Friday, December 18, 2009

Fun with Numbers - The Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off Deal @ Express

Hello shoppers.

So let's say you have two pairs of jeans, both at a cost of 69.90 each. Normal price is $139.80 (plus tax) for both.

Now let's say you see Express has their "deal" of Buy 1, Get 1 half off...now one pair of jeans is $34.95 and if you were to purchase two pairs, you'd pay $104.85.

So let's recap:
Normal price, jeans (x2) = 139.80 (plus tax)
"Deal" price, jeans (x2) = 104.85 (plus tax)

-Now the fun with the numbers...
Let's take the original price of two pairs of jeans and divide them by two (139.80/2) which equals $69.90.

(so far so good)

-Now let's take the "deal" price of the two pairs of jeans and divide them by two (104.85/2) which equals $52.43.

(makes sense)

-Now let's find the difference...
69.90-52.43 = $17.47 (difference) - Now to some of you this may look like a good deal (saving $17 per pair of jeans) and perhaps it is. My point to you is to look at the original sale price; seems a little high doesn't it?

$70 is excessive for a pair of jeans, so don't fall into the trap of spending more money ($104) and thinking you're "saving" money. Sure, if you're in the market for two pairs of jeans than maybe this works for you (much like shopping the day after Thanksgiving works out for some people as well) for others though, they're tricked into thinking they're saving money by spending money.

And you can guarantee Express is banking on that.

We covered simple math and I dropped some logic on you. Two for the price of one...

...now THAT is a good deal.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Food, Inc.



In June 2009, a stirring new documentary called Food, Inc. (link to blog post) is being release in theaters. From the producers of An Inconvenient Truth, this film takes a pointed look beyond the dinner table at how your food is grown, processed and sold. For many, youll never look at dinner the same way again.

Who Killed the Electric Car?



A 2006 documentary film that explores the creation, limited commercialization, and subsequent destruction of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the 1990s. The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the US government, the Californian government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and consumers in limiting the development and adoption of this technology.