Published March 12th, 2010
Look for discounts in auto insurance quotes
Over the decades the marketers have managed to pull off a very clever trick. If you go back to earlier times when people did their shopping in markets and corner shops where everyone knew everyone, the prices were always negotiable. Bargaining was part of the art of shopping. Asking for a discount or, if times were hard, a little time to pay was not shameful. All stall holders and shopkeepers knew you (and most everyone who lived in the neighborhood). There was a sense of community as people worked hard to get by (if not get ahead). But it all changed. Slowly, you were made to understand the retail price was fixed and, if you wanted credit, well, that was what banks were for. It came hard to many who had relied on the informal help offered by the retail trade. Household budgets grew into straightjackets and, if there were not enough dollars to see you through to the next paycheck, that was your problem. Loan sharks lurked outside pawnshops waiting for their prey. And then, like turning a valve to release pent-up steam in a boiler, the credit boom solved the problem for many. For those who had managed to stay solvent, credit cards and housing equity loans were there for the asking. Paying the asking price at the store was no longer a problem. The habit was set in stone. The retailers had won.
