But guess what? We didn’t find anything for 50% off. Everything was 25% off and a few select items were 30% off – but no 50. When we asked the clerk she said there were a couple of small items – nothing anybody wanted. They only included those little items so that claiming 50% off wouldn’t be a lie.

In other words, the advertising was intended to deceive.

After I got home and looked at my purchases I was disgusted again when I saw that I hadn’t paid good attention. I had purchased several items that were made in China, and I’m trying not to do that!

I’ll have to say, trying to avoid Chinese merchandise saves me money. I nearly bought a new pair of winter shoes in another store. They were a bit pricey, but I really could use new winter shoes. I was thinking hard about buying them until I turned them over and saw: Made in China.

Maybe I’m being unfair to the Americans who are earning a living buying and distributing those goods. But I feel like trying not to buy them is my small way of supporting American manufacturers who hire American citizens and pay them a living wage. It means paying a little more for goods – but that’s OK too, because I really don’t need all that “stuff” to move around and dust. If any of us needed all that extra junk there wouldn’t be yard sales everywhere all summer long.

Anyway… back to the marketing. You can bet that hundreds of drivers turned in to check out the prospect of buying merchandise at half off. Especially the ones who have regularly shopped at that store. Not finding the promise fulfilled no doubt made a lot of people cranky and they won’t go back for more.

That’s OK in this instance – the store is going out of business. But I’ve seen other stores make the same kind of promise, not keep it, and expect to stay in business! Not too smart.

A big promise is a good thing – but only if you keep it!