Three for Thursday 07.27.2023

Welcome to TrustDALE's Three For Thursday with Consumer Investigator Dale Cardwell.

Are you better off today than your parents were at your age? How about your grandparents? In my experience, we tend to gravitate toward themes that catastrophize our current predicaments. For example, how many stories have you heard about wealth stratification in the US, or the rich getting richer? While that appears to be true, a new book by Gale Pooley, Marian Tupy called Superabundance makes the argument that we are far better off today. For example, in 1902 a 53-cent hammer cost almost four hours of blue-collar labor. Today' Home Depot's basic $6.50 hammer costs about twelve minutes of today's labor. And at the end of the day, isn't the true measuring stick, how much work it takes to buy what you need? The problem is, we confuse that with what it takes to buy what we want, and that is significantly impacted by social influences. Sheryl Crow once said, "It's not having what you want it's wanting what you've got." Sure, today can be scary, but I'll take it over yesterday every day.

Watch this Investigation

Today's investigation = Value-snatching USPS Postal Boxes. Watch because This Could Happen to You!

Ask Dale

Today's Ask Dale question comes from a lot of you, who want to know if acquiring a home warranty is beneficial? Watch to hear the answer!

Todays Lesson on how to be a Savvy Consumer!

Today's seven-point lesson is on resisting the influence of the crowd.

Fast - Do they want your money NOW! Full payment upfront is tempting if the crowd is doing it.

Funds - Is the investment required relevant to the promised payoff? Companies often create "plants" or paid promoters to make you think a product or service is real. Do your own homework!

Found - A person who intends to rip you off will make certain he cannot be found after he gets your money. This is another circumstance where a "plant" can influence your behavior. Do your homework!

Define - Your deal by comparing product, Offer and Price. If the "crowd" has bought this item in thousands, or hundreds of thousands - it's a rare example of when following the crowd can be wise.

Ensure - Your deal with an Ethical negotiation, an Equitable contract, and an Effective Guarantee. Companies that take the time to make certain you're comfortable with these three stages of deal-making are likely maximizing long-term beneficial relationships, not just short-term profit.

Authenticate - Your deal by requesting References, checking reviews, and examining government and watchdog reports. Reviews can be gamed. Look for patterns in negative reviews. Those are harder to mask.

Legitimize - your deal by determining if the company has a business license, liability insurance and is lawsuit and background checked. These are steps that by undertaking, reduce jumping to conclusions. Taking your time is almost never a bad thing.