at this Navigon 2010s. It features a 3.5 inch touch screen and 320 x 240 resolution. At only $72.99, this GPS system has an integrated traffic service capability, a USB interface for your PC, and a micro-SD expansion slot. If you’ve ever been lost in an unfamiliar city, you know how valuable a car GPS system can be. I love mine!

How about a brand new item? Widely recognized as the best Bluetooth headset on the market, the new Aliph Jawbone II Bluetooth Headset NoiseAssassin is 50 percent smaller than the original, award-winning Jawbone and offers over 4 hours of talk time. This item is brand new but bulk packaged. It has never been used and includes the unit, charger, USB, one ear loop, and one ear bud. The down side: no fancy manufacturer packaging. The plus side: save a lot of money and get a new Jawbone for less than half of retail at only $39.99!

So check out Dyscern. They have many more items than these and their inventory changes regularly as they find new and reconditioned electronic items to offer their customers at prices even the frugal can appreciate.

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy in the footer of the site or on my About page.

Here’s your chance to score big with friends, family, co-workers, your boss, or anyone else! How? With a Restaurant.com single gift certificate or a Dinner of the Month Club!

Get a $25 gift certificate for only TWO DOLLARS

For a limited time (through Friday December 25, 2009), head on over to Restaurant.com and buy $25 gift certificates to great restaurants for only $2 each, yes TWO DOLLARS! Simply check out and use the coupon code SANTA and you’ll be able to enjoy great meals without the guilt of spending too much of your Christmas cash.

They make great gifts, too. Imagine being able to give $300 worth of Dinner of the Month Club certificates (12 months x $25) for only $24! Yes, you CAN gift yourself a gift too!

This is a limited time offer and applies only to selected restaurants. Which ones? If you go to Restaurant.com you can type in your zip code and find out. I’m certain there will be something there you and your intended gift recipients will like.

Don’t forget to use the coupon code SANTA when you check out!

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy in the footer of the site or on my About page.

Anyone who’s spent much time in a commercial airliner knows about Skymall. It’s the over-the-top catalog that graces the seatback pocket on every commercial flight I’ve ever been on. Leafing through it on my last flight made me wonder if anyone’s learned any frugality at all during this recession. If people are actually buying some of these items, the answer is No. In fact, some of the items in it are beyond extravagant. Here are a few that stood out to me:

Tan your feet?

If you wonder if people are staring at your feet because of their “unsightly” tan lines that appear when you wear your golf shoes, tan your feet with the Solafeet Foot Tanner. It looks like a $27 foot massager at Amazon but the Solafeet Foot Tanner retails for a whopping $299.99!

Look like Batman?

If you have an extra $395 lying around, you could buy that Batman cowl you’ve wanted since Michael Keaton went from Mr. Mom to the Dark Knight. Scare your friends .. once or twice, then become really annoying or a candidate for the funny farm when everyone wants you to stop. Seriously. Does anyone really need a Batman cowl? If the answer is yes, I just gotta ask, “Why?” Oh yeah, you could also pick up those nifty Superman cuff links ($129.99).

Sarcophagus anyone?

Coming in at over 6 feet tall, the King Tut replica sarcophagus does have a dual use – it also doubles as a storage unit with its handy 14 inner shelves. I just don’t know, should I spend $850 for a fancy CD rack made from solid wood and “hand painted in a regal palette of jewel tones,” or should I pass? I think you know my answer.

Leave no wine behind?

Imagine the tragedy: you have to travel to some forlorn area of the world and you fear not having your preferred choice vino with you. Spend $499 on the Aluminum Wine Safe and you can take it with you. FAA approved no less as a carry on! Not only that, but this little silver box maintains the perfect temperature for your bottles while it keeps them safe and secure. It also prevents “label abrasion” and breakage!

Are all these video recorders legal?

Skymall has shirt pocket spy cameras the size of a pack of gum ($149.95), video recording sunglasses – I’m assuming for the beach? ($199.95), shirt-pocket underwater camcorders ($199.95), and a ball point pen that is a video and audio recorder ($149.99). Are people flying on airplanes really that paranoid? If you need to record every meeting, I’m thinking you need to brush up on your interview skills and polish up that resume.

