Does Layaway have a purpose?
12-14-2011, 01:36 PM
#1
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Does Layaway have a purpose?
In a conversation with somebody at work, she was trying to explain the point of layaway:
If you don't have all the money right now, you put some down, and make payments until you have paid for it, and then you can take it home.
So what is the difference between that and, say, a coffee mug on your dresser that you put the money in? Either way you don't get the item until you have all the money...
I see two reasons it could be useful:
1. To "lock-in" a sale price.
2. To claim an item of limited supply before it runs out.
So why would anybody put normal items on layaway? I must be missing something, since people seem to do it all the time.
If you don't have all the money right now, you put some down, and make payments until you have paid for it, and then you can take it home.
So what is the difference between that and, say, a coffee mug on your dresser that you put the money in? Either way you don't get the item until you have all the money...
I see two reasons it could be useful:
1. To "lock-in" a sale price.
2. To claim an item of limited supply before it runs out.
So why would anybody put normal items on layaway? I must be missing something, since people seem to do it all the time.
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12-14-2011, 01:45 PM
#3
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Somehow, I knew that would be the first response. Or something similar but more offensive from Hustler.
Are poor people really the only reason layaway exists? Nobody I actually hang out with has ever used it, to my knowledge, and it seems whenever I hear about it, the person talking isn't exactly rich.
Are poor people really the only reason layaway exists? Nobody I actually hang out with has ever used it, to my knowledge, and it seems whenever I hear about it, the person talking isn't exactly rich.
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12-14-2011, 01:49 PM
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it's not offensive, it's the truth. If you have a credit card, you don't need layaway.
The fact that with any increase in minimum wage, there's a significant increase in unemployment, the worst effecting black youth....that's offensive.
The fact that with any increase in minimum wage, there's a significant increase in unemployment, the worst effecting black youth....that's offensive.
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12-14-2011, 02:02 PM
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Poor people can't get credit cards...zero interest or not. At least with a credit card you can get your item right away. Layaway, you make small payments, and ge tthe item once it's paid for.
It's way for large stores to offer business to people who cannot otherwise afford certain things, or have any power to save.
I'm not saying it's bad, just something none of us here will ever need to worry about.
It's way for large stores to offer business to people who cannot otherwise afford certain things, or have any power to save.
I'm not saying it's bad, just something none of us here will ever need to worry about.
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12-14-2011, 02:22 PM
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So basically, I was right. It's for larger companies to make money from poor people who otherwise wouldn't be able to buy an item due to their lack of saving ability.
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12-14-2011, 02:24 PM
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I suspect that eventually, some bleeding heart pro-bono lawyer will come along and claim that this practice is somehow predatory / exploitative / whatever, just as banks charging money in exchange for the service of processing debit cards / checking accounts / whatever is also somehow supposed to be unfair.
But essentially, I'm in the same boat as skidude insofar as not understanding the practical utility of the layaway system, except to side with Brainey and assume that it's a mechanism designed to allow people with poor money-management habits to make interest-free loans to department stores.
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12-14-2011, 02:30 PM
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But it's large companies that can offer these type of services, allow poor people into a market they'd never be able to enter otherwise.
This is why our system has raised the standards of living our poorest citizens to heights no other system can match. Wal-mart and other companies that are offering these services are bringing real hope, progress and general good as well as giving these people a sense of pride, dignity, self-confidence, self-esteem that they would no otherwise achieve buy purchasing products with EBT cards and welfare checks.
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12-14-2011, 02:33 PM
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The way you put it sounds negative; it's a company's purpose to exisit to make money.
But it's large companies that can offer these type of services, allow poor people into a market they'd never be able to enter otherwise.
This is why our system has raised the standards of living our poorest citizens to heights no other system can match. Wal-mart and other companies that are offering these services are bringing real hope, progress and general good as well as giving these people a sense of pride, dignity, self-confidence, self-esteem that they would no otherwise achieve buy purchasing products with EBT cards and welfare checks.
