Why Do Local Credit/debit Cards Give Huge Discount

[Silvie]

10 % discount every day for jubilados..!

Yes, but jubilados only through ANSES...
Anyway, I buy on Weds at Disco to get the 20% credit through the local Bank, and I know that I'm paying for overpriced products but at least on those days I don't feel that bad....

 

[ElQueso]

I think you're confusing the ahora12 plan (which is not obligatory) with promotional financing. The 12 months sin interest is no different than the 20% off vis a vis bank motivation. There is no insanity required. The banks cut a deal with the stores on prices to cover part of the cost and then send the rest to marketing expenses.

Well, I wasn't intentionally confusing them. I'd been told some time ago that the payments interest-free were required by law so everyone could enjoy buying material things even though they made no money to speak of with their salaries. It made sense to me, at least when inflation topped 30% and the banks continued to allow such horrible terms. Particularly considering that a cash loan has an interest rate of 59% at BBVA Frances and what is being loaned out int he no-interest payments is huge or cars have no leeway whatsoever (you don't know how much a car costs until you've made the last payment if you go the lay-away route).

There are people all day every day a store is open taking advantage of that interest-free loan that the banks carry. A bit different than the one or two days a week they give a 10%, 15% or 20% discount. Writing off that 30% or more decrease in value in real cash terms over a year on so much stuff goes a bit beyond advertising budget in my opinion, but if they are offering it willingly, then the statement I made in the thread about the car lottery still goes - Argentina needs to learn to do business so that everyone can benefit.

 

[Gringoboy]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)] "interest-free were required by law"[/background]
[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]I don't get that at all.[/background]

 

[pistachio]

Thank you all for the replies. They are very eye opening to me.
From what I see that electronics are been overpriced for the most, an intel pentium laptop could be 10000 peso or more...

 

[pistachio]

My experience is quite the opposite. They give you a big discount if you pay cash. But, true, I never shop for groceries in big supermarkets.

They give more discounts to those who pay by card instead of cash in supermarkets as far as I know,not sure if many others such as appliance and department stores do the same.

 

[pistachio]

What everyone said above.

Argentina is a strange place to live when it comes to finances. You may not realize, for example, that those same cards that are offering deals at stores all throughout the city (I'm assuming in other cities/provinces as well) interest-free monthly payments for up to a year (depends on product, store, etc). As I understand it, it is a requirement by law that the banks offer this. No one would be crazy enough to offer interest-free payments in a climate of such high inflation unless they were forced to. But you can leverage such things to make a really good deal for yourself if you buy, for example, appliances on 12 payments and watch as the price of the item increases 30% over the year while you're paying the value of the loan you started with! Quite unlike the new car business (check out the other thread posted today by Gringoboy)

Argentina is very business-challenged for various reasons. It's almost laughable except for those of us who live here full time and have to deal with such things on an on-going basis

Is a confusing country, lots to know

 

[Dada]

I don't know, really. I'm naturally allergic to huge supermarkets. Normally, I do all my grocery shopping at the nearest chino, where I'm used to paying 8 pesos for a kilo of rice, 10 pesos for 2 kilos of tomatoes etc. But last week I went to a big one, looking for treats my chino doesn't have (caraway and some at least remotely spicy spice). Forgot the name of it but it was really big (near Castro Barros). They didn't seem to have anything my chino doesn't, just had everything in bigger amounts. The prices were insane though. Many products more than triple, compared to the local guy. Now I know what you mean by inflation Thanks, I'll stick to my chino, who has the policy of minimum card payment 100 pesos and a 10% surcharge up to a certain amount.

And same goes for clothes, shoes or jewellery retailers (small ones). Some even have two different prices in the window, the efectivo one always being the lower. I would imagine that maybe these guys where I shop don't have the deals the big players enjoy?

 

[mikic007]

@dada

You are obviously lucky with your Chino, even though I can't imagine what rice costs now 8p.. Chinos tend to be quite expensive, I'm using 3 around me out of indefinite number, and only for special products (in one alcohol, the other fiambre and third soft drinks).

For every day I use día, the same stuff way cheaper, even if place us a bit nasty. For big compras I use coto delivery, with certain visa and their card I spare around 25%,but there is limit (2500p).

Of course, for this you need Argentinian cc, which is hard to get, if you are not working here en blanco on permanent.

But I still don't know where banks get their money. In other countries is easy to see, here I barely leave them any money. I don't pay any transaction fees, no account fees, nothing. 35p for visa, that's all what they get... And I'm using all possible quotas. Are the others really that crazy to get over limit to cover also for me??

 

[Rich One]

I don't know, really. I'm naturally allergic to huge supermarkets. Normally, I do all my grocery shopping at the nearest chino, where I'm used to paying 8 pesos for a kilo of rice, 10 pesos for 2 kilos of tomatoes etc. But last week I went to a big one, looking for treats my chino doesn't have (caraway and some at least remotely spicy spice). Forgot the name of it but it was really big (near Castro Barros). They didn't seem to have anything my chino doesn't, just had everything in bigger amounts. The prices were insane though. Many products more than triple, compared to the local guy. Now I know what you mean by inflation Thanks, I'll stick to my chino, who has the policy of minimum card payment 100 pesos and a 10% surcharge up to a certain amount.

And same goes for clothes, shoes or jewellery retailers (small ones). Some even have two different prices in the window, the efectivo one always being the lower. I would imagine that maybe these guys where I shop don't have the deals the big players enjoy?

2 kilos of tomatoes for 10 pesos....! Price in Mercado Central ! Yesterday

 

[estebandepraga]

Id even pay 12 pesos