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Shouldn't be too surprising after the lessons learned from JC Penny. The emotion of feeling like you're getting a deal is motivating regardless of the truth of

Shouldn't be too surprising after the lessons learned from JC Penny. The emotion of feeling like you're getting a deal is motivating regardless of the truth of the matter. Buying on the secondary market inherently gives you that feeling, which apparently is worth a significant markup.

duxup 3y ago
Oh man I used to just shop at JC Penny almost exclusively. I remember when they stopped the sales. I stood in the store and just knew they were screwed. There was just no way the existing customer base was going to suddenly change behavior.
- mixmastamyk 3y ago
  Interesting. One of the reasons I prefer shopping at Trader Joe's instead of Albertson's is that they don't have constant stupid sales all the time. (Also because TJs is usually 30% cheaper.) Maybe groceries are different?
  - gffrd 3y ago
    Parent is right. "Discount buyers" are their own camp, and aren't buying on price, objectively—they're buying on perceived savings. Note that I say _perceived_. If you had a group of discount buyers shopping for chips, and split it in two groups … - Group A sees a bag of chips marked down from $5 to $3 - Group B sees the same bag of chips for $3 as "retail price" … you can expect to see more chip sales coming from Group A. Heck, you'd expect A to beat B even if the discounted price was _higher_ than the retail price. Now throw "limited time offer" or "first 50 people" in to the mix and watch them fly off the shelves …
    - Ekaros 3y ago
      Lately in grocery stores I get this sort of feeling when I look at prices. I look at it and hey that is pretty decent looking price. And then I read the small print that has the non-sale regular price. And slight mental math oh I would save 50 cents on something I don't really need just now... Pass!
  - duxup 3y ago
    Certainly it is about expectations. JC Penny was all about the sales. That's when you knew to shop. So they trained their customers for it and suddenly abandoned it and people didn't know what to think.
  - ignite 3y ago
    It's the people. If you shop for "fun", then you probably like sales. It's a game. If, however, you don't like to shop, and you do it solely to acquire things, you probably don't like sales. Very clearly, Ron Johnson was in the latter category, while JC Penney shoppers were in the former. https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/j-c-penney-apologizes-for-former-apple-execs-moves/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/j-c-penney-apologize...
  - xp84 3y ago
    Grocery store sales are the worst, because of how often they force you to buy absurd quantities, like 5 12-packs of canned sodas. Force, you ask? Yes, basically. The prices will be like $9.79, or "Buy 2, get 3 free". So you can buy 1 for basically $10, or 2 for $20, or 3 for $30, or 4 for $40, or 5 for $20. Recently cheese was $1.99 but "only if you buy 3." If you buy 2 they were $3.49 each. At least soda keeps a long time, but it's irritating to have to stock up on perishables or have to pay double.
- TheBolivianNavy 3y ago
  I understand why it failed and I realize that I am not a typical consumer but I loved when JC Penny eliminated sales and just charged a flat price. I don't shop for clothes often, I don't want to wait for sales or figure out which coupon is slightly better, I just want a no hassle transaction. They also killed their Big and Tall clothing line (The Foundry) last year which was my go-to for plain shirts in tall sizes.
- YeBanKo 3y ago
  Was it before or after you could easily price check online by simply pointing the camera on an item?
prmoustache 3y ago
I buy mostly second hand but that is just because I hate waste. I still take a look at price as new and make a lower offer, giving the link of the cheaper as new item if that is the case. Prices can vary so much in 6 months/1 yesr that they truly think they offer a low enough price.

duxup 3y ago

Oh man I used to just shop at JC Penny almost exclusively. I remember when they stopped the sales. I stood in the store and just knew they were screwed. There was just no way the existing customer base was going to suddenly change behavior.

mixmastamyk 3y ago
Interesting. One of the reasons I prefer shopping at Trader Joe's instead of Albertson's is that they don't have constant stupid sales all the time. (Also because TJs is usually 30% cheaper.) Maybe groceries are different?
- gffrd 3y ago
  Parent is right. "Discount buyers" are their own camp, and aren't buying on price, objectively—they're buying on perceived savings. Note that I say _perceived_. If you had a group of discount buyers shopping for chips, and split it in two groups … - Group A sees a bag of chips marked down from $5 to $3 - Group B sees the same bag of chips for $3 as "retail price" … you can expect to see more chip sales coming from Group A. Heck, you'd expect A to beat B even if the discounted price was _higher_ than the retail price. Now throw "limited time offer" or "first 50 people" in to the mix and watch them fly off the shelves …
  - Ekaros 3y ago
    Lately in grocery stores I get this sort of feeling when I look at prices. I look at it and hey that is pretty decent looking price. And then I read the small print that has the non-sale regular price. And slight mental math oh I would save 50 cents on something I don't really need just now... Pass!
- duxup 3y ago
  Certainly it is about expectations. JC Penny was all about the sales. That's when you knew to shop. So they trained their customers for it and suddenly abandoned it and people didn't know what to think.
- ignite 3y ago
  It's the people. If you shop for "fun", then you probably like sales. It's a game. If, however, you don't like to shop, and you do it solely to acquire things, you probably don't like sales. Very clearly, Ron Johnson was in the latter category, while JC Penney shoppers were in the former. https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/j-c-penney-apologizes-for-former-apple-execs-moves/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/j-c-penney-apologize...
- xp84 3y ago
  Grocery store sales are the worst, because of how often they force you to buy absurd quantities, like 5 12-packs of canned sodas. Force, you ask? Yes, basically. The prices will be like $9.79, or "Buy 2, get 3 free". So you can buy 1 for basically $10, or 2 for $20, or 3 for $30, or 4 for $40, or 5 for $20. Recently cheese was $1.99 but "only if you buy 3." If you buy 2 they were $3.49 each. At least soda keeps a long time, but it's irritating to have to stock up on perishables or have to pay double.
TheBolivianNavy 3y ago
I understand why it failed and I realize that I am not a typical consumer but I loved when JC Penny eliminated sales and just charged a flat price. I don't shop for clothes often, I don't want to wait for sales or figure out which coupon is slightly better, I just want a no hassle transaction. They also killed their Big and Tall clothing line (The Foundry) last year which was my go-to for plain shirts in tall sizes.
YeBanKo 3y ago
Was it before or after you could easily price check online by simply pointing the camera on an item?

prmoustache 3y ago

I buy mostly second hand but that is just because I hate waste. I still take a look at price as new and make a lower offer, giving the link of the cheaper as new item if that is the case. Prices can vary so much in 6 months/1 yesr that they truly think they offer a low enough price.