You can watch TV, listen to the radio, or read the newspaper and you’ll be bombarded with advertisements from merchants looking to win your business. I personally don’t mind these advertisements, but you have to be careful not to fall for some of the slick marketing tricks.

Here are some of my favorites:

1. The more you buy, the more you save.

When you hear this one, it’s usually promoting a percentage off sale. I’ve even seen where as you spend more the percentage off increases. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of sales and discounts, but the problem comes when you succumb to the marketing and buy something you didn’t need and wouldn’t have otherwise just because you get a discount.

While it’s true that the percentage you get off increases as you spend more, the percentage you have to pay also increases. Spend $100, get $20 off. Spend $200, get $40 off. Sounds great but you have to spend another $80 to save another $20. Doesn’t sound like an incredible deal to me.

2. No money down and low monthly payments.

This one is a little trickier. There’s two main aspects to look at when you’re financing something. One is the total amount that it’s going to cost you over the term. The other is how it affects your monthly cash flow. Neither one of these is necessarily more important than the other, but they both need to be considered.

If you focus only on paying only the cheapest total price, you may end up depleting any savings you had or having to pay outrageous monthly payments. If you focus only on the lowest possible monthly payments, you could end up paying over twice what the item is worth or having to make that same payment for years to come.

The real problem with this marketing tactic though is that it encourages you to buy more than you really can or should be able to afford. The best example of this is the current woes in the housing market. Be careful what you choose to finance. It fosters an attitude of instant gratification.

3. Buy one, get one half off (or some variation).

Let’s be honest with ourselves. This boils down to a 25% off sale if you plan on buying two anyway. In the case of food joint, it may not be a bad idea cause you usually go with at least two people anyway. The trick with this one is that it pressures you to buy something you may not have otherwise. If you only need one pair of shoes, is it really worth spending the extra just to have another pair? Ultimately it’s up to you, just realize this.

4. Receive a free gift with any $XX purchase.

This one is just absurd. I have yet to find a free gift for which it’s worth making the purchase. You’ll see these associated with cosmetics, but also with car upgrades and other things. Most of the so called “gifts” are worthless anyway.

What other tricks have you seen and what do you think about them?

 Subscribe to Fiscal Musings | Digg This! | Stumble it!