Today’s code: “….Plus Shipping & Handling”.

Translation: The product doesn’t really matter because we actually make our money on the “handling” fee which is usually nearly as much as the product we’re selling.

Kindred spirits: “….Plus PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection)” in cars. Tell me, can you actually buy a car without the PDI charge? I doubt it. So then why isn’t it included in the posted price? Another marketing scam to pick your pocket. But at least the amount of the PDI is written in the fine print…not so with the S&H charges!

Reality check: This is the darling of informercials, telephone sales, eBay, and ads for “miracle” cloths, hook-brooms, music CD’s, etc. The actual S&H charge isn’t revealed in the ad and you have to go through the whole order processing before you find out what your total cost will be. By then you’ve usually committed so much time and have built up all these expectations of getting the product that you cave in and say, “Oh, what the Hell…go for it”. And haven’t you noticed how the product seems almost incidental to the whole process of getting you to actually place an order? They double the quantity of product and throw in all kinds of extras just to get you to place that order. Or they give you a “lifetime” guarantee to supply you with as many replacements as you need, FREE, so long as you “just pay the S&H”.