K-Mart Lease to Own

[ProfMoneyWise]

New Kmart Rent-to-Own Program Turns $300 TV Into $415 Buy - Bloomberg

Very clever indeed.

 

[aps45819]

I think that's actually better than most of the rent to own places

 

[huntr1]

New Kmart Rent-to-Own Program Turns $300 TV Into $415 Buy - Bloomberg

Very clever indeed.

And how much is that $300 TV when bought with credit card and paid off in minimum monthly payments? I'd be willing to bet it'd be way more than $415.

 

[blazinlow89]

I think that's actually better than most of the rent to own places

Last time an ad came through and I paid attention to it I want to say a 42" TV that retailed for $400 was going for about $1500. PS3 and XBOX were about 2x retail.

 

[aps45819]

Last time an ad came through and I paid attention to it I want to say a 42" TV that retailed for $400 was going for about $1500. PS3 and XBOX were about 2x retail.

It's scary to think that there are enough people that think that's a viable option to keep those stores in business

 

[vraiblonde]

It's scary to think that there are enough people that think that's a viable option to keep those stores in business

They're thinking about low momfly playmints instead of the actual cost. There used to be a catalog store called Fingerhut where you could buy all sorts of things for a couple bucks a month, but then a set of Melmac dishes would end up costing $150 or some crazy thing by the time you paid it off.

But if you need furniture and don't have any money to buy it, the rent to own places will fix you right up.

 

[FED_UP]

They're thinking about low momfly playmints instead of the actual cost. There used to be a catalog store called Fingerhut where you could buy all sorts of things for a couple bucks a month, but then a set of Melmac dishes would end up costing $150 or some crazy thing by the time you paid it off.

But if you need furniture and don't have any money to buy it, the rent to own places will fix you right up.

Fingerhut still exist, got some junk mail from them recently, I was thinking, how the heck did they find me again after all these years.

 

[ProfMoneyWise]

And how much is that $300 TV when bought with credit card and paid off in minimum monthly payments? I'd be willing to bet it'd be way more than $415.

"In an example provided by Sears, customers could buy a $400 item or group of items by making 10 biweekly payments over five months of $33, then decide whether to keep making payments, return the merchandise, or spend $220 to buy out the lease for a final cost of $553. That would be the equivalent of a 114 percent annual rate, according to Mierzwinski."

The bolded above speaks to the cunning of this arrangement. What starts as "lease to own" turns into higher than usual percentage credit.

The TV puts a face on the denominator in this equation as any product does in any transaction where credit is used. The supposed purchase price is just the beginning of the math equation.

It is all about math.

 

[Railroad]

Of course we're assuming that the customer intends to actually honor the agreement. Some folks don't.

 

[ProfMoneyWise]

Of course we're assuming that the customer intends to actually honor the agreement. Some folks don't.

With the margins they are getting they have a lot of room for spillage.

 

[mitzi]

They're thinking about low momfly playmints instead of the actual cost. There used to be a catalog store called Fingerhut where you could buy all sorts of things for a couple bucks a month, but then a set of Melmac dishes would end up costing $150 or some crazy thing by the time you paid it off.

But if you need furniture and don't have any money to buy it, the rent to own places will fix you right up.

Fingerhut is still around.

 

[abcxyz]

I look at it as a tax on the stupid but good for K-Mart! Everyone is entitled to a big screen, glad they are making dreams come true!!