The past couple weeks I haven't been doing too bad with spending money. I've kept the spending to a fairly low minimum. However, this week seems to have taken a pretty big hit. I went shopping the other day for a birthday present for my sister and I had to buy some makeup (yes, HAD to because makeup I can't live without!). Then I bought a voice recorder for my interviews, because it's a lot easier than borrowing from the school. And then I had to pay for my license as well. Everything seemed to pile up this week. The next couple of months don't look too great either because I have a baptism in November and then it's the holiday season! But at least I will get to work more when school is out for the holidays.
But the main point of my blog today is my visit to Wal-mart (one of many). I needed to buy a few thank you cards. Now you can buy the thank you cards that come pre-boxed for around $5.00. However, I am very picky about greeting cards. Sounds weird right? I take choosing a greeting card very seriously. I have to be sure to properly qualify the card to the person. I could have bought the boxed cards that were all the same. However, three of the four thank you cards were going to people who all knew each other. I could not give three people the same generic thank you card, that just would not do. The people are all different in their own way, therefore, they deserve their own personal card. So it took me about 20 minutes to find the proper thank you cards for everyone. That's usually the norm for me in the greeting card department. I can spend a long time there trying to find the right greeting card. Most people probably don't even care about the greeting card that they get with their present. Or, if they just receive a greeting card, they probably don't read the whole thing. But to me it's a big deal and it means something to me to buy the person the perfect greeting card.
So instead of paying the $5.00 for 10 generic boxed cards, I spent $20.00 on four cards today. You may think I'm crazy, but to me it's worth the money. I like to think of it as me caring for the person and not a weird condition. But you are entitled to your own opinion...
We were given a Buyer Beware project in our Advertising class a few weeks back. We were divided up into pre-determined groups, where we then had one class to choose a topic. My group (me, Steve, Mike, and Lennie) settled upon one subject that we thought would be interesting. We decided to research the refund/exchange policies of electronic devices from four major stores in Winnipeg. We wanted to see what kind of information they tell customers and what type of information they withhold or fail to mention.
We visited the electronic stores and handed out surveys as our primary research. For our secondary research, we visited various websites to gather more information about the stores.
We went to Future Shop, Best Buy, Visions Electronics, and Advance Electronics to find out each store’s policy from a representative. Listed below are the refund/exchange policies of each store:
Best Buy and Future Shop (both have the same policies, as they are sister companies) - 14 days for a refund or exchange with computers, monitors, printers, notebook computers, camcorders, digital cameras, radar detectors, portable DVD players, and air conditioners.
- 30 days on the remaining items excluding software, gaming, CDs, and DVDs due to copyright laws. The difference of the days is based on the possibility of “rent-able items”.
- These policies are printed on the back of the receipt, communicated by the employees, posted by every till, and posted by the front registers and customer service.
Visions Electronics -15 days for a refund or store credit.
- Exchange only until 30 days from purchase. - Refuse return on copyright materials in addition to headphones.
- The policy is posted on the back of the receipt, and employees are trained to explain this to the consumer at the time of purchase.
Advance Electronics - 15 days for a return or store credit for unopened merchandise.
- Up to 30 days exchange, with the exception of headphones.
- The policy is also posted on the back of the receipt and displayed at every sales till
Restocking Fees
Each of the stores have a restocking fee. This fee enables the stores to retain money from a product if a customer returns something that has missing components or has already been opened. If a person would like a refund, the store can choose the percentage they will deduct from the original price.
Future Shop and Best Buy - These stores choose the restocking fee based on the items that are missing from the whole product (ie. manuals, cables, etc.)
Visions Electronics - 15% restocking fee
Advance Electronics - 10% within 30-60 days of the return - 20% within 61-90 days of the return. - After 90 days, a person can no longer receive a refund; only an exchange
Repackaged Items
All of the retailers that we spoke to sell items that have been repackaged. The items that are repackaged can be missing various items, such as manuals, cables, or have some sort of damage.
Future Shop and Best Buy resell their items less 10% of the original price. Vision Electronics and Advance Electronics also resell their items, yet they choose their own deduction based on what is missing from the item. Purchasing Online
All four electronic stores also have online stores where people can purchase their electronics. A person can create an account, fill out shipping information, and then pay by credit card. It can become difficult to return an item that has been purchased online. In-store and online return policies from the stores differ from each other. It is important for consumers to research the online return/refund policies carefully to ensure they do not experience difficulty. American Stores
We also looked at two popular stores in Grand Forks, ND where people purchase electronics. As the dollar is almost at par, many people head south to buy electronics as it can be more economical. We researched the refund/return policies of Target and Walmart .
They are as follows: Target - 90 day return or exchange policy - Has a refund look-up system to verify purchase from their store in the event a person does not have their receipt.
Walmart - 90 day return policy, yet has restrictions on certain items. - 15 days: computer hardware, GPS units, digital music players and portable players - 30 days: camcorders and digital cameras - 45 days: computer components and accessories - Has options in case you do not have your receipt. - If the item is under $25.00US, you will receive cash back. - If the item is over $25.00US, you will receive credit in the form of a Walmart gift card.
A person is not allowed to return an item to a Canadian Wal-Mart. Canadian consumers are not able to purchase items on the American Walmart site or on the Target site.
Even though it can be a great deal to purchase an electronic in the United States, a person must be aware of the customs information.
Residents who have been out of Canada for 24-47 hours can claim $50CAN, more than 48 hours but less than 7 days, $400CAN, and 7 days or more, $750CAN.
If the item(s) you purchase is more then the allowed exemption, a person must pay 10% of the total price. However, if a person lies and the customs officials find out, then he/she is subject to pay 40% of the total price.
Buyers Beware!
Following are a list of conclusions that we feel consumers should be aware of when purchasing electronics:
- Educate yourself on the return policies that the store has in effect to ensure a smooth return experience
- Retailers copyright materials such as CDs, DVDs, software and gaming items only approved with an exchange if the product is defective
- Headphones are not allowed to be returned at Advance Electronics and Visions Electronics
- Consumers should be sure to inspect all items that were included in the product when purchased to prevent any risk of a restocking fee
- Buyers should be aware of any items that were repackaged to ensure they are getting a brand new item. Or to ensure they are not being charged more than needed for the repackaged item.
- Online items have different return policies as in-store items; be sure to read them over.
- For across border purchases, be sure to take in account the extra fees that you may come across at the border. Lying can lead to extensive penalties, which can make the item more expensive than purchasing it in Winnipeg. Our goal was to educate consumers so that they are aware of the proper steps to take when returning or exchanging. This will ensure that consumers are equipped with the knowledge that will allow them to have a positive experience when returning or exchanging an item.
So be careful out there!
Here is a video that my group did. A little amateur, but the first clip shows what not to do when returning an item and the second clip shows the right thing to do when returning an item....enjoy!
As I’m a student living on limited finds, I received a surprise in the mail today. Since it is October, that means it is GST cheque month! Much to my forgetfulness, I found the lovely envelope from the government waiting for me as I got home from school. Definitely a nice addition to my bank account!
So anyone who is in the same boat as me.....hope you enjoy your cheque.
Back in August, I had received an application for a scholarship in the mail from Red River College. It was for women who are enrolled in programs that are science, math, or technology based. The application form wasn't too long, so I figured why not take a shot? Well during the month of September I totally forgot about it.
Friday, in the mail, I received a letter from them. It was a normal letter sized envelope, so I thought “oh I guess I didn't get it.” When I opened the letter and read it, I was very surprised. It said, "congratulations! you are the recipient of the Training for Tomorrow Educational Award!.” Now even though they give the award to 80 women, I couldn't believe it because 1) I had forgotten about it and 2) I wasn't very hopeful that I would get it. But negativity never gets anyone anywhere!
So the point of this blog is not to boast about the award that I won. The money is sent to directly to RRC, so that means my tuition won't be as much as I thought it would be. That definitely will help me with my money woes, and I am greatly appreciative for that!
But I also just wanted to say that it's always a great idea to apply for any opportunities that may come your way. Even though you may not have faith that you will receive whatever you apply for, you can't obtain anything if you don't try.
So next time you receive an opportunity just think that someone has to be the recipient, and there's no reason why it can't be you!
That was my inspirational speech for this week...thanks for reading!
Today's topic that I am going to discuss is....the debit card. This little piece of plastic holds a lot more power then one might think. It's so easy to swipe a debit card when you do not have physical cash in your wallet.
$1.50 cup of Tim Horton's...swipe. $4.00 sandwich from Subway....swipe. $15 purchase at Wal-Mart...swipe.
Do you ever actually count how many times you use your debit in a month? Well, I did and let me tell you, the results were not pretty. I have unlimited debit usage on my card, therefore I can swipe to my heart's content and not be charged extra. That is where the problem begins. I used my debit 29 times in September, which averages out to more then once a day!
What did I purchase you may ask? It seems that I purchased a lot of food. No time to make coffee in the morning? I'll just buy a cup at school. The girls want to go out for lunch?...sure! Gelati after a long day at school?...sounds great! Before I knew it, small purchases ended up totaling a large number.
It's so easy to spend, spend, spend, until you've realized you might have spent too much. I knew it was going to be an adjustment to living on a budget, but I do not think I have grasped the concept yet.
A wise friend of mine, Tiffany H., takes out the money that she needs for the week, and only uses that. I think that is a great idea, because you can’t overspend. I think that is what I am going to try, and see what happens.
I'll have to put my debit and credit card in a safe spot, which is not my wallet, and only bring it out when necessary. That way, I can hope to get back on the wagon, because right now the wagon is dragging me in the dust.
So I think I'm going to cancel out September and call it a learning experience. I have learned from my spending mistakes, and now I will try to make a few changes to fix my problem.
Now that I have to watch what I spend, I can’t go out as much and spend money on entertainment (i.e. restaurants, movies, etc.). Somehow I have to try and find or create my own amusement, which is what I experienced today after school. Given that it is a weekday, I generally do not go out, but this counts as entertainment anyways.
I was just about to turn the tv on to watch the Ellen Degeneres show, and unwind after a day at school. Instead, my mom called me into the living room to come and see something. I was not sure what I was going to see when I got into the room. She was standing in the living room looking out the window, so I went over to see what she was looking at. We have a massive Pine tree in our front yard (the kind that people donate to City Hall at Christmas). As I looked out, this squirrel came scurrying down the tree, dropped a pine cone into a pile and then scurried back up. Now you might wonder what the big deal is, or how this is interesting. Well, the pile of pine cones that had accumulated was huge! And he actually had two piles going. He had the giant one, and right next to it, he had a mini version. I stood there for a little while transfixed on the squirrel. He went about his business, scurrying down and up the tree, dropping pine cones into the pile. I was just so amazed at what he was doing, I couldn’t turn away. It was also very cute to watch. He must have been working on that pile for quite some time, because it seemed more then a day’s work.
Needless to say, I found a form of cheap entertainment that stole about 20 minutes of my time. Now that I think about it, I believe animals are very interesting to watch. When they do not know you are watching them, they can do very interesting and weird things. Or, in the life of a squirrel, they keep on going about their business.
My dad wanted to clean the pile of pine cones away, but I told him not to. I couldn’t let all the hard work of the squirrel go to waste. I am not sure if the squirrel is actually going to do something with the pine cones, but a hard day’s work is just that; hard. This little squirrel worked his tail off to get the pile that big, so he must have a reason behind his methods.
The moral of my story today is that if I look hard enough, I think I can find free entertainment all around me, other then the television. It may not be great entertainment, but it’s different and cheap. Who knows, I may learn a thing or two in the process. That’s good enough for me!
Just so you can have a visual, here is a picture of the pile of pine cones. A picture never does a story justice, but it's better than no picture at all.
Decisions, Decisions!
.jpg)
