Just Say NO

This is probably one of the easiest economic principals of them all.  Just say no.  If you ever buy a big ticket item like a car, saying no will help insure you get the best price.  "So Mr. Jones, the list price on this fine car is $36,000; We can let you have it for $29,999, you would agree that is a deal!"  All Mr. Jones has to do is say NO, one word.  What can the sales person do?  There is no negotiation there, all he can do is ask Mr. Jones what he feels would be fair for such a nice car with leather, cruise control and a convertible top.  Then the real negotiation begins.  Assuming Mr. Jones did his homework, he should get a fair deal.

Same thing is true in other retail area, even WalMart and Target.  We read a story today about Nike.  Apparently, Nike has an endorsement deal with Lebron James.  Nike paid a certain amount to Lebron, to use his name and stature to sell their shoes.  The story talked about how these shoes were going to break the $300 mark, and stores should beef up security against shoplifting.  When our daughter was young, we took her back to school shopping each year.  One year in particular, I think it was like 6th grade, all the girls were asking for Nike Jackets and shoes.  Nike does market well.  The shoes she wanted were about $80.  I said no.  At the time there shoes of similar quality and design for as little as $15.  But she said:  "All the kids will have these Nike's, and I need them."  We re-set the argument telling her that it was not whether she was getting the $80 shoes or the $15, but rather whether she was getting the $15 shoes or going barefoot.  The $15 shoes from a company I had never heard of before, Sketchers.  Now they have a much bigger name, yet still not as big as Nike.  To my daughters surprise, she was not ostracized because she wore Sketchers, and in fact the next year half the kids were wearing them.

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Next, we went to the jacket department.  Of course, she went right to the Nike Jackets, again saying she "needed" one.  They were $100.  On the next rack were a similar design jacket from Adidas that was half the price.  But different enough.  Again we had to explain that she could have the Adidas or wear the same jacket from last year.  I am sure she was flustered.  At that point, we told her that when she was 16 she could get a job.  With her own money she could get whatever she wanted.  Funny how at 16 she never opted for the hot styles of the day.  She just said NO.  Now she did shop clearance sales, and still wanted the brand names, but would wait til the end of season to get them.  Smart girl!

Nothing against Lebron or Nike, but I will choose to say NO to $300 tennis shoes.  It's how the economy works.