Buying Jewellery on Credit

lilymay1

I wasn't sure where to post this but I suppose buying something on interest-free credit is a loan of sorts.

I am looking to buy my husband a watch for our 1st anniversary. I have the money to buy it outright, but I'm wondering what the catch it when it comes to jewellery shops offering interest free credit on purchases. If it really is as useful as it sounds, i would rather not shell out £1000 in one go if I can spread the cost.

I'm guessing they perform a credit check - will that do anything to my credit rating? I'm afraid I know very little about buying things on credit as I've always been a debit sort of person.

I have no loans, 1 creditcard, no mortgage (owned outright) and have always paid my cc off in full every month. Does that give me a good credit-rating?

Thanks for any help.

Tixy

You can usually negotiate paying a better price if you pay in cash (or debit card).
Which would outweigh what you might earn in interest on your savings if you paid in installments.

The 0% interest free credit is only a representative rate - so some people might be accepted for it but at a higher APR.

Yes they would perform a credit application search. That will have little effect on your file, unless you are also planning to apply for other new credit products / a new mortgage or anything in the next few months.

kimminess

Hi lilymay,

Just to mention - If you wanted to see how good your credit rating was for yourself you can order a £2 statutory report from any of the main providers (Experian, CallCredit etc.) or there is a free service called Noddle which will give you access to your credit report.

Hope this helps!

lilymay1

Thanks for the help.

I had wondered about negotiating a better price, but its from a highstreet retailer so I'm not sure if thats an option.

I have no plans to make any other credit applications in the next few years, let alone months, but if it will stay on my file its something to consider.

I wouldn't accept a credit agreement if it involved any interest payments - I'm far too tight with my money!

Thanks for the replies and advice - very much appreciated.

KingElvis

Wow, a grand for a watch? must be one hell of a timepiece?

My wife wouldn't buy me a Casio digital for 4.99

lilymay1

KingElvis wrote: »

Wow, a grand for a watch? must be one hell of a timepiece?

My wife wouldn't buy me a Casio digital for 4.99

We've had a tough few years and he deserves a treat. Fortunately, I am in a relatively good financial position.

He won't be getting anything else for the next 20 years though :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

lilymay1 wrote: »

We've had a tough few years and he deserves a treat. Fortunately, I am in a relatively good financial position.

He won't be getting anything else for the next 20 years though :rotfl:

not even sex?

tell_it_how_it_is

Only thing I'd say to ask yourself is are you sure that your other half would appreciate you spending so much money on such an item?

Only saying that because I personally would be absolutely horrified if my missus forked out so much on a watch for me - I'd be thinking we could have done so much more with that sum of money.

However, just because it's high street, don't let it put you off haggling for a deal if you do go ahead. And/or shop around.

arbroath_lass

woodbine wrote: »

not even sex?

No, it's kinetic - he can kill two birds with one stone


Sorry.......

lilymay1

tell_it_how_it_is wrote: »

Only thing I'd say to ask yourself is are you sure that your other half would appreciate you spending so much money on such an item?
.

Ha, unfortunately, yes! Despite my post, I am the money savvy half of the relationship. He has just spent money he didn't have pimping up his Renault Twingo....

It is a rare splerg on my part.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice

paddyrg

Oh I assure you you can haggle on the high street! Not worth it on everyday odds and ends and low margin stuff, but for a watch from a jewelers without a doubt.

Play your cards slowly, get chatting with one particular assistant you can banter gently with and make yourself recogniseable to them so they know when you leave and return to the shop later. Start off liking the watch, but being unattached to it. Be a bit noncommital, have a look at it, then ask them to put it back on the shelf. They WANT this sale, and know they may have to work a little at it if you don't just bring out the cash! You tease them slightly with the lure of the sale. It's like fishing.

When you have left the shop for a nice cup of tea and slice of cake, go back in asking to have a look at it again asking what their "very best price is". Someone now will sense that this may be a decent sale. And a grand is a decent sale anywhere. Someone should come back to you with a better offer. You can usually go that bit tighter again. Say if they give 10%, you say you need to go away and "check with the bank". More tea. Go back in with a counteroffer, rounding it down (maybe try for 20% off the window price - the margins are huge on jewelry, they can afford this, but will protest)

Now they may either try to meet you partway down, or you may want to get a bunch of 'stuff', or both. Once they have suggested a new suitably lower price you are happy with, maybe 15% off window price, don't react to it, but ask about how you care for it, servicing, peripherals, boxes, polishes, whatever extras you can think of. Let them impress you with their knowledge, you will never have their attention more than at this moment, so let them work for it. Pick a couple of extras out. Now you can ask about the 0% deal, be chatty, ask if that costs them a lot to administer, etc. You have them going on 2 fronts now, you're going to scissor the extras against the cost of the 0% deal. Extras are usually stupidly high margins, so £50 of extras probably costs them a fiver, so they can be more generous with them. Some shoe shops price insoles at £5+, for instance, but they pay about 50p, same in jewelry shops.

Purse out, say something like "tell you what - save the cost of the 0% and chuck the extras in, we have a deal". There will be some protesting, and here is where you basically put them on the spot - look like you have other options elsewhere, someone has moments to say yes to keep your purse out as you start to put it back in your bag. Make it look like this sale is a bigger deal to them than you. If you really need a final bargaining chip, pull a wodge of notes out of your bag, and offer cash on the table there and then. A big pile of £20 notes gets people very focussed very quickly.

Throughout you stay ever so personable, smile take your time, never let yourself be rushed, but let them carry the pressure of you looking like you may go elsewhere, and you have the best chance. I would say without too much hard work you should be able to get 15% and some extras - or at least get a fancy winding box and some services thrown in if you are feeling nervous! Bargaining should be fun, it is a game, it is a dance, and I assure you it offends nobody - they in turn do deals with their suppliers etc., so do not feel bad about it! And the margins are so high on watches 15% is not really too big a kick in the nuts for them, there is still plenty of profit in that sale to make it worth their while. Everybody wins.

And you will walk out of the shop feeling like a total goddess!