[Quick Tip] Off The Menu Ways to Save

restaurant discounts

Well the family went out to dinner tonight and after all of that Thanksgiving Pie and Mashed potatoes, we were in the mood for something lite like soup and salad.

I found the soup that I wanted and it was priced at about $3 for a cup and about $5.50 for a bowl.  Next, I scanned the salads on the menu and to my surprise, they all were pretty fancy with some sort of meat on them and priced fancy as well at around $10 +.   So, I asked the waiter if they had a soup & salad combo for dinner.  He politely nodded no.  So, I asked him if they had just a plain old garden salad.   This time he nodded yes, and the unpublished house garden salad was a good size for only about $3.75.   Just want I wanted to both eat and pay.  Note to self….done assume that everything is written on the menu.

Secret tricks used to convince you to pay too much.

When you look at TV, radio and print ads,  there are several little understood marketing tricks that are used to get people to pay more than they need to.  Here are just a few of the popular tricks:

1. Advertising products as FREE or at  ridiculously low priced and making good money by:
   • Charging  jacked up Shipping and Handling (or Processing) charges to customers.
   • Offering a return policy with required jacked up return shipping and handling charges.
2. The old “Priced as Low As” trick:
   • When you think hard about this, it becomes crystal clear what they are really saying. We translate it as something like “We may sell you item(s) no cheaper than this price”.  Hey, what does that really mean anyway?  Most folks don’t think to hard about it and assume that they are selling stuff at fantastic prices. As you can image, this is often not the case.   Maybe we should ask them to advertise using this phrase “Priced as HIGH as…”.  Hmm, that probably would not sell as good.
3. The old, if it’s sold at auction, it must be cheaper trick:
   • In reality auctions can bring out the competitive nature in people.  Some people need to win at any cost. Since most auctions have a fixed minimum price set before the auction start, the seller is protected and may make more profit in less time using this approach.
   • So, you really need to do your homework before putting that bid out there on ebay.  Make sure you know what the item is really worth before you bid.
4. The “If we call it a Factory Outlet store, people will assume that the prices are less than the mall” trick:
   • In reality, you may actually pay less at the mall if you catch a good sale.  Also, don’t be surprised if you end up paying the same prices than you can find at the mall.
   • When you think about it, it is brilliant to setup factory outlet stores (that have less overhead cost than being in expensive mall space) and pricing them at the same or higher prices.  Also, many outlet shops are closer to upscale residential neighborhoods.  Someone really thought this one out.
   • Of course you may be able to find lower prices at the outlet stores at times.  Our point is, don’t assume that outlet store prices are cheaper before doing your homework first.