SalesMonster

Posted on December 8, 2006 2 Comments

The holidays are a really dangerous time for those of us who love shopping. I can’t seem to enter a store to get gifts without buying something for myself. I almost bought a $50 tree skirt today before I realized that I don’t have a tree. Instead, I walked out with a hat and gloves for $40. (I’m taking them back tomorrow.)

The problem is, it’s impossible for me to pass up a good sale. I swear, it’s in my blood. One good “40 percent off!” sign and I turn into a wide-eyed, crazed fool with a hankerin’ for something shiny and new. The SalesMonster.

What is the SalesMonster? I’d almost equate it to binge eating. You know the feeling – you’re so hungry that you open up the fridge and before long, there’s an empty container in your hand and you have no idea how it got there, you just know you’ve overeaten and you feel overfull. That’s how I felt today. Before I knew it, BOOM!, I had a hat! BOOM! I had gloves!

I’m willing to bet many of you have your own SalesMonster to contend with. The important thing is that we’re able to recognize when our SalesMonsters peep their sassy little heads out of our cashmere hoodies and stop them before they accesses our credit cards.

Here are some warning signs that I think will help identify when the evil alter ego is about to appear:

1. Sales are all around you (or, it’s the holidays), but you’re not sure what to buy.
2. You enter the store with a specific idea of what you need, and later feel frustrated that you can’t find exactly what you came for.
3. You start aimlessly wandering through multiple departments, farther and farther away from what you came to buy.
4. The store is about to close, and you don’t have anything in your hands.
5. You wore a frumpy outfit to work and now you’re hitting up a clothing store on the way home (this is equivalent to shopping on an empty stomach…we should just know better).
6. You’re in a store and become overwhelmed by all the choices, especially when you know little about the product or category (like me and cooking supplies).

Looking at these scenarios, I think my SalesMonster is born from of a sense of frustration or anxiety. Therefore, I would conclude there are a couple ways of avoiding the SalesMonster phenomenon completely:

1. Shop online. There are no closing times to panic about, and in my opinion, it’s harder to feel overwhelmed when you’re in the controlled environment of your own home. Also, the
   “shopping cart” concept lets you keep track of what you’re spending so it’s easy to know when you’ve spent too much.
2. Set spending limits, and stick to them. Figure out how much you want to spend in a store before you go in it. If you only want to buy gloves, don’t buy a hat, too. If you only want to spend $10 on gloves, don’t pay $20, as I did today. You’ll only end up feeling bad about it.
3. Bring someone cheap with you. My frugal boyfriend always tells me when he thinks something is overpriced. I ALWAYS spend more when I’m on my own.
4. Look great. If you’re going clothes shopping, wear an outfit you love, that’s relatively new. If you only wear your old, frumpy clothes out, you’ll always think the new ones look better, and you’ll be more likely to buy them!
5. Buy something occasionally. Again, like the binge eating thing, if you try to deny your “cravings,” eventually you’ll go bananas and eat the entire tub of ice cream. Or buy the $200 jeans, as it were. However, if you would have bought the $40 version at Gap two weeks ago, you’d probably never have considered the expensive ones.
6. Research new technology or unfamiliar equipment before you get to the store, not on the sales floor. If I need new TV, I’m better off knowing which one I want. Otherwise, I’m likely to make a poor decision impulsively based on a salesperson’s advice… (or worse, I’ll buy something just to make them leave me alone!)

I’m interested to know if you have a SalesMonster. Can you recognize the signs? What do you do to stop it?

You know, despite this rash of irrational buying behavior, lately whenever someone asks me what I want for Christmas, all I can say is, “I’ll have to think about it.” When I’m in the store, I can point out like 10 thousand things I want, but the minute I’m out, I have everything I need. Weird right?

Oh, well, I’m off to go make my Christmas list. Think I’ll add that hat and gloves back onto the list.

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