A down economy is not only a buyer’s market when it comes to purchasing a home or car. According to economists and market pundits, a bad economy produces a buyer’s market in a number of categories, saysfrugalvillage.com:
1. Boutiques: Proprietors are more apt to relax stringent price points in order to eke out some profit.
2. Cable: if you are getting new cable offers in the mail, this is the time to call and ask for additional discounts. At the very least, see about getting free trial period of premium channels.
3. Cell phone: Before your contract runs out, you might want to call your cell phone provider and tell them that you are thinking about changing companies. Ask them what discounts they can offer for re-upping.
4. Department stores: While you may not get discounts on clothes right away,www.mybargainbuddy.com says there are definite bargains available for big ticket items such as washers and dryers, furniture and televisions.
5. Doctor’s office: If you are underinsured or uninsured — tell your doctor. He or she may be able to set you up on an interest-free payment plan. They also may offer discounts if you pay cash up front. Be sure to inquire about to generic brands to fill your prescriptions.
6. Health club: Don’t expect to pay significantly less for membership. But you may be able to bargain for extras for the same price. You can, for example, ask if you can use the racquetball room for a month.
7. Hotels: When you check-in ask for an upgrade. Hotels are always looking to secure repeat business. Therefore, they will be more willing to do things to make you happy and may give you an upgrade if there is availability.
8. Jewelry: Independent jewelers are not the only ones seeking to reduce stock. Jewelry stores inside malls are offering 25-40 percent discounts on jewelry and 20-30 percent off on watches.
9. Vacation rental homes: HomeAway, which represents over 200,000 vacation properties in the U.S., said that two-thirds of rental property owners are offering incentives and/or special rates as a result of the economic downturn.
10. All-Inclusive resorts: For greatly discounted prices, you can take the family down to Jamaica or Turks and Caicos, who have partnered with Sesame Street to entertain the kids, or you can roll to Tesoro Resorts in Los Cabos, Mexico, if you’re more into the nightlife, says petergreenberg.org. – terry shropshire
