i can remember it as clearly as yesterday. it was a black Lycra long sleeved mini dress covered in hundreds of tiny satin bows. it was by Betsy Johnson and way, way out of my price range. after all, i was a college student living on $500 a month (and that included rent!). how could i possibly afford a $120 dress? all i can say is: Layaway. i had to have the dress and paying for it in small chunks helped me attain it (slowly, but surely).
now i know Layaway has been out of vogue for some time – given the availability and influx of credit cards – but let’s consider our current economic situation. credit card companies are charging interest up the ya-hoo and it’s becoming more difficult to obtain – especially for those who have hit hard times. Layaway can help those who can’t or don’t want to use credit cards obtain the items they want – without paying interest. sounds pretty good, right?
i used to offer Layaway at ooma – and though very few clients used it – there were a few who regularly (and very happily) used this plan. these were my clients who were tight on budgets, but long on indie style. they wanted the one-of-a-kind and limited-edition piece – but couldn’t always afford it. so Layaway was the perfect answer to ensure it wasn’t snatched up my some other credit or cash wielding gal.
You can create you own policy – there are no set rules – but i like the following and i think it’s a policy many are familiar with:
- at least 30% down
- the remainder paid off within 60 days
(the thought is they’ll pay a third the second month and make a final payment after the 2nd). but you could do a quickie 30-day policy too, if you prefer.
the other nice thing about Layaway – is that it’s easy for independent boutiques to implement (and market) right away. this will give you yet another advantage over large retailers.
one tipsy: make sure you have their phone number and email on file in case they forget (as people sometimes do). they’ll appreciate the reminder.
