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Are You a Compulsive Shopper? |
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Yet Who Doesn’t Love a Bargain? Meet San Diego’s Own “Bargain Mama”
I never pay retail. It’s the way I was brought up. Oh, there’s the occasional item I just “have to have” that’s not on sale, but it’s rare for me not to search the Internet, comparison shop or find out when an item is going on sale. Now, through Twitter (@sdbargainmama) and Facebook, I’ve come to learn about one of the country’s premier “bargainistas,” San Diego’s very own Stacey Ross, better known around the nation as “Bargain Mama.”
Her story is inspirational and deserves to be told, even briefly. Armed with her husband’s encouragement and a motto, “frugal is the new black,” she quickly moved from a stay-at-home former school coordinator to lead a “moms helping moms find deals” Web site that touches the lives of more than 20,000 monthly visitors who faithfully click on her highly touted site, sandiegobargainmama.com in search of local bargains. She even attracts visitors from as far away as China and Sweden.
Refusing to let the economy get the best of her and her loyal mom followers, through “word of mom”, she and her crew hunt down freebies, giveaways, “buy-one-get-one-free” offers, shopping events, and affordable family-friendly activities while sharing savvy shopping tips to help moms “save time and money so they can live more fulfilling lives.” And she’s making a living from doing all of this from her growing list of local and national sponsors. Such a deal!
Smart marketers know the song of the shopping siren is a sale. “A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist,” a clear-thinking bargain hunter once said. Marketers and sales gurus play on our “bargain-huntaholic” minds by preying on our fear of losing out of a sale, our belief that the hunt itself contributes to the perceived value of an item, not wanting the “other guy” to grab the sale item before we do, and wanting to save not spend in these economic times.
Neuroscientists understand our shopping high in other terms. They have found that shopping has a direct effect on the brain’s pleasure centers. A bargain at Bloomie’s in Fashion Valley can flood the brain with dopamