In my last Blog for the class “Buying Behavior” I want to tell everybody about my new swatch.

When I was looking for my new swatch, the first website I visited was the website from the producer I got my old swatch from.

I really like my old one and I liked the style of the swatches from the producer anyway. So my loyalty to this company was very strong. The best thing about these swatches is that they looked so much different than all the others.

In my opinion most swatches look the same more or less. But for me it is the most important accessory. So I was looking for a swatch on their website and it did not took long before I found one I really liked.

But I never just buy something from the producer. I always look at the Internet if I find the product for a better price at another place. In fact I found the same swatch for half the price I have to pay in Germany at an American online shop. So I contacted them and asked them if they can send me the swatch to my place in Germany. But the producer did not allow them. I was really angry that they charge double in Germany than they do in the USA. They make much money just because they know that the people in other countries are willing to pay it.

I bought the swatch here anyway but for the better price in the USA. Now that I know the difference in price between Europe and America I will not buy another swatch from this company if I have to pay much more just because I am living in Europe.

One thing, I noticed during my thirst time in an American supermarket where the little signs, under each good for the better price if you use your store card when you buy it.

In Germany we have these cards too, but not for supermarkets.

The differences between buying something with the card or without are very big for some products.

The first question I asked myself was, what does these cards cost the supermarket? Which are the regular prices? I am very sure that the amount for paying without using a store card is like an extra fee. So does the supermarket want the people to use the card, or are they happy for every customer who forgot his one?

It is really easy to get a card and it takes you only two minutes to fill out the sheet of paper. If you use the card, the supermarket manager always knows what you bought during week in his shop. But is this extra information really worth the efforts?

I am sure that the fact that they are offering these special prices has another advantage, besides the extra information. When you see the high “regular” price and compare it to the “special” price you get the feeling that you are saving a lot of money. But in fact you maybe only pay the regular price now and it is still expensive compared to the price in another supermarket.

Anyway the store cards are an interesting instrument to analyze the buying behavior of super market customers.

There are only two days left to one of the biggest events of the whole year, THE SUPER BOWL.

What I want to write about this week, are all the special offers, you can see in nearly every supermarket.

There are Chips, Dips, Beer and all kinds of stuff in sizes, you could easily sate a small village.

And everything is offered at special prices. So everybody has enough food for his own little Super Bowl party.

I’m pretty sure that the Super Bowl is as important as Christmas for most super markets. For me it’s unbelievable how much money people spend for this event. And this happens every year.

But are the things you can buy really cheaper than usually? Or do all the “special price” advertising signs just make us believe that it’s so cheap?

Comparative Adverting is what I want to write about this week. I just saw this really funny TV advertising of Burger King. There are two guys, who want to get a cheesburger. The first guy wants to go to Burger King, because the burger is so much bigger than the one from McDonalds. The second guy wants to go to McDonalds because he has these really tiny hands. Then he shows his hands to the camera and they look like hands of a 6 year old boy. He wants to go to McDonalds because otherwise his hands look even smaller.

I really liked the spot and I realy was laughing about it.

The interesting thing ist, that this kind of advertising is forbidden. They say that is not correct if you denigrate other companies in public television.

In my opinion it is ok as long as the facts you present are correct and you do not leave any important facts out.

The question is how this kind of advertising affects the behaviour of the consumers.

For me it was only a funny spot and not a serious argument, that convinced me to buy my next cheeseburger at Burger King.

I would like to start my very first entry on my new blog by telling you how I got my first souvenir from California.

As a german exchange student I am here to learn how the american way of teaching at an university looks like. After 3 weeks in Santa Barabara, I know that it was a good decision to go here.

While my fellow students in Germany are freezing at 0 – 10 degrees celsius, I go to school every day by riding my bike in shorts and a T-shirt.

And for me the first thing, that comes into my mind when I am thinking about California, is the great weather and the way of life.

But besides the nice people and the great campus, there are so many other things to see.

To make sure that I will never forget all this I am always looking for a nice souvenir. Something that expresses everything, what comes into my mind when I think about California.

At my first time on the pier of Santa Barbara, I found something that expresses all this to me.

It was in a small shop on the left side of the pier.

There I found this beautiful plate, hanging between postcards and beach toys for childen.

The shop was not decorated very nice, but this was not botherin me. There was the souvenir, I was looking for and I wanted to have it.

Unfortunately I had not enough cash with me to buy it.

All the more I was thrilled when my girlfriend, who was with me at this day, surprised me with this plate some days later.

This is the reason why I will always think about the beautiful time in California, when I see this plate in my appartment back home in Germany.