Price fatigue

If you've opened a paper or seen any news, you know that the economy is slumping. I've got no head for that stuff, but I would like to write about one money matter: the persistent feeling that you're getting jammed no matter what you buy.

Take pickle relish, for instance. I went to the grocery for the sole purpose of buying some. Although there were a ridiculous number of brands on the shelves, the one I typically get was not in stock. I was worn down from a twelve-hour day and not feeling all that sharp, so I was going to base the decision on price and not tax my tired brain.

One well-known brand appeared to be on sale, but after I flipped up the sale sticker to see the regular price, I discovered that they were one and the same. Sneaky. OK, let's check the store brand and compare the price. They were only pennies apart, but wait, what's this? The smaller size, which would ordinarily be more expensive, is significantly cheaper per ounce at its regular price.

Regular prices masquerading as sale prices? Smaller quantities cheaper than larger quantities? Really? I know businesses aren't charities, but it seems to me that these shenanigans aren't in good faith.

Then there's Ticketmaster. Earlier this week I bought tickets to see Spike Lee, Vampire Weekend, and Jens Lekman. I went out of my way to buy them at the venue's box office because they don't pile service fees and convenience charges on top of the tickets' face values. This is not an insubstantial amount. Based on other experiences of being socked with the fees, I estimate that I gave myself a 33% discount by buying where I did. These events are all inexpensively priced, but that changes when the seller tacks on an additional fifty percent for what they claim is the cost of doing business.

And then there's the big purchase I'm contemplating. I've wanted an HDTV for a long time, and I think I'm close to being able to justify it. I've done my research and determined what I want. It drives me crazy, though, to track the prices and see how they arbitrarily rise and fall. If you didn't pay attention, you could pay a few hundred dollars more by walking into the store the wrong day or week. I'm amused to see what they consider the base price from which they put it on sale because none of the places I've checked have ever sold it at that top price. They utilize it as a way of appearing to offer a deal even when it's not the best or second best price they've advertised. (Buy it online you say? Then I have to pony up the use tax that the state asks to be declared on income taxes.)

Bigger purchases like this are always subject to buyer's remorse, especially when you consider all the extras that are essential or make sense down the line. If I get an HDTV, I'll need to get a new display stand since it won't fit in my current entertainment center. And then there's the outrageously inflated HDMI cables. And potentially an upconverting DVD player. And a receiver that passes an HDMI signal since the one I've owned for nine years does no better than S-video. That's a lot of add-ons!

I expect this kind of gamesmanship with big ticket items. That doesn't mean I have to like it, but I realize it's how the world works. But trying to pocket thirty more cents for a jar of pickle relish? Come on...