Shopping is a bliss for any woman, be it in on the mall, market, roadside or near our home. And saving money whenever possible imparts a feeling of "Yes, I did it!" satisfaction of buying the right product at the right time.
“Coupons, cashback and bargain!” these three words are those I often hear from being a little girl growing into a woman and now being a mother of two little kids.
Rewinding a decade back,
I was playing on my verandah and as soon as heard a familiar voice shouting "Fish! Anybody wants a fish, fresh fish!", I jumped up with joy and ran inside my home calling out for my mom and my grandma.
Now the familiar scene of Bargaining began. As Muniyamma laid her fishes one by one on her wooden plate, my mom and grandma were checking the fish size, quality and then asked her to quote her price.
Muniyamma quoted, "It's Rs.90 for these five fishes". She said in a plain voice.
Shocked my grandma asked, "What Rs.90? These fishes are not even the size of my fingers for that price," scoffed my grandma taking one fish in her hand and showing how small it looked. She then continued, "Come on, tell me a fairer price now".
Muniyamma without batting her eyes sneered back, "Aiiyaa, you got to check your eyes then. Anyway lets make it as Rs.85 now and that's the final. Come on! Bring the money faster. I got to move to other houses too," she said not giving a chance for more bargaining.
I was looking at Muniyamma and then my grandma as they conversed. And then finally I looked at the fish which is going to be cooked soon, yearning for its smell and taste. .
My grandma looked at Muniyamma and said, "Is this right for you? They sell the same fish for Rs.60 in the fish market and you are quoting a very high price. See, I can offer you Rs.75 since you are bringing it from a long way, but not more than that," she said and sat turning back her face as if telling Muniyamma that she might not be interested in buying the fish if the price is not reduced.
All these while, I was thinking like 'Oh Grandma, can't she just pay the price Muniyamma asks or else she will take back the fish' and looked at my Mom for help who then intervened that she can pay Rs.80 maximum for the fish.
Muniyamma has to sell those fishes now. She thought for a moment and then said, "Okay, I agree for Rs.80".
Yay! I smiled. All the ladies were happy. My grandma, mom and I were happy with the little money we saved and Muniyamma was glad that she sold more for what she had brought. Now that's what we call as a marginal bargain in a win-win situation.
Fast forwarding my life and coming back to the present 2014,
Coupons! This word has become a part and parcel of my life and every time I go shopping, I check out for special offers and discounts. My eyes easily tracks packs labelled "Flat % OFF" or "Buy this product and get this product free. Free coupon code inside". And being a coupon crazy lady, I walked in to check what how much I can save for today.
My daughter who seems to learn very quickly from me said, " Mom, look there! Can you see that they are offering a free kettle with that Mixer grinder. Let's buy it! We don't have a kettle at home, Mom."
I stopped for a moment and looked at my daughter Cherry's bright, excited face with all innocence. I bent down a little and whispered in her ears, "But we do have a Mixer Grinder at home dear. That's a whopping Rs.3000 to lose for a Rs.800 kettle. Let's save instead!" I giggled.
Though a little confused she replied, "Whatever! but why save money?". I answered, "Because even little savings can worth a fortune".
Feeling determined in making little Cherry understand, I showed her how exactly we saved something. As we stood near the counter, I handled my daughter a coupon that I availed for buying something bigger on their store and asked her to give it to the sales man in front. After paying the bills, I handled her the small pack that I brought along with the bigger one and said, "Here is the dress brought from the savings received by using the coupon". My daughter wore a big smile on her face and said, "Wow Mom, Coupons are truly wonderful!"
I smiled back and replied, "Yes, they are even more wonderful when you shop online."
Before she could question me why or how, I continued "because you got lots of coupons spread all over by every retailer in the online shops."
That evening, my daughter Cherry was using the Internet to find more about Coupons as I was preparing our evening tea.
Suddenly she called out for me, "Mommy come on, help me!"
I rushed to see her looking sad and confused. When questioned, she replied hastily, "This Internet is crazy, Mom. Can you please tell me what exactly all these terms mean?" and pointed to the computer's screen.
I looked at her direction and saw the window screen filled with terms like Coupons, discount code, promo codes, vouchers, bargain and cashback.
I rushed to see her looking sad and confused. When questioned, she replied hastily, "This Internet is crazy, Mom. Can you please tell me what exactly all these terms mean?" and pointed to the computer's screen.
I looked at her direction and saw the window screen filled with terms like Coupons, discount code, promo codes, vouchers, bargain and cashback.
Having thought for a while, I came up with an idea. I told her, "See, a coupon offers discounts for a particular product using a special code called as discount code also known as promo/voucher code wherein we can save a percentage of the money spent by using that code for buying the product. But bargaining means you buy things more cheaply than the expected rate, much more than a discount coupon. And whereas cash back means you can still use the coupon to save some money and get an extra money as a reward for shopping."
"But why should someone give me an extra money for to do my shopping," asked little Cherry.
"Because that someone is thanking us for using their service. By shopping through their website, we help them earn some affiliate money and hence they give a small percentage of their earnings as a thank you gift. You shop through them and get rewarded. It's again a win-win situation," I said choosing my words carefully.
Cherry was boosted in excitement and replied, "Wow! Mummy you are so clever!" She paused a little and continued, "No! You are true Shopaholic." Yes, I am especially when something sounds so real.
Coupons + Cashback = Real Bargain!
Whoa!!! Nice write up and I loved the bargain part a lot!! :P :D
ReplyDeletehehe! thank you :)
DeleteYour are cunning shopper but hope Cherry will beat you...
ReplyDelete...shabab khan
Cunning? Oh my! I wrote the fact and little cherry knows what's the fact :)
DeleteIt so good and funny :) I loved the grandma bargaining scene.. Even i too had the same experience in my childhood days. As you mentioned Cashback + coupon = Bargain. cent percent true. Doodle great..All the best for contest :).
ReplyDeleteYeah! but it is true isn't it. I always have some sweet interesting memories of the same and thanks for liking it Bhawya :)
DeleteGreat entry, Uma with all the terms explained and the lovely illustration :)
ReplyDeleteBest wishes :)
nice entry .. illustration are also so nice :) best wishes for contest :)
ReplyDeleteCoupons are always a saving aspect of any shopping, we cannot bargain in online websites, but thankfully we have a cluster of websites offering coupons to be used for discounts.
ReplyDeleteNice One .....All the Best
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNice post, i hope everyone will like your post..