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Tricks of the trade
They really are free – really – but hurry!
4. The free appliance offer.
Yes that good old faithful standby, something for nothing. Does anybody actually believe that anything worth anything can really be had for free? The free lunch perhaps? This claim would seem to insult our intelligence but then it does seem to work for some companies, usually at the lower end of the market.
So where does this free stuff come from? Is there a secret cave somewhere, full of great appliances, which only the privileged few can access and help themselves from?
Actually, and you already knew this, the stuff has to be paid for by someone. So how does it work?
Appliances, like all consumer goods, are constantly being updated and every so often wholesalers find themselves with out-of date stock that will not sell. They mark it down as ‘stock run out’ offers at reduced prices (normally down to what it is really worth). And offer it to retailers and kitchen makers. This is the standard stuff of sales and special offers of course. Nothing is wrong with it, it's new and guaranteed, but hard to sell because it is old stock and out-of-date. If you are not a person who has to have the latest model and it is what you want then it is possibly a bargain at the reduced price. But can it really be free?
The fact is that whether it is old stock or the latest model, the kitchen supplier has to pay for it. The kitchen supplier then has to recover the money from someone. Guess whom?
Tricks of the Trade 5
Buying Your Kitchen
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