A Sale I Could Not Resist
August 1st, 2008 by KenricSometimes you walk into a store to buy something simple and end up spending a huge amount of money. Today I walked into a store intending to spend $1,300 and walked out spending $3,100. But I will end up in better shape than if I spent only $1,300. Confusing?
I decided to go shopping to get a new leather sofa. I had a budget of around $1,300. As I enter the furniture store I get the usual salesman asking me if I wanted help. He proceeds to tell me that today they have a special sale. Buy one item and get one of equal or lesser value for $1. I did a double take… What????
Yes, it was true. I can buy a $1,400 leather sofa and get another one for $1. But I don’t need two sofas. No problem, you can choose whatever you like as long as it was under $1,400. Seriously, this has got to be one of the best deals in the world.
Hmmm, I could use a loveseat too. I can buy a leather sofa and matching love seat for $1,401. Seems like a great deal right?
But how can I make it better? The gears are turning. I think that playing poker has made me think differently. Like a player with a made hand, I immediately shifted to a different line of thinking. How can I extract value from such a tremendous deal?
With most furniture stores, the more you buy, the better the deal. Instead of leaving with just a sofa and loveseat for $1,401, I decided to add an ottoman, coffee table and 2 end tables. Individually these pieces would be $3,800 but purchasing the whole set costs only $3,100.
So I bought the whole set for $3,100 and with $1.00 I got the exact same set again!
On to the next part of my plan. I went home and put the 2nd set for sale on craigslist. Who wouldn’t want to buy a brand new living room set at a great discount price! I priced the pieces at about 66% of retail and tossed in a discount if someone bought everything. I already have a buyer.
If all goes according to plan, I will have paid $500-$900 for my new living room set. A much better deal than paying $1,401 for just a sofa and loveseat.
Note: I was very very tempted to buy 4 total living room sets for $6,202. I could have sold 3 and came out $1,300 ahead and with a living room set. But why be greedy.
Posted in General | 4 Comments »
Stumble it!
this is awesome. I recently bought a bike off of craigslist. A decent Trek in fact. I negotiated with the guy to take half of what he was originally asking. I rode the bike for a few months, and decided to put it back on craigslist. I made almost 100 bucks on my investment.
I have a friend who does this same thing but more frequently and with all kinds of stuff, bikes, furniture, gaming systems etc…
By JC on Aug 1, 2008
Got your text message on this yesterday. We are trying to buy a new sofa, but we need something more modern to fit out mid-century modern home (you should see the remodel sometime). I checked the website and they didnt have what we were looking for.
I like your idea of “Furniture Store”… :P
By RealOG on Aug 1, 2008
Smart decision! Maybe I should start playing poker :) . I used to get very confused when facing a great promotion offers.
By Alyn on Aug 2, 2008
Wow! I’m impressed. Do tell if you have completed the sale.
By Cynthia on Aug 5, 2008