Best of the rest

There are iPhone products galore, ridiculous lawn ornamentations, tons of products “guaranteed” to re-grow hair, more overpriced luggage options than I can mention, watch accessories I never knew existed, products to REALLY pamper your pets, interior decorations to make the HGTV crowd swoon, far too many exercise and massage products and enough sleeping aids to make you wonder if those pilots got enough rest last night. Why else would they be featured so prominently? And why is it all so expensive?

I summed it up this way: 10,000 products I’ve lived my life without – and never missed any of them.

But then again for me, that’s just about everything in the regular mall too!

Photo credits:

• Delta photo by Fly For Fun
• Batman Cowl photo by Chuck Williams2009
• Sarcophagus photo by Skymall

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy in the footer of the site or on my About page.

Know why they call it “Black Friday?” It isn’t because those sale items push retailers into the “black” (accounting speak for profitability). Those sale items are almost always loss leaders – items sold at a loss in order to lure you into the store in the hopes you’ll buy other, more profitable items. What really pushes retailers into the black are the profitable items you buy because you showed up at 4am and everything you hoped to buy was sold out and you HAD to buy SOMETHING (let’s call this a sunk cost).

Black Friday Bait and Switch

While checking out Black Friday ad scans, I peeked at the Best Buy ad. Most of the great buys they’re touting have limits on your purchase or severely restricted quantities available. To Best Buy’s credit, they DO list the minimum number of items in each store but no rain-checks will be issued.

The Walmart ad has similar language:

“All items in this advertisement are available in limited quantities. Sorry, no rain checks. We intend to have every advertised item in stock. However, we may not offer some items in all locations and quantity or availability may vary due to unexpected demand or circumstances beyond our control. In all cases, we reserve the right to limit quantities to normal retail purchases or one-per-customer or household.”

Neither the Black Friday Walmart ad, nor the Toys-R-Us ad I saw mentioned minimum quantities available at each store but the Staples ad did list them on a few items.

Some bait and switch tactics can be more sinister. Stores may drastically lower the price on slow movers. Others may feature items considered obsolete, unpopular, damaged, or returned for credit and willing buyers will snatch them up simply because it’s Black Friday.

Do YOU participate in Black Friday?

I don’t participate in Black Friday. No, I’m not a Scrooge. I just don’t relish the idea of fighting huge crowds in the hopes of buying stuff. Chances are high that whatever is purchased on Black Friday will become obsolete, won’t be used more than a few days (if at all), or isn’t really needed. One thing I can guarantee is that the things bought on Black Friday will never love you back (unless it’s a puppy!).

One year I did get up early just to drive around and watch the madness as a spectator. It was fascinating.

When someone would walk to their vehicle to stash their stuff, other drivers were racing each other to the soon-to-be-vacant parking spot. Many times the shopper had no intentions of leaving, only relieving their tired arms from the weight of their packages. The drivers would wait, turn signals blinking, only to realize their quest for a parking spot was foiled … again. They would speed away just a little too fast in a show of frustration.

Inside the store, shoppers were willingly herded like cattle through doors and chutes to certain areas, spellbound by the “deal.” They all carried ad circulars and previously purchased packages while speaking loudly of their plans and strategies. Some used their cell phone browsers to look up other deals at other stores, others announced their plans by speaking to “team members” (I’m assuming family) in strategic code over handheld radios with all the crispness and precision of a team of Green Berets. “Did you get the LCD? What’s your location? Send Bobby to get in the DVD player line and I’ll hook up with him there. Send Hannah to either the RC toys line or the GPS line and get back with me when they arrive. Over.”

Buy only what you truly need

If the siren’s song of Black Friday is too much for you to resist, make sure you’re armed with:

• Cash or your rewards credit card.
• An ad circular from the store.
• A Thanksgiving Day newspaper AND a Black Friday Newspaper (to insure you have the right information on their sales).
• Knowledge of the store’s policies for Black Friday purchases.
• Comfortable shoes.
• Bottled water or a thermos of coffee.
• Snacks?
• Your browser enabled cell phone or netbook with an air card.

Remember: when it comes to these “loss leaders,” it really is a zero-sum game. Either the store wins or you win. You win when you buy the exact item you want at the price you want or you don’t buy at all and walk away with your cash. The store wins when you buy something else out of desperation or frustration.

Black Friday photo by teejayhanton

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy in the footer of the site or on my About page.