Due to the economic recession, there are big fat sales everywhere. Shops are discounting heavily in order to lure in customers and move stock. Airlines are offering dirt cheap fares and holiday packages.
Yeah right.
I have yet to find a shoe shop that is willing to sell me a pair of good quality black leather riding boots for less that $350. That's not a bad price, but it's not a discount price either.
And now it looks like I will have to miss out on going to a wedding in Aussie because the cheapest return airfare from here to there (and that's not including an additional internal flight plus a bus ride) is still around $600. I'm pretty sure that's the normal fare.
Am I just out of the discounts loop or something? Because at this rate it looks like I'll be staying home and sending a really big wedding gift instead.
7 comments:
I'm in the U.S. so hopefully a couple of these ideas translate... Have you tried a priceline.com-type deal for airfare? That has worked for me in airfare, car rentals, and hotels. As for boots, if you are OK going vintage/ used, I'd check Etsy and Ebay. I love the broken-in-ness of these kinds of boots and there can be well-priced options.
But really, these are tosses in the dark -- sometimes great things come up, sometimes not. Hope you get the plane ticket sorted out.
antoinette: I think we luck out here because our city doesn't exactly have the busiest international airport in the world. It was almost as fruitless when I was living in Edinburgh and couldn't take advantage of the dirt-cheap deals heading out of London. As for boots, I will just have to be patient - I know I will get some at reasonable cost sometime in the next few months (and it will definitely still be cold by then).
Lots of sales on in Melbs too. Perhaps you could offset the cost of international airfares against the SAVINGS you'd make purchasing boots in Australia... (or something). Unfortunately NZ lucks out with the exchange rate too unlike now when I come home and everything is ridiculous cheap when it turns up on my credit card in ASD.
I too was under the impression that airfares are virtually free now but when I got my tickets to Vietnam they weren't exactly. Although colleague just got return tickets to the US for her and her husband for $2400 (that's for 2 tickets, not one). When we flew home in March the tix. were $96 each way but then over double that in tax (so $400 ASD each return)... AirNZ seems to have the best deals still.
donnasoowho: yes, it's tempting to consider how much money I might save if I could spend a bit 'o time in Melbourne shops. Unfortunately, the wedding is in Rutherglen (or somewhere just out of there) so I'd be spending my time there - and for all I know their shops all close on Sundays or something!
With regard to airfares someone told me that there is a magic time to buy for cheaper fares which is not too far in advance and not too close to the time which I seem to remember is 3 to 4 months before you go. I know I have two work trips to Sydney coming up and the plane tickets were purchased a couple of weeks ago. The ones for September were cheaper than the July ones. Might have been $400 return or so? One thing though about traveling with a family is that is still $1200 if you all go.
Yeah they probably don't even have shops in Rutherglen. Nice place to get married, not so nice place to shop. Although has to be accessed via Myer. I mean, via Melbourne. And apparently a good place to get pissed too! Not that I know, I've only heard.
mtnw: yeah that sounds 'bout right. I also heard that the school hols might be around that weekend too, which wouldn't help.
donnasoowho: yes, I have vague memories about alcohol and silliness...but that's all ancient history now. Last time I had a drink I got sick.
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