DISCOUNT CARD RIPOFFS

Many stores require discount cards to get the store’s discounted price. With some stores, it requires filling out of a form. Some stores require that you pay them a yearly fee for the privilege of getting a discount. General Nutrition Center (GNC), Barnes & Noble and Books a Million are just some that the Frugal Accountant knows of. There may be more.

Question, why should the Frugal Accountant have to pay a company a fee to get a discount? This reminds the Frugal Accountant of multi-level marketing schemes where you have to pay the company to sell their products. What is most amazing about these fee based discount cards is when the Frugal Accountant attempts to explain to the cashier about the way that these cards work and the cashier begins to argue with him.

Take for example GNC’s Gold Card. You have to pay them a yearly fee of $15 to get 20% off of the selling price of their products. To get this discount, you have to purchase your products usually within the first seven days of the month. If it is the eighth day of the month and you need their product, it is too bad for you. You are going to be paying full retail. This means that you have to buy all of your vitamins according to their schedule. This is inconvenient. What happens if you forget to buy your vitamins on their schedule and you run out mid-month? You do not get to use your Gold Card even though you have paid the company for the privilege to have one.

The Frugal Accountant does not like a company telling him when he can use his discount card. If you have already paid them for this privilege of having a discount card, then you should be able to use it anytime. If not, then the Frugal Accountant’s attitude is he will not shop there.
Back to arguing with the cashier. The Frugal Accountant tries vainly to explain to the cashier (who is asking him if he wants a Gold card and the Frugal Accountant tries to explain why he does not one) the way the card works. To get a GNC Gold Card requires you to pay them a $15 yearly fee and in return, you will get 20% off of their products for the first seven days of the month. To receive your $15 value, you have to purchase $75 of products to break even ($75 x 20% = $15). After this initial $75 purchase, then you start to benefit from the discount.

Remember, this is an annual fee. So every year, you get to repeat the same process over again. The cashier will tell you that you are getting your 20% savings right away. This is true. They give you the 20%, but it does not become any discount until you purchase over $75 of products. This is the part the cashier does not comprehend nor do most of the customers.

The advantage for the company is that they get this fee every year and those who get the Gold Card are usually regular customers. This gives them a core of dedicated buyers. Just not the Frugal Accountant who is frustrated by this system. GNC has been sending the Frugal Accountant coupons in the mail. The Frugal Accountant takes advantage of these. There is only one product that the Frugal Accountant purchases from GNC and these coupons allow him to get this product at a discount without having to purchased a Gold Card. Why pay retail, if you do not have to?