Is it me, or has "lay a way" been making a big comeback?

[CatWoman]

just saw a Sears commercial, promoting their Lay-a-way plan.

That's not the first store that I've seen advertising it.

What ever happened to it in the first place?

I wasn't a user of it even when most stores did offer it.

[phantom power]

1. Our local news actually ran a story on the return of layaway.

So it's not just you!

[Oceansaway]

2. K-Mart & now Sears have layaway...

i like it...WalMart(sucks) had layaway but stopped it when they started their Charge It

program....

[DesertFlower]

3. i grew up using it.

i'm 67. when i was young there were no credit cards.

[TomInTib]

8. Yeah. Heck, we were just talking about S&H Green Stamps.

I remember the first time I saw someone use a credit card in a grocery store. I couldn't believe my eyes.

[DesertFlower]

12. i was 25 when i got my first credit card.

it was with a store called franklin simon.

in 1967 i got something called "the everything card". it was from one of the banks that i had a checking account with. they just sent it to me in the mail. don't remember if it was citibank or manufacturers hanover. they sent me 2 and when my ex-husband saw it he said "give me one". i told him to "f--- off".

i just googled it. it was citibank.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_card

[TomInTib]

14. Dang, that's funny.

You probably did the right thing.

At least you can remember '67. It got right past me.

[celestia671]

17. I remember those!

My mother used to save them back in the 70's. Gee, I'm old!:cry:

I wish Wal Mart would bring back their layaway. It would help out this year!

[Buns_of_Fire]

24. ...and the little rotary dial things they used to dispense them! Ah, memories, memories...

And the S&H Redemption Stores... And having sticky fingers for the rest of the day after pasting them in the little book... And licking and licking and licking and getting drymouth 'cause I ran out of spit... *sigh*

[celestia671]

34. Me too!

The local grocery stores in my area give out stamps for every $5 spent. When you fill a book of 100, you get a $5 coupon to use in the store. It may not seem like much, but it helps when you're between paychecks!

[Retrograde]

50. Kroger's discontinued them in the early 70s

My roommates and I collected them: we only needed 14,999.5 more books to get that motorboat (we had managed to accumulate half a book's worth during the year). S&H Green Stamps was the big brand: you collected the stamps from various merchants, put them in little books, and took them to a redemption center for merchandise: a book was worth roughly a dollar in goods. It was like getting something for free, as well as making customers loyal to certain stores.

[Old Codger]

43. I asked

At Wal-Mart and they said no go,,

[SoCalDem]

20. I still HAVE a book of them..

We got lots of great things with them when we first got married..

lamps, coffee tables, kids toys, camping stuff

[TomInTib]

25. Those books were like secret treasures.

We were so poor....

I remember pulling up to the S&H store, on a boiling Summer's day, only to realize that my dear Mother had placed the books on the car roof and driven all the way in to town.

We sat in the car and cried and cried. I was maybe five years old. Rural Texas, mid-'50s.

You should put that book in a shadow-box, a reminder of simpler times.

Tom

[SoCalDem]

27. Here it is.. on my messy desk.. I sent my son a picture of it..

He was too little to remember when we loved those things.. I can remember finding them, left in shopping carts in the grocery store parking lot.. Like finding Pirate Gold :)

[CatWoman]

28. I refuse to own up to the fact that I remember those stamps!!!

:)

:hi:

[yy4me]

31. Same here. I remember Mom making me paste those darn

things into the books and when we had enough, going to the S & H store to spend out books. I think 4 books got you a pan, 6 a coffee pot. I think you could get a set of pillow cases for 2 books. Good grief, I'm ancient. This was about the same time as the margarine in bags where you squeezed the orange button around the bag and it turned the contents to a butter colored mass. (of heaven knows what)

[TomInTib]

4. Credit cards are what happened to layaway.

People just aren't using credit cards as much, right now.

My Gallery is taking in a higher percentage of cash vs cc in our entire history.

[SoCalDem]

19. and downsizing of employees..& space

Layaway required a lot of space & someone had to alwasy be available to accept payments & for when customers bailed out their goodies..

[2Design]

5. yes - the story was on the news I believe - rachel maddow

sears is the start, saw kmart too but I think they have been doing it for awhile.

[123infinity]

6. Credit cards pretty much made it "unnecessary"...I have heard several news reports

about it coming back into fashion. apparently because of credit problems, I suppose ???

[Grateful for Hope]

7. Yes it is

I heard a segment on this topic on NPR. Apparently, some stores (KMart/Sears were mentioned) think that this is way to get around the credit crunch.

I think it went by the wayside for the same reason -- credit (and immediate gratification) took over.

