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Highlands Today

Christmas Shopping Blues And More Blues

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Karl Erikson

Published: December 3, 2007

Don't ask me where the year went; I haven't a clue. But here we are, at the holidays once again. I keep telling myself that this is not the time of year to try and lose all that weight I need to lose. There's simply too much good (and bad) food. I was really good at Thanksgiving this year, skipping all the desserts. OK, so I was just that full. I couldn't even think about a slice of pie.

Christmas is only weeks away now and I've really got to get my tail in gear for all the holiday shopping. Last week I went with my mother to Toys R Us because there are just some things you can't get in Sebring. That took care of one niece, as well as a couple of things for my daughters. I'm left with quite a bit left to do. Sure, you can laugh and point and tell me that I should have been shopping all year so there would be far less stress now. That might make sense to some person that pays attention to silly things like logic, but not to me.

I'm not one for crowds, let alone holiday crowds, filled with crazed people oblivious to everyone else around them. Yes, you might see me out there somewhere –– especially at that nice new gigantic book store –– but I hate the lines. You're far more likely to discover me online, where I can get free shipping, no lines, and no traffic. Voila, all my shopping arrives on my doorstep and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The truth is, I'm having trouble getting into the holiday spirit this year. That's not a rare thing for me in recent years. Christmas so largely represents time for the children, it seems. And that's OK. There are worse things than playing toward children. So, as usual, I'm hoping that going through the motions will result in the Christmas spirit sweeping me off my feet. In the meantime, I just have to continue toy shopping, picking cool items that I might get a chance to play with.

One thing I've noticed about some of the stores out there...they have these membership "clubs." For an annual fee, you save a small percentage using your membership card every time you shop. This bugs me. Say I pay $15 a year to join your savings "club," and that $15 buys me a 10 percent savings every time I buy something at your store. Well, that just means that I have to spend $150 to recoup my membership fee. I understand marketing –– I know that this is all about customer retention. But I've got to tell you, you're far more likely to keep me as a repeat customer if you just knock 10 percent off all the prices to begin with.

It's like supermarket savings cards, those cards you have the clerk swipe at checkout so you can get special store savings on select items. I just know these stores are tracking how many gallons of milk I buy each month, and that bothers me. Why not just GIVE me all the savings without having to use a card? Show me that kind of love and I'll be back more than once.

Well, back I go to the online shopping. Ho, ho, ho.

Karl Erikson lives in Sebring and can be reached at karlerikson@yahoo.com

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