The great boxing day scam

I'm really amazed that people still fall for the hype surrounding boxing day sales.

It's been many years since boxing day was a really good day to shop and get a great deal on things you wanted.

Retailers have since learned that many shoppers expect bargains, that they think that they are getting a deal whether they actually are or not.

So the retailers just use Boxing Day to "dump" their still unsold items onto the crowd of eager buyers on that day.

Sure, they may be the odd deal here and there, but most boxing days sales are mark-up scams.

Retailers are much better these days at controlling inventory. The days of really great sales are long gone. You seldom see stores flooded with unsold stuff that they are desperate to move, like you did about 10 years ago.

"Real shoppers" know that the real sales start in early January. That's when stores are really willing to get rid of stuff cheap because they know people don't buy much in January - February.

So instead, stay home, stay warm, sleep in, save your money for a few weeks, you'll do a lot better in 2009.