Earl Moore
Sale - Sale - Sale

A day doesn’t go by without seeing a sign proclaiming a SALE.

Some claim a limited time period while others harold themselves as being the biggest of the year. But the word “SALE,” at least for me, has lost much of its impact. It’s obvious since the recession and decreased consumer spending that prices people are willing to pay have perhaps permanently lowered in some industries often cutting into store or company profit margin. Almost none of the “mall stores” sell their merchandise for listed retail price any longer and automobile dealers are offering continuous special deals which include lowered price, cash back, or low/no interest rates. Can it be a sale if this lowered price is maintained for an extended period of time and becomes the new norm?

So what do signs crying SALE really mean these days? Is the number of times you proclaim it significant — like this photo, Sale, Sale, Sale! Wow, Sale x 3 — pretty major for sure. Would you believe the new price reflects three significant reductions below the original retail price? Hummm….perhaps but I doubt it. :-)

More then likely it’s a case of people becoming less motivated to what is being called a sale and some wonderful advertising person or shop owner deciding it must be a case of customers not seeing or hearing about it so they made the sign bigger with multiple “Sales” listed and set in outside on the sidewalk. Sigh….

Perhaps there needs to be a new base/retail price set and acknowledged so the term Sale can once again not be used every day and have some impact when it is. Where’s the reset button at folks?

Or we need a new word which means a “real sale?”

12 Comments

  1. I think everybody wants a bargain and stores feel obligated to give it to them. I heard that “only a fool pay retail”. Probably true.
    I like this photo, Earl. It’s black and white and red all over.

    • Ken, I’m dubious of almost any price I pay these days. These major stores seem to be able to sell clothes at 60-70% percent discount so whats the real mark-up? Or are they taking a lost in hope you’ll buy something else while shopping. But I think there’s probably more of a mark-up on clothes than almost anything else.

  2. I think you’re on something here. Store owners would love to have everything but their store in b+w, to make their 3xSALE signs even more sticky to the eyes. :-)

  3. Well, I hope that the guy that’s sitting on the bench is not the store owner. If he is, well, then the sale is not exactly drawing a large crowd!

    Have you seen the people on the corners, now, with the sale sign in the shape of an arrow? They throw the sign into the air, twist it, turn it, rotate it around their back and everything, all the while listening to whatever is blaring from their MP3 player. It’s very eye catching, but I wonder how well it works because, sometimes, it can be rather difficult to read what’s on the sign if the guy or girl is really good at twirling it about. :)

    I keep meaning to stop and get few shots of one of those people and their signs, but I always see them when I’m in a hurry to get somewhere else. Go figure!

    • Paul, yeah, I’ve seen those Pizza people standing out by the road and recently those tax people in Statue of Liberty costumes. I guess it must work to some extent or they wouldn’t continue doing it.

      I’ve never managed to get a shot of them either…I usually only see them when I’m driving.

  4. Great observation and perfect processing for that street scene. I like how relaxed the shop owner sits in his chair and waits, with smile on his face, for the customers. But did the sale sign really work?

    • Martina, I don’t know if it worked over time but as I walked by the store was empty so I have my doubts as to it’s effectiveness. Thanks.

  5. I love what you have done with the color in this. It is too bad that the sale sign isn’t working as well as your photo.

  6. The word “sale” means very little to me anymore. Too often the sale price is more than i would expect to pay, let alone the original price. I saw a price tag today on a shirt that had a sticker on it that was only one cent less than the original price. :-)

  7. I think smaller brick and mortar stores are finding it harder and harder to compete with major online stores. The online retailers can manage thousands of merchandise without needing the man power to manage it like regular stores. I understand that these regular stores also have an “online” version, but their prices in store usually reflect online with maybe a discount here and there.

    I find myself going to a regular store to see if something fits (like shoes or a jacket) and going online to buy it for a much cheaper price.

    I also find it very useful when I use my Android phone which has a bar code reading app that finds that cheapest price for me, both locally and online.

    • I think you’re right about the brick and mortar stores unless they are focused upon a specific need for the community they reside in. I know I do most of my shopping on-line.