A new buying experience today I found interesting.

Since I arrived here 10+ years ago, I knew that mexico was/is pretty much a cash society. It was only after a couple of years that I saw home loans come on the scene. They needed 50% down, usually about 12% interest and a term of 4-5 years. But that was it.

So today, I went into a store to make a purchase for a single item and it was $31,999.99 (pesos). Did some quick math and it came to US$2,000. Fine w/me.

As I was asking Qs, the salesgirl said they had a special today and I get 20% off if I take it. That's even better since I was happy to pay the $32,000 (rounding it up).

I zipped home, upended my matress and got the cash. Back to the store and plunked down a wad of pesos that would have choked a burro.

Then the surprise. The girl said with downcast eyes, that she had made an error; the 20% discount was only if I bought it on credit.

SAY WHAT?

If I wanted to pay cash, it was full price, but if I financed it, I get the 20% discount.

So out of curiosity, I asked some more questions about the financing.

The bottom line was, if I financed it for the maximum allowed, two years, my total payout would be right at $47,000.00. I had her triple check the figures and that was right.

Anyway, I paid the full price and was very happy with my purchase.

Not looking for a fight or negative comments, just thought there might be people that would find this interesting. I did.

Interest on Mexican credit cards can run anywhere from 48-150%. Store credit is probably close to the same. I wonder if you had used their store credit that it was allowed to pay off early without penalty. Now THAT would have been a good deal.

The prices for cash purchases are normally lower than those done on credit.

Although the interest rates on credit cards here is high, there are always promotions for 12 or 18 month interest free purchases. No penalty for pre-payment. I use my cards in this way for the points and normally pay them off within a couple of months.

Doesn't Sam's and Costco always give about a 2.5% discount for cash?

Costco 2% Apparently you still get that 2% if you use your local debit card.

Just checked my Costco ticket.......
The discount was 2.25% exactly for cash (or debit card), but not credit card.

And,the reason that the name of the store in the OP is a secret is because...?

Lady Otter Latté wrote:And,the reason that the name of the store in the OP is a secret is because...?

I knew you would chime in to be critical.

My post wasn't about the store, it was about the credit experience that I don't think was limited to the store I went to. I have seen many "monthly payment" signs in many stores; this was my first real contact though.

Asking a question about your post is being critical? You just said in another post you wanted to generate comments and discussion. Perhaps you could post a list of your rules for responding to your posts so everyone can respond to suit you.
Please notice how other posters name the stores with which they deal. So far, all we know is that those stores give a discount for cash. And, so far, one mystery store gives it for credit. You really have no idea how discussion works, do you?

When you say that you have been here for 10+ years, are you referring to this area or this planet?
Just curious.

zenwoodle wrote:When you say that you have been here for 10+ years, are you referring to this area or this planet?
Just curious.

How are 10 year olds, supposed to act?  

zenwoodle wrote:When you say that you have been here for 10+ years, are you referring to this area or this planet?
Just curious.

Mexico 10+ years, this planet, 76+ years, though not really relevant to the point of my post.

slainte39 wrote:

zenwoodle wrote:When you say that you have been here for 10+ years, are you referring to this area or this planet?
Just curious.

How are 10 year olds, supposed to act?  

Probably as they developed over their first 7-years. There are few hard-and-fast rules on actions, just generalizations; and of course, there are exceptions to all alleged "rules," that only exemplify the rules.

I'll resist the snark impulse.

At Tio Sams, I bought a bunch of kitchen appliances a few years ago for a remodel and got an 8% discount for paying cash instead of credit card. That was significant. They told me the credit card system is so cumbersome that it can take months for the store to get paid. Naturally, it takes no time at all for the customer to get billed.
I always pay cash in Mexico.

And I'm told that if you use a local debit card that it's just like cash, at least that is what they told me at Actinver. So far I have only used the card once and it worked great. I will learn more later as I use it a few more times

Lady Otter Latté wrote:Asking a question about your post is being critical? You just said in another post you wanted to generate comments and discussion. Perhaps you could post a list of your rules for responding to your posts so everyone can respond to suit you.
Please notice how other posters name the stores with which they deal. So far, all we know is that those stores give a discount for cash. And, so far, one mystery store gives it for credit. You really have no idea how discussion works, do you?

I agree with LadyOtterLatte on this one....we should know the name of the store that gives a discount for using credit. Maybe we would want to shop there ourselves!

Going back over it all, I think what was meant is that if you use the store's credit plan or some such thing, then you get the discount. It wasn't really clear to me and since it was a relatively small amount, I wasn't going to go into a cross-examination of the very nice saleslady. She seemed sincerely sorry for the misunderstand and her error.

Next time I pass the store, I'm going to give each of the ladies a small box of candy for appreciation.

This just gets more and more weird.

Clueless wrote:It wasn't really clear to me.

What is?