The thing is, when a store gets busy, whoever is working the cash register often feels pressured to hurry up. Things are skipped. OR there may be someone ringing up who is just plain lazy and doesn't bother adding what he/she thinks of as unnecessary details.
Are you tired of it? Would you like a tip that helps you figure out what sold without having to try to change someone else's behavior? After years of going to the stores and hunting down my sales, I came up with a solution. It's so simple that it's ridiculous and I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner.
The Solution:
There are two things every cashier tries to be accurate about, even when in a hurry - the price and the vendor number.
Vendor Number - You need to make sure your vendor number is easy to read and is written in such a way that it won't get confused with another vendor's number or the price (yes, that can happen).
Price - At some malls, if a checkout person writes up the price incorrectly, they can get into trouble. They might even be charged. They ring up the price very carefully. That's the key to this trick.
Write your price with crazy numbers in the cents. Do not end it in .99. That's too common. If you were thinking of marking something $30 or $29.99, instead, write it up as $30.12. or $29.74. If you go UP a tad, you've made a little extra money without scaring off a customer. They still think of $30.12 as $30 when they are making a purchasing decision.
Further, let's say that $30.12 item was a platter. You have three other platters and you want to sell those for around $30 each, too. Mark them something different - $30.48, $29.88, and $30.27.
When each of those platters appear on your monthly printouts, you'll be able to figure out exactly which one sold and your inventory will be easy to keep up without having to dig through the store's sales pages.
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PS - I apologize for going so long between posts, but I know many of you understand. Those of you who keep up with my posts probably remember my husband died in May. I'm trying to figure out how to make sense of my life. I write about that, as well as my husband's battle with cancer, in as positive a way possible on my other blog - Rudy and Denise. You're welcome to read that if you are facing or have faced any similar issues (widowed or a caretaker). If you aren't, I recommend that you stay away from sad stuff and go kiss your loved ones. Be happy. Meanwhile, thanks to the many of you who have sent me sweet messages of encouragement over the last year. It's crazy how notes from people I've never actually met can mean so much. As for this blog, I really do intend to keep it going. I have a number of posts on my To-Do list that I plan to post in the future. I find it really helps to do little things that have nothing to do with loss and grief. Happy things. My Vintage Show Off posts make me happy. I like knowing I'm helping people.