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.

I've just finished a week long holiday, and how great it was! I feel so relaxed now, and am ready to go back to work on Monday.

I think I've earned some time off. For the month or so prior to my holiday, I've been working some very long days (for a software developer). I'm talking 9+ hours a day (not including breaks or lunch), 5 and a half days a week. That may not seem like much to you non-programmer types, but imagine spending all those hours working on crossword or logic puzzles. You end up mentally exhausted and physically drained.

Luckily for me, I booked some leave back in October. I'd chosen this week to have off because it contains both my wedding anniversary (Wednesday) and my birthday (today). I figured there was no better time to spend with the wife.

Even though we've not actually gone away for the week, we've certainly been away from home a lot. My wife loves looking at used clothing, so we've spent a large part of the week visiting various thrift stores around Auckland. She's managed to find a few stores that carry designer labels, so we can look very posh at a fracton of the cost. For example, I managed to pick up a practically-new Burberry short-sleeved shirt for only NZ$54. I don't know what it would have originally cost, but it was probably several times what I paid for it.

We also went to Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World on Friday. I hadn't been for years (early 90s) and my wife had never been, so we decided to head along. I'm still of two minds as to whether it was worth the money. It was great to see all the fish and the penguins, but NZ$30 per adult is a bit steep when you can take your time and still be through there in no more than 2 hours.

The only real downside of the week was that it had to end. On Monday I'll be back to work, although hopefully I've got the worst of the long hours over and done with. Oh well, I've gotta make a living somehow.