Priced as Marked

Back in my early days working in the drugstore, I noticed an interesting phenomenon with the “Priced as Marked” signs we’d place on merchandise display tables.

Piled onto a display table, seasonal items such as back-to-school gear seemed to move faster than the same items on a nearby aisle, even though the pricing was the same.

Maybe people assumed a deal was to be had — or there was an added thrill in rummaging through items on a table to find the right pen, eraser, or glue stick.

Alternatively, maybe the table made the merchandise more visible and accessible, saving customers the effort of roaming the aisles.

This “Priced as Marked” convenience factor may have something in common with no-haggle auto dealers. Some folks take comfort in a take-it-or-leave-it price, even if it’s not the lowest. Maybe they loathe haggling, want a speedier sales process, or simply value a low-stress purchase experience.

Regardless of what you think of these approaches, the asking price in both instances is fixed ahead of time. What you see is what you pay.

But soon, fixed prices might be more the exception than the rule.

Online prices are already easily changed and present something of a moving target for the consumer who likes to shop around.

That changeable pricing can cut both ways. For example, we might find the price of an online item has increased when we leave and then revisit a site. Conversely, a retailer might apply a small discount to encourage us to close the deal upon our return.

Now, some large brick-and-mortar retailers are replacing traditional shelf tags with digital ones. Factor in today’s surveillance culture and AI and you can see where all this can go in terms of a retailer determining what we are willing to pay.

What’s a frugalmeister to do? As in the past, getting a good deal will require effort. How much are we willing to put into each transaction in terms of research, comparison shopping, and the like?

That brings us to a time-tested strategy: pausing to ponder the value we seek. By taking that time out we can avoid impulsiveness, buying time to determine the level of effort to put into a transaction. The pause also gives us space to determine if we can afford the item or if we even need it to begin with. Perhaps that’s the best way to avoid leaving money on the table.

How about you? Do you figure out the path to a good deal, no matter the gimmick or how technology changes things? Or do you prefer convenience and simply accept the price as marked?