Lately, I’ve seen a ton of bad press about various retailers using sleazy sales tactics to boost profits. Because of the recession, businesses are under so much pressure to make a profit that they are resorting to deception and underhanded methods to make a sale. For example, I was completely shocked last week when I read that a very large and well known electronics retailer was accused of purposely denying price match requests and refusing to sell computers without service contracts.

The other day my wife and I were shopping for cell phones only to be bombarded by hidden fees tacked on at the register. While the display price for the phone we wanted to purchase was extremely attractive, it apparently didn’t include a bunch of extra costs that really pissed me off.

Photo By Bonked Producer

What annoyed me wasn’t the money per se, but how the fees were …

I admit it. I’m guilty. In a previous article I wrote on how to spend money wisely, I stressed how one of the keys to saving money was to avoid spending it altogether. One of the main tenets of the article was to avoid going to the mall for recreation and leisure.

Well today I couldn’t help it. It was an incredibly nice day (Mid 70′s sunny) so my family and I decided to go on a walk at this ritzy outdoor mall nearby our house. For all of you who live in the Bay Area, I went to Santana Row which is a street lined full of expensive boutiques and fancy restaurants.

This was the first time that I had gone shopping in probably about a year, so I was really shocked by the high prices and the abundance of wealth that surrounded me.
The Handbag

My wife …