In the current financial market, retailers are doing everything they can to get customers through the doors. One thing we've seen a lot of lately are sales, especially nfor higher-priced items such as furniture and electrical goods. Here in NZ, Harvey Norman sell both, and they have been advertising their sales a lot, both in the papers and on TV.

I'm looking at upgrading my espresso machine from a cheaper (around NZ$300) unit to a more expensive, more professional machine. The one that I really want retails for NZ$800 in Briscoes, so I was looking for any way to get it sooner. Harvey Norman had interest free finance offers, and were supposedly having a sale on home electical goods, so I went to my local store to have a look.

Once I was in the store it took a whole 2 minutes to find the right model, but what I saw left me with my mouth open. Harvey Norman had the right model, but were charging a stupid $NZ1000 for it. That's 25% more expensive than the retail price at Briscoes, the store right next door. If they can blatantly inflate the price by 25% for an espresso machine, I hate to think what they're doing on other items.

One thing I do know is that you do not buy audio/video cables from them. When I bought my TV from them a couple of years ago (the reason being 3 years interest-free), they also sold me a HDMI cable. The cable was made by Pudney and cost NZ$99, and it was rubbish. I doubt it cost them more than $NZ10, and because I was a captive audience buying expensive equipment, I fell for the trap of buying an overpriced cable.

Because of all this, Harvey Norman have gone well down in my books. I may still turn to them if I need an interest-free finance deal, but only after checking out other stores and finding the best price first. If they want my business, I'm not going to pay for their bloated profit margins.