Advertisements, After the Fact

I got lucky yesterday. No, I am not talking about getting physical, but rather getting a nice "adjustment." I opened up my copy of the Seattle Times, and started going through the ads to sort out the keepers from the non-keepers. Normally, I don't look at the store ads, unless I am interested in buying something before looking at the ads. It keeps me from buying compulsively. But yesterday, something told me to go through Target's ad supplement in the Sunday Times. Right in the middle of the pamphlet, I spied something that had a familiar look. It was a two-phone cordless system from Panasonic. And it looked familiar because my wife and I had bought one just like it at Target about a week ago. I took a good look and it was the same item. It also was advertised at $68.00. We had paid $99.99 + tax, eight days before. I rounded up the sales slip and headed for my local Target. I walked into "Returns," and went up to the counter. I produced the sales slip and asked for a refund. The woman behind the counter said that what I was requesting was an adjustment. I said OK (Who am I to argue?). She exclaimed, "And what an adjustment!" I got back $34.68 on my purchase, over 30% of my expenditure. I asked what the time limit on the policy was, and she replied, "Fourteen days." I was happy I spotted it.

Moral: Look at ads from retailers, even after buying something. You may be able to parlay it into real money!