I like the idea of it's comeback.

[CatWoman]

9. as do I

:)

thanks

:)

[Grateful for Hope]

18. Most welcome

:fistbump:

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. Lay-a-way is used by some antique dealers for expensive items

where payments of 1/4 or 1/3 make it easier to justify the purchase & to "hold" some one of a kind
item when the buyer can't pay all at once.

It used to work pretty well in retail too for a sort of a forced "saving up" for something.

[Cleita]

11. I read an article recently that it was coming back as many

people have stopped using their credit cards.

[Wapsie B]

13. KMart has had it for eons.

I know pawn shops like Mr. Money have layaway too.

[SoCalDem]

15. Stores had to do SOMETHING to get people to buy things

but I look for a short-lived lifespan for Layaway.. It sucks for impulse buying, and many people are impulse buyers.. They will likely just stay home and cry..

I always loved layaway, even though I could afford to buy the stuff.. as Christmas time, it made so much more sense to have the store keep those Christmas goodies hidden away, so my sneakly little bastards could not find out what we got them :rofl:

I once had my friend keep OUR boys' Xmas stuff in her garage.. Boy was her son pissed when he found out that computer was not for HIM... He snooped :)

[Liberal Gramma]

36. And how about those Christmas Club savings accounts?

You'd save five dollars every payday and the bank would stamp one of your little coupons. When all the coupons were stamped, you were paid up. In November, they'd cut you a check for your savings plus interest. For those of you who wonder how people lived before credit cards, layaway and Christmas Club accounts are the answer.

[JuniperLea]

16. I remember my mom putting school clothes on layaway...

I think credit cards killed lawaway... but it's back! I think it's a good thing! It's time to cut up most of the credit cards anyway.

[SoCalDem]

21. In extreme climates it was wonderful.. Coats arrive in August..swimsuits in January

:)

[JuniperLea]

30. It worked well in So Cal...

By August and September, the fall clothing were in the stores. But it never really cools down here until October, so we always got some lighter weight clothing to get us through. The second batch would come in January, when we needed warmer clothes... you know, a sweater or three:) I've never worn a coat out in all my life:)

[HockeyMom]

22. I made $65 a week at my first job in 1966

I saw a wool and cashmere coat with red fox collar and cuffs in Saks 5th. It was "to die for" but $175 (LOT of money back then). I bought that coat on layaway. Yep, even Saks had it back then. It took me almost 2 months of payments to finally get it, but I never would have without layaway.

[CatWoman]

23. and I'm quite sure it looked positively SMASHING on you

:)

[rucky]

26. My wife has a boutique, and layaway's been about 1/3 of the purchases

so far this month.

Also, more people are paying cash & writing checks. Credit cards used to be about 90% of the purchases. Lately it's been about 25%.


This is a good thing, btw. We don't have to pay transaction fees, and people are cutting up the plastic and buying the stuff they really want/need, instead of buying big-box crap, just for recreation.

[TreasonousBastard]

29. It's been in the news a lot, but I'm waiting for...

Christmas Clubs to come back.

[dipsydoodle]

32. What's that

a brief holiday affair ?

[CatWoman]

33. and you promised it would be our secret!!!

:)

[dipsydoodle]

35. Lol

Hope your cats are fine - my four are. :hi:

[CatWoman]

38. they are playing tag team with me right now

one comes in and demands to be petted, then she slaps paws with the next one in line :)

:hi:

[Berry Cool]

49. The first rule of Christmas Club is

you don't talk about Christmas Club.

[spanone]

37. they did a report on the news about lay-away coming back....

when i was a teenager and buying musical gear, i'd use it all the time...it was so sweet when you took a new guitar home after months and months....

[CatWoman]

40. play us a tune, Spanone!!

:)

:hi:

[spanone]

44. CatWoman.....you Are my sunshine!!!!!!!!!!!!

:hi: :pals: :loveya:

[CatWoman]

45. awwwww

:loveya:

[spanone]

46. if you think about it lay away is a great program...no interest...no credit card

and it teaches you to wait....much less impulse buying.

[OwnedByFerrets]

39. Everyones credit limits have been reached.

[Bluebear]

41. YES!!!

My grandmother was always laying away something or the other for the holidays. As others mentioned, people's credit is maxed out. I think layaway is a good thing to resurrect rather than people charging everything.

[CatWoman]

42. hey you!!

:hi:

:loveya:

what? no jokes for me? :)

[Bluebear]

48. Not tonight, I have a headache

But . . .

:loveya: :hug:

[TripleKatPad]

47. The local radio cut-ups did a bit on this

They asked to put a box of condoms on layaway. Ha!