There is a diverse group of people at this board and I would like to glean from the wisdom here. Due to past experiences, personal knowledge, work training, insider contacts, etc, what are some bits of help that others may not know about?

For instance: I did not know that some car rental companies will give you a discounted rate if your car is currently in the shop. If your car is being fixed, and you need a rental for a week or 2, a few bucks discount a day can add up in the long haul.

Another example: Working in Human Resources I review a lot of applications which are done on-line at our webspace. A quick way we process apps is to see if the application is filled out in entirety. Applications that are not fully filled out, or have notes like 'see resume' or just left blank when it's obvious there should be an answer. The app is coded Not Hired - Incomplete Application.

What do y'all know that could be of help to someone?
And please no critiques of 'that's stupid, everyone knows that.' Possibly everyone may not know.

 

More car rental tips (since I travel a lot):

1. Don't buy the extra coverage. Instead, use a good credit card that covers rental insurance.

2. Sign up for the company's rental program for freebies. Avis, for instances, offers free one-level upgrades just for being a member.

3. Be friendly and just lie . Here are two ways to get a SUV even though you reserved a Grand AM.

The Folding Seats Technique
a) Complete the paperwork, get the keys, thank the attendant, and get into the car.
b) Walk back into the office and act surprised. Tell them that the rear seats do not fold down, and that when making the reservation a reservations agent confirmed that the car had folding rear seats.
c) Request for a car with folding rear seats.... then suggest an SUV
d) Drive off with a Buick Rendevous.

The 4WD Technique (Seasonal effectiveness; only tried this in CA)
a) Ask for snow chains while filling paperwork. Inform attendent that you may be driving in areas with snowfall (i.e. Tahoe). They don't have snowchains.
b) Ask if they can help you get a hold of some snowchains... then suggest an SUV w/4WD.
c) Drive off with a Blazer

4. If you need a long-term rental (month), go straight to the office manager and negotiate a monthly rate stressing that you would be a long-term customer (even if you're not). This approach works well with Enterprise, but not with Avis. Typical savings: A normal 1-month rental for a Camry is about $800 - 850. Negotiated rate: $599.

 

Retail Electronics:
Generally its a good idea to buy the store's extended warrenties, you just have to know how to use them to your advantage otherwise the store is making a TON of money off you. Ever since I started working retail electronics sales I buy warrenties on just about everything, but i can guarentee that i have come out waaay ahead. Basically I get all most of my electronics replaced for free every 2-4 years.

The accessories that you have to buy along with whatever item you are buying are the most marked up items in the store. They can be found cheaper elsewhere.

 

Teme who do/did you work for?

 

Yeah Teme, tell us more. Are you willing to say that to a store it's more important to sell the ext. warranty? And to do so they are willing to drop the price of a product and accomodate numbers as long as you buy it? Also when is the best time to go and purchase something? Right before closing? During the week? At the end of the month? Before the holidays, after the sales?

And I can say from experience. That Monster Cable is crap! You can get equal wires for less money sometimes up to 3-4X less. I spit on Monster Cable!

 

Not many people know about this one:
Whenever you buy electronics, buy from Costco! They will take any returns, for any reason, for a full refund, if you have a receipt.

For Example:
In 1997 a 27" tv costed $800. In 2000, you could take the tv back, say you are unhappy with it, get your $800 back. By then, $800 would buy you a 32" tv. In 2003, you can take the 32" tv back, say you are unhappy, and they will give you your $800 back again. For $800 now, you can get a 36" flat screen. And so on...Essentially, you can get a brand new, bigger and better tv every three years, and never spend a dime on it.
btw - I believe that Wal-Mart has the same policy. Gotta love huge corporations.

 

I used to work at Sears in electronics. The warranties are where they make their money- the salesperson typically gets between 15% and 20% commission on them. For the most part, people never use them, so it's a fast and easy way to make $50 or so. On some electronics items, the store only makes 10% on them, so the warranty is worth 1.5-3 times more than actually selling the product. They do, however, work well if you know how to use them. Let's say you buy a home theater amp. If it breaks down and you have it serviced more than 2 times during your 3 year warranty, you get it replaced. Since 2 years or so have gone by, they no longer carry the model you bought, so you can typically get any model in the same price range or the next one up, which is usually something a lot better.