Posted on 10/21/2014 8:49:47 AM PDT by knak
CULLMAN, Ala. — The love seat and sofa that Jamie Abbott can’t quite afford ended up in her double-wide trailer because of the day earlier this year when she and her family walked into a new store called Buddy’s. Abbott had no access to credit, no bank account and little cash, but here was a place that catered to exactly those kinds of customers. Anything could be hers. The possibilities — and the prices — were dizzying.
At Buddy’s, a used 32-gigabyte, early model iPad costs $1,439.28, paid over 72 weeks. An Acer laptop: $1,943.28, in 72 weekly installments. A Maytag washer and dryer: $1,999 over 100 weeks.
Abbott wanted a love seat-sofa combo, and she knew it might rip her budget. But this, she figured, was the cost of being out of options. “You don’t get something like that just to put more burden on yourself,” Abbott said.
Five years into a national economic recovery that has further strained the poor working class, an entire industry has grown around handing them a lifeline to the material rewards of middle-class life. Retailers in the post-Great Recession years have become even more likely to work with customers who don’t have the money upfront, instead offering a widening spectrum of payment plans that ultimately cost far more and add to the burdens of life on the economy’s fringes.
The poor today can shop online, paying in installments, or walk into traditional retailers such as Kmart that now offer in-store leasing. The most striking change in the world of low-income commerce has been the proliferation of rent-to-own stores such as Buddy’s Home Furnishings, which has been opening a new store every week, largely in the South.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I’m so proud of all the replies today.
I went through them all expecting to find at least ONE reply demanding that “they” do something about these outrageous places - ripping off these poor people as they do.
“Why, that ought to be illegal!”
But, thankfully I found none of that nonsense.
Another word…..Auctions!
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been to estate auctions and they are all the same. By the time they get around to auctioning off the furniture, the buyers are so burnt out that I’ve seen entire rooms of furniture go for $25 to $50. I’m talking sofa, loveseat, 2 side chairs, end tables, coffee table, lamps, area rugs, you name it. In fact, I’ve furnished entire 3 bedroom rental units for $135 or less.
Yeppers.
They have $50.00 and they can get a brand new sofa delivered today? Wow! What a Country!
Oh, and look - Obammie done sent them another $1500 on the EBT card. For Free!
I have also bought various building materials on Craigslist. Most recently a 32” Fiberglass exterior door for $100. Many times people will order a door and buy the wrong size, swing, etc. You can not return a special order.
This door would be about $300 new.
I have bought hardwood flooring, furniture, tools, snow blowers all on Craigslist. I am currently looking for a used Kubota 29-30 HP, L series compact tractor. Brand new they are $30K. Used $12-19K depending on the hours.
not much that i could add that hasn’t been said already, except perhaps if she got her GED she could get a paying job.
i would imagine it would be a fraction of the effort she spends whining about her bad decisions.
A single engineer I knew rented all of his furniture, even though he could afford to buy it. When I asked him why, he said that he wanted his future wife to be able to pick out the furniture for his home with him. I hope he found his Mrs. Right.
>>Being poor requires a continuous stream of bad decisions. Low IQ, lack of self discipline and laziness make those bad decisions easy to make.<<
There is a video that resurfaces from time to time that notes how poor people operate. Things like spending any found money as opposed to saving, buying crap food and other things that keeps them poor forever.
I grew up poor (due to extertnal circumstances) but we did NOT have the “poor” values: the target was to succeed in life. And that worked out pretty well for me.
Exactly. Low IQ folks must have an instant gratification impulse that exceeds their ability to calculate total cost and then weigh value. Similarly, when I recall instances of driving at night and seeing pedestrians who imprudently run across traffic, far too close to oncoming traffic, I assume these are low enough IQ folks who cannot judge the closing speed between the oncoming traffic and where they are (as well as overestimating their sprinting ability.) I’s love to see a plot of pedestrian fatality rate by IQ decile. Stupid people do a lot of things differently.
The best alternative is the “no interest if paid off in ‘x’ months” plan.
Estate auctions are great places to buy older furniture and antiques. That is where the antique dealers buy. I bought my first dining set at an estate auction. It was made by Ethan Allen. I also bought a bedroom set for $400. Brand new it would have been thousands. Generally if solid wood furniture has lasted 50-100 years, it will probably last your lifetime.
I would be a little scared of buying upholstered furniture because you can not tell if it is infested with fleas or bedbugs.
They can use the computers in the library to look for cheap furniture, used laptops, etc on Craigslist. Anyone can pick up some lovely stuff at bargain prices. I bought the perfect couch in perfect condition from an immaculate home— $150.
That is because “Pot will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no pot” Chet B. ca 1972 /s
>> Obammie done sent them another $1500 on the EBT card. For Free!<<
The other day here in West Allis (just west of Milwaukee), I encountered the strangest thing at the local Walmart.
A couple in the checkstand across from me had 2 massively overfilled shopping carts and were shifting items from the front one to the back one. I heard the lady start to say “well, I can sell that” and the guy saying things like “you ain’t going to sell that one you gonna eat it.”
I realized they were keeping a running tally and based on what I heard, they had a $100 limit. Then I saw them pay with a Gummint EBT card and it all fell into place: They were buying stuff and then selling them for cash money to their friends and neighbors. The thing was they were so brazen about it and made no attempt to hide what they were up to.
Yes, they were holder’s people but it gets stranger still. In front of me was an older white woman and she had 5 cartons of butter in 3 different brands, 4 bottles of vegetable oil, again multiple brands, and the like, but no sign of any stuff you would cook with — then I saw HER pay with an EBT and realized SHE was also buying to resell.
The war on poverty, indeed...
Yes indeed. I have a member of my family that fits into this category. The majority of their month is spent scraping, begging, and manipulating money out of family members (usually my wife). Lives week to week or day to day in low-rent motels/efficiencies, never has any food for their 3 bastard children. The day the EBT card gets loaded, I see posts on facebook from them - “Just got some new halloween costumes for the kids!”
Zero foresight, no ability to control impulses, never a lesson learned.
But, they can afford it. They can pay so much weekly instead of a lump sum. It doesn’t matter that they are getting ripped off.
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The best alternative is the “no interest if paid off in ‘x’ months” plan. |
Yes, but....
If you are ONE DAY LATE on any one payment - you're screwed. They immediately recalculate the entire contract at the 21% rate and retro-actively assess the interest on your balance adding tens even hundreds of dollars to what you owe.
You gotta be carefull. I've taken advantage of the "no interest if paid ...." deals. But only by paying early, ahead of time, extra over and above the minimum, and paid off well before the final month.
Exactly....I made sure to pay the monthly payment online literally the day the statement came out.
And I paid off the balance two months before the end of the x months, to give me one statement that clearly showed the entire balance was paid.
Buying to resell is capitalism in action.
>>Buying to resell is capitalism in action.<<
Using OPM...
Looking at the picture in the article, I see not only the new furniture, but a tablet on the end-table, what looks like another tablet in the daughter’s hand, an RC helicopter on the coffee table, and three remote controls (TV, DVD, Cable most likely). They also smoke, and the woman & children look overweight - so apparently they find money somewhere to handle their impulses.
If this article was supposed to make me feel badly for them and stir up anger against RTO companies, it failed. What I see here is another typical case study of losers. I have zero compassion for them.
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