The
scanner
commando has moved on to computers, But this time it's not
really a raid.
Tim Duffy, the
Covina man who is received more than $20,000 in free grocery
Merchandise after noticing pricing errors at supermarkets,
is focusing on high-tech rebates now. But it seems to be
just an adjunct to his overall grand master plan. His
mission still is showing us that we, too can be better
informed shoppers.
And you can help
admiring him even though he's such a stickler.
He's found his
Niche. He's getting the press and is writing a book. Can
help think it's gonna be a sure-fire best seller.
Duffy got a lot of
ink about your ago. He showed documentation of the thousands
of dollars of free merchandise he has received by taking
advantage of policies at many stores that waive charges when
scanned and marked prices differ.
His crusade
aggravated a lot of area Supermarkets. Panic would set in
when he walked into a store, he claims. But the Department
of weights and measures couldn't ask for a better unofficial
Assistant.
With the grocery
stores not so challenging any more, Duffy who's a legal
investigator by trade, focused in on computer rebates. He's
doing quite well there, too.
"Computers
were just a natural thing,". That he says about his new
efforts.
By taking advantage
of those rebate offers you see in computer store ads,
Duffy's got a bunch of stuff for free or for much less than
it would cost him. Games, Virus-Scans, Hardware, software.
Mostly small stuff. But in the world of computers that stuff
really isn't cheap ordinarily.
You almost want to
root Duffy on when you talk to him. It's great to see
someone try to outsmart the marketers.
Won't companies go
broke offering all these rebates? You think. No, Duffy's
right. Only a small percentage of people who buy an item
with the intent of sending in the rebate actually do.
Marketing benefits outweigh the cost to the companies.
So once again,
Duffy teaches us a little about surviving the world
consumerism.
Duffy's mother
taught him to be a good shopper, he says. Perhaps she also
taught him how to stay focused, never give up and never get
intimidated.
"I don't let
people intimidate me and I don't get mad," Duffy says
about his experiences in confronting supermarket managers
about wrong prices.
Duffy's method is
almost more interesting is results.
He is almost
obsessed with getting documentation on his exploits, be it
rebates or his free grocery merchandise (which he gives to
charity). Integrity is everything to this man. It's
absolutely crucial that there's never even the hint of
anything out of the ordinary on his part.
"I don't play
any games," he says.
He's a walking
consumer handbook. He knows about the best way to make use
of credit card rates and offers. his book by the way will be
called "Winning at the Checkout Counter. " a
Consumer survival Guide. "
His business card
says Consumer Advocate, author.
And if you receive
and pushing a shopping cart through a grocery store. Stay
right behind in.
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