Micro-Coupons & Micro-Sales

Now You See It, Now You Don't

Is everything now going to be priced like airline tickets?

Sometimes, it seems that way.

If you haven't bought an airline ticket lately, the price can be very much a moving target, changing weekly if not daily (or hourly!). I even had a quoted fare jump $50 while I was online recently making the reservation!

(I heard that that's no coincidence; "cookies" on your computer let the airline site know you're a repeat visitor, and tweak fares accordingly. Urban legend -- or fact?).

As for coupons, even as they increase in volume, they seem to shrink in scale and shelf life.

Half the time when I hand over a coupon at the cash register now, the clerk hands it back and points out that it's expired.

You take a closer look, and realize that the coupon's expiration date was 4 days after it arrived in your mail box!

Electronically "pushed" coupons from Facebook and other social media only seem to exacerbate this phenomenon.

What's the solution?

For consumers, it might be as simple as only buying goods and services from vendors that don't play these kinds of games (assuming you have a choice).