But it's large companies that can offer these type of services, allow poor people into a market they'd never be able to enter otherwise.
This is why our system has raised the standards of living our poorest citizens to heights no other system can match. Wal-mart and other companies that are offering these services are bringing real hope, progress and general good as well as giving these people a sense of pride, dignity, self-confidence, self-esteem that they would no otherwise achieve buy purchasing products with EBT cards and welfare checks.
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12-14-2011, 02:40 PM
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In a conversation with somebody at work, she was trying to explain the point of layaway:
If you don't have all the money right now, you put some down, and make payments until you have paid for it, and then you can take it home.
So what is the difference between that and, say, a coffee mug on your dresser that you put the money in? Either way you don't get the item until you have all the money...
I see two reasons it could be useful:
1. To "lock-in" a sale price.
2. To claim an item of limited supply before it runs out.
So why would anybody put normal items on layaway? I must be missing something, since people seem to do it all the time.
If you don't have all the money right now, you put some down, and make payments until you have paid for it, and then you can take it home.
So what is the difference between that and, say, a coffee mug on your dresser that you put the money in? Either way you don't get the item until you have all the money...
I see two reasons it could be useful:
1. To "lock-in" a sale price.
2. To claim an item of limited supply before it runs out.
So why would anybody put normal items on layaway? I must be missing something, since people seem to do it all the time.
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0
12-14-2011, 02:45 PM
#17
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the reason he's looking at it in a modern time is because wal-mart and other stores have recently started offering the services again. Since many people do not have credit, and cannot get credit.
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12-14-2011, 02:57 PM
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The way you put it sounds negative; it's a company's purpose to exisit to make money.
But it's large companies that can offer these type of services, allow poor people into a market they'd never be able to enter otherwise.
This is why our system has raised the standards of living our poorest citizens to heights no other system can match. Wal-mart and other companies that are offering these services are bringing real hope, progress and general good as well as giving these people a sense of pride, dignity, self-confidence, self-esteem that they would no otherwise achieve buy purchasing products with EBT cards and welfare checks.
But it's large companies that can offer these type of services, allow poor people into a market they'd never be able to enter otherwise.
This is why our system has raised the standards of living our poorest citizens to heights no other system can match. Wal-mart and other companies that are offering these services are bringing real hope, progress and general good as well as giving these people a sense of pride, dignity, self-confidence, self-esteem that they would no otherwise achieve buy purchasing products with EBT cards and welfare checks.
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12-14-2011, 03:14 PM
#20
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In a conversation with somebody at work, she was trying to explain the point of layaway:
If you don't have all the money right now, you put some down, and make payments until you have paid for it, and then you can take it home.
So what is the difference between that and, say, a coffee mug on your dresser that you put the money in? Either way you don't get the item until you have all the money...
I see two reasons it could be useful:
1. To "lock-in" a sale price.
2. To claim an item of limited supply before it runs out.
So why would anybody put normal items on layaway? I must be missing something, since people seem to do it all the time.
If you don't have all the money right now, you put some down, and make payments until you have paid for it, and then you can take it home.
So what is the difference between that and, say, a coffee mug on your dresser that you put the money in? Either way you don't get the item until you have all the money...
I see two reasons it could be useful:
1. To "lock-in" a sale price.
2. To claim an item of limited supply before it runs out.
So why would anybody put normal items on layaway? I must be missing something, since people seem to do it all the time.
Several years ago... I went to academy sports and they had glocks on sale for 20% off. It was that day only (I think it was a grand opening type sale) I was getting paid the next day so I did lay away for a day, lol.
I used to work at a franchise radio shack store, and we did lay away. It was pretty sad honestly, people would come in and pay a couple dollars a week, often in form of change and rolled change. The contract we did was pretty evil, if they didn't pay like once every two weeks we could keep all the money and put the product back on the shelf, the actual fee was pretty low. We often had ppl skip out on paying often enough, but only rarely took their money.... and those would be cases where someone had something going for like a year and hadn't showed up in 3 months or something.
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