Post by Harold on May 22, 2006 4:46:03 GMT -2
In the 80s, when I was purchasing new equipment, there were many discounts to be had. Many photographic equipment dealers would offer to beat any genuinely advertised price on a given item. There were counter tactics in the form of accusations, from dealers charging higher prices, that such offers were on 'grey imports' i.e. not imported through the manufacturers' distributors.
A certain amount of this still goes on but the main sales gimmick seems to be 'cashback'. I understand cashback to be an alternative to using an ATM - if I pay for my supermarket purchases by debit card I can also ask for a sum of cash. This seems to be a free service but all (even cash) purchases in a supermarket include a few percent to cover charges on credit card transactions. However, I pay the same for my purchases whether I use a credit or debit card and only the latter permits me to draw cash.
So, what is 'cashback' on the purchase of, say, a camera? There must be a catch or it would be a simple discount.
Harold
A certain amount of this still goes on but the main sales gimmick seems to be 'cashback'. I understand cashback to be an alternative to using an ATM - if I pay for my supermarket purchases by debit card I can also ask for a sum of cash. This seems to be a free service but all (even cash) purchases in a supermarket include a few percent to cover charges on credit card transactions. However, I pay the same for my purchases whether I use a credit or debit card and only the latter permits me to draw cash.
So, what is 'cashback' on the purchase of, say, a camera? There must be a catch or it would be a simple discount.
Harold