The last two weeks of Dollars & Sense have been travel heavy, so we thought we’d bring you something a little closer to my cold consumerist heart—a reminder that wherever you shop you can always get stuff cheap.
Almost every Australian retailer, from the Apple store to Officeworks, has a price-matching or price-beating policy. If you can prove that an identical item is available elsewhere they’ll give it to you for the same price or less. The only catch is that the place you’re price matching against usually has to have a physical outlet in Australia.
The beauty of price-matching is that you get all the convenience of a big-box store, with the prices of those weird discount outlets in the middle of nowhere. Last Christmas, with only a few hours to find my girlfriend a gift; I found the last bottle of half-decent perfume in David Jones, which was a relief until I saw the price. Not to fear! Google found the same perfume at Chemist’s Warehouse, and $30 cheaper! God I hope she doesn’t read this.
So, next time you’re buying anything, have a look online while you’re waiting in line. You can put the money you save towards a heater to keep you company at night.