Behavioral economics is a field of study that explores the hows and why of consumer shopping; the social, cognitive and even emotional decisions that are in play during a purchase. As consumers like to think of ourselves as rational, but we can often be influenced by other factors that lead us to make irrational decisions. Consider free shipping. Consumers (myself included) typically hate shipping costs, and will pay more for an item with free shipping thinking they’re getting a better overall deal (not necessary). Another emotional decision influencer is the presence of sale signs. We’re more likely to make a purchase if we think we’re getting a better deal. Some retailers are marking up prices to offer better ‘sales’ without lowering the final price this holiday season.

My tips to avoid sales that aren’t sales:

Start with a list. Lists are great in general to curb impulse buys as they can keep you focused. Spend some time figuring out what features you like (and thus are willing to pay for) and what features you don’t mind (but won’t pay extra for). It’s probably too late for this season, but I recommend creating your list before looking at any holiday circulars to avoid any subconscious influence.

Get a baseline price. Once you have your list do some comparison shopping. I typically use CamelCamelCamel.com and Baby Cheapskate to get an idea how much the things I’m interested in historically have cost. I’ll also typically do a internet search to find out what other retailers are selling an item for. These datapoints can give me a base line price that help me distinguish if an item is actually on sale and how good the sale is.

For example, that Calphalon Unison Cookware Set? Amazon says the list price is $1000, and thus the $335 price was 67% off. Or so they claimed. CamelCamelCamel lists the average price from amazon as $537, and Bed Bath and Beyond list it for $599.99, ($479.99 after 20% off coupon). The $335 is still a good price, but more like 30% off, not 67%.

Realize There’s Often a Reason for a Price. Ever look at a Black Friday circular and wonder how any company can stay in business offering things like $2 waffle irons? Many of those rock bottom prices are on items manufacture specifically for the November/December shopping rush. They’re more cheaply made, with fewer features and lesser parts. If that’s what you want, great! But keep in mind it’s not the same item as the one that’s being sold for 10 times as much, and shouldn’t be used when figuring out the base line price.

I suspect the TV we purchased last year falls into this category. It was a very cheap price for the time (sub $400 for a 50 inch) and only came on the market June that year. The price never really rose to the level that you’d expect of TVs for that size. That’s okay for us. It’s our first flat screen TV and we’re unlikely to notice if it has sub par picture capabilities. Anything beats our old rear projection TV, even a cheaply made TV with fewer HDMI ports.

Remember, it’s not the % off that matters. It’s the price you’re paying (including shipping) to get the features you want.

Identify Multiple Alternatives One strategy retailers will use is to try and get you emotionally invested in the particular item they are selling. Last time I went to a car dealership the dealer kept using possessive pronouns. Let’s go pick out YOUR car, how about you drive YOUR car to the front lot? (emphasis mine.) If I start thinking of one particular car as ‘mine’ I’m likely to agree to pay a little more for it when we negotiate the price, or agree to extras/accessories I wouldn’t otherwise get. If I remember that there are multiple dealers with multiple cars of the same make, model and color, I’m more likely to remain objective.

It’s best to find several similar products that fit the bill. When that’s not practical, look for several retailers with comparable prices on an item. If you find yourself fixating on one particular deal ask yourself is it the item you really want, or the deal.

I love this month. I love the whole holiday season, but November and December have got to be some of my favorite times of the year. Now that we’ve actually moved and the stress of finding a place is gone, it feels like the timing of graduation was perfect. Being able to get everything we need for the home at great holiday steal prices is a wonderful treat, but it get’s better. We’ve also made it my graduation present to upgrade some of our household items. (Have I mentioned I love to bargain hunt?) That means extra shopping this season. As such our Black Friday list is growing.

The Big Deals Thus Far

A Canvas Print – It’s time for a big family photo in the living room, afterall we can never have too many photos with Nicki! I was after another canvas print. Remember how I beat myself up about missing out on that last good canvas print deal? Not this time! I waited for the cafepress deal came around again and this time I pounced! I got it for about half (51%) of what I paid for the canvas print of Nicki as a newborn. The only trouble is I’m not sure any of my current photos work, but I have until the end of the year to pick a photo.

New Pots and Pans – I love the set of pots and pans we got for our wedding (Calphalon Contemporary) but I made the mistake of registering for the non-dishwasher safe ones*. We didn’t realize that at first, thus voiding the warranty. It was our first good set of dishes, and we loved the non stick coating and how evenly they heated. The trouble is washing them by hand takes up so much time – a precious resource these days – and, well, they were damaged from us not knowing how to care for them. We’ve been talking about getting the dishwasher safe kind (Calphalon Unison) someday when our current set wears completely out.

Someday is today. I was looking for a 1 qt pan for Thanksgiving on amazon.com and happened to notice that the Unison set was 39% off! That’s the lowest price ever on amazon. But it get’s better. Amazon’s also in the middle of their holiday sales, and are offering it at an additional 15% off. That makes for a total of 48% off! They’re sold out, but the deal price is still live and I don’t mind waiting. Backorder it is!

* The new contemporary line is reportedly dishwasher safe now. I stumbled upon this fact in the process of writing this blog post and after I made our purchase, otherwise I would have considered just buying the same pots. Our current pots are most definitely not dishwasher safe.

Deals I’m on the Hunt For

A New Computer – No exaggeration my desktop is seven and a half years old. My laptop is a lot younger, but has been on it’s last legs since I got it and nearly kicked the bucket the day of my defense. The laptop was a serious disappointment. I need a new computer stat! The dream setup is a new server with raided hard drive (gotta protect those baby photos!) that can also serve as a media center and a new laptop so I can continue to work lounging on the couch.

New Tools – Specifically I want a pair of really good screw drivers. Maybe just two philips head and two standard head. I’m not sure what qualifies ‘really good’ but I know we don’t have it. In assembling the furniture this past weekend I used not one, not two, but three screwdrivers. The tread had warn down on all three of them, and I was constantly switching back and forth between them trying to find one that could grip the screw. I got everything assembled, but not before giving myself a blister. While I hope there isn’t much furniture assembly again in my immediate future, I’m sure I’ll need a screwdriver eventually. The trouble is, since I don’t know what makes a good screw driver, I can’t really tell what’s a good deal.

Tools make a great stocking stuffer and Christmas list fodder for me. I love gadgets, especially useful ones! A few years ago my aunt gave me a handy screw driver magnetizer. I also love my Mini Screwdriver Set which is all the more useful for changing batteries in kids’ toys. I’m thinking of asking Domingo for a right angle screw driver to help with those hard to get at screws since he’s insisting we do stockings this year.

Nicki’s Play Kitchen or maybe A Play House – Someone is getting spoiled by Santa this year. Toys R Us has a great Black Friday deal on the Step 2 LifeStyle Dream Kitchen ($75!) as well as the Neat & Tidy Cottage ($100!) which I’m hoping that amazon matches because shopping from the couch is so much nicer than going to the store these days! I suspect these will be amazon lightening deals. I think that’s usually how they price match door busters. My plan is to stalk the various kitchens and play houses online and see which deal (if any) I can snag.

Domingo’s New Cell Phone – If Domingo upgraded his cell phone when he was eligible, he would be eligible again, his phone is that old. It’s also incredibly unreliable, and dies often in the middle of phone calls. You can guess how much fun that was organizing the move. The one he wants is advertised as free on Black Friday! Can’t get better than that!

It’s a good thing I decided to test our online strategy early. Monitoring tweets with tweet alarm just isn’t going to work, at least not how I originally set it up.

The first problem is that I’m getting alerts for tweets like “Fry’s Black Friday 2011 Ads Finally Revealed”. Yes, that’s a recent tweet from today! Most likely it isn’t a legitimate account. I’d link to it, but the shortened link in the tweet is most likely a virus. It made me realize that tweet monitoring may be bad advice. If you decide to use tweet monitoring, be careful not to click on links from accounts you don’t recognize. The second problem is that I’m getting too many tweets. I can’t find the legitimate ones mixed in with the illegitimate ones.

I’m not giving up on social media for Black Friday. In the past I’ve used the websites Black Friday Ads and BlackFriday Info, both of which have twitter accounts (@BFAds and @blackfridayinfo, respectively). It may take me longer to get notifications of good deals, but at least I can trust the information.