Weekly RoundUp 11-2-2010 (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

Originally Posted by dpippel We're not allowed to have any of the perks of real civilization lest we turn away a tourist or two. It took developers 7 years to get permit approval to build our first Walmart store in 1994...and none have been built since (there are 3 others in the state, but all were forced to move into smaller, vacant retail space; three new stores are proposed but all still lost in the permitting labyrinth). And to visit a Target, you have to travel to NH or NY. Consequently, I do a lot of shopping online.


I'll be traveling to southern New Hampshire in a couple of weeks, so hopefully there will be some good sales then when I have access to Target, Best Buy, etc., ...plus, no sales tax!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

We don't have cows or tourists in my "neck of the woods", but the closest Walmart might as well be 100 miles away for a New Yorker (of the city variety that is


_Man_

 

[terry deto]

With walmart the trick is to buy on-line with free ship to store. I asked once why they woudn't just match their online price, I did not understand the answer.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by ManW_TheUncool /forum/thread/305417/weekly-roundup-11-2-2010/60#post_3747284

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon


_Man_

 

[Mike Frezon]

Actually, I think you might be surprised about how lucky you are to have that particular option available to you. I know I'm rather envious. My local options seem to become more limited all the time.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I think they've also been impacted a lot by the economic downturn and has been trying to figure out what will work for them going forward (much like all the big boys on main street). Interestingly, I'm even seeing them try stocking some art-house titles (mainly on DVD), including the odd Criterion BD, alongside the usual popular mainstream stuff, but their selection is definitely very limited and generally a mixed bag w/ no certainties of what they'll have other than the usual recent releases from Disney/Pixar and whatever Hollywood summer blockbuster stuff several days after release -- I was actually surprised they had TSoM BD earlier than usual on Wed for a one-day-only sale at $15 (vs their usual $20 price for a recently released BD).


Not sure how much longer they will be around w/ the economy not looking to improve much, if at all, for the forseeable future.


In the meantime, I'm hoping for them to carry some copies of the Alien Anthology BD boxset at a nice price so I don't need to import the set (w/ less attractive packaging) from the UK.


_Man_

 

[Jason_V]

I stopped into BB for TS2 and TS3 today. On the way home from work, I started thinking about my receipt. Long story short, the way this whole thing rang up confused the dickens out of me.


According to my calculation, the total price (without tax) of TS2 and TS3 on BD should be $41.98. (Taking into account the $8 DMR coupon plus BB's $5 off TS1 or TS2 deal.)


The receipt reads like this:


TS3 total $22.49: $34.99 regular price, -$10 sale price, -$2.50 (TS2 discount prorated over two discs)

TS2 total $27.49: $29.99 regular price, -$2.50 (prorated discount over two discs)

$8 DMR coupon comes off at the end. Total? $41.98.


There has to be an easier way for them to figure this kind of stuff out. It's like jumping through a thousand hoops to make sure everything rang up correctly. But yes, after some long math, the numbers come out to where they're supposed to be.


Oh, also picked up some Stargate sets for $14.99 each. I don't know when I'll get to them, but at least I can dive in whenever I want now.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Jason_V

There has to be an easier way for them to figure this kind of stuff out. It's like jumping through a thousand hoops to make sure everything rang up correctly. But yes, after some long math, the numbers come out to where they're supposed to be.

Easy doesn't factor into it. The computer inside the cash register does the math in 0.00001 seconds or so. Most of the complexity comes for the various laws and regulations that affect discounts. In New York State, for instance, store discounts are applied to the pre-tax amount. But by state law, manufacturers coupons have to be applied to the post tax amount. This means you pay taxes for the full price after discounts but before coupons are factored in. Judging the by the receipt excerpt you posted, it looks like Washington does the same thing. Both the $10 off sale price and the $5 combo discount are offered by the store, cutting into the store's profit, so they're applied before the sales tax is calculated. The DMR coupon comes from Disney, and the store can expect to be reimbursed for that $8 so it's applied after the sales tax is calculated. On something like BD discs, we're talking pocket change. But when you have a coupon worth a couple hundred dollars on a TV or appliance, calculating post-tax versus pre-tax can make a big difference on the final price.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt


_Man_

 

[nolesrule]

The other reason that receipts are broken down that way is for issuing correct amounts on single item refunds when discounts apply across multiple items.

 

[Brisby]

I got Toy Story 3 today, and had no problem in using the $8 Disney coupon.

 

[Jason_V]

Very true, Adam. It just frustrated me when I got home making sure everything came out for the right price.