gazump

gazump

1.To cheat by raising the price, at the time a contract is to be signed, over the amount originally agreed upon.

 

In a never ending effort to increase their bottom line stores have made it more and more difficult for you to make a purchase without spending an extra $50 on things you never knew you needed. Upon purchasing an XBox recently it was highly recommended to me that I purchase a protection plan for the system, 

 

"Just in case it stops working."

"But it shouldn't 'just stop working.'" I replied. "In fact, I would say the reason I'm buying it brand new, from a store as reputable as yours, is so it won't 'just stop working.' Is this machine going to just stop working?" 

"Well of course not sir. But it might. That's why I recommend this $50 protection plan! If you buy this, we'll fix it for you."

"And if I don't buy the plan, and the device you sold me stops working...you won't replace it even though you sold me defective merchandise?"

"Of course we will sir! We'll just give you a really hard time about it."

Ah, I see! So a stores gazumption lies in their preference for charging customers for services that they already handle anyway. Well played, big business. Well played.