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Getting a Hot UK Deal Is Just a Question Of Time
Visiting a few shop sales this year reminded me
of one of the most impotant factors in getting a
hot deal- timing. It can be the difference between
getting a bargain and fleecing.
The "sales" are an obivous example... buy in
December and pay full price... buy in January and
pay half as much. But the impact of timing is much more
far reaching than that.
The principle underlying the importance of buying
at the right time is our old friend supply and demand.
Buy something in short supply which everyone wants
and won't get a bargain. But wait until there's an
overstock, or buyers are thin on the ground (or
preferably both together) and you'll save a load.
Let's look at a few examples of popular purchases,
and how timing them right can drive down the price.
Want a car bargain? You could do a lot worse after
Christmas, and nobody wants to buy a shiny new car
and then have it rained on, snowed on and gunged
up with salt. Do you? Ofcourse not!
If you go into a car showroom during February of the
year and you'll get the red carpet treatment. If it's a
sports car showroom, they'll probably lock the door
behind you, and start to beg and plead. Leave it a
few months and you'll be lucky to get a "good
morning"!
Car auctions are a great place for a bargain in January
and February too. If it's snowing , so much the better.
The same factors which are currently stopping you from
attending are keeping scores of others away as well.
Bite the bullet, wrap up warm, and in just a couple
of months time, the frozen fingers and toeswill be a fond
memory as you look at your bargain buy gleaming in the
spring sunshine.
It's a similar story if you're looking to move house. In
December, most people are too busy preparing for
Christmas to view houses. In January and Frebruary
it's too cold! Few properties look at their best at
this time of year either. Dead and empty gardens do nothing
to sell a property.
Anyone selling a property in winter will be feeling
distinctly downbeat, particularly if it's been on sale since the previous
summer.
They may well be susceptible to a low offer at this time.
But leave it until Spring (March to May) when the "lookers"
come out of hibernation and there are a few daffodils and a little sunshine
to brighten up the garden, and you'll find an altogether more "bullish" seller.
It's not just cold, miserable weather which brings on a timing
bargain. There are what I call the "after the event" opportunities.
These are great because a matter of days - and in many cases
hours - can separate top price from bottom dollar.
Please consider the following annual events:
- Christmas
- New Year
- Valentines Day
- Mothers Day
- Fathers Day
- Easter
- Halloween and
- Bonfire Night.
All have products associated with then, and we all buy some of them. Purchase
the day before and you pay top price. Leave it until the day after and they're practically giving
it away.
So why not buy the "non-perishable" stuff:-
- Cards
- Presents
- Decorations
- etc... now, for next year?
Alternatively, make a family decision to move an event back just a few days.
Your children might be reluctant to move Easter back a week, but they could well be persuaded by
the knowledge that they will get twice as much chocolate!
Can you imagine how much more everyone would get for Chrstmas if the event took place a week later?
It's worth thinking about.
Timing factors can be important in regular day to day transactions as well. When you're going to
haggle, try to visit the retailer on a regular day to day transactions as well.
When you're going to haggle, try to visit the retailer on a quiet day. Why? Well,
firstly, the less customers there are around, the more time the retailer will have to spend with you, and
less concerned he will be about other customers over hearing the discount he's about to give.
Secondly, the less customers there are around, the more keen the retailer will
be to make a sale of any kind.
If the place is packed, he's less likely to move on price. Good old supply and
demand again.
And timing factors can be important in the most mundane of purchases. Visit a
supermarket just before closing and you'll find piles of perishable items marked down to half the
price they were just a few hours earlier.
It's the same story at the fruit and vegetable market at 5 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. Boring,
but true!
Whatever you're buying, give careful thought to how adjusting the timing of your purchase
could affect the price you pay. It will always have an impact on the relative bargain position
and perceptions of the parties.
Judge it correctly and you could save a small fortune.
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Money Saving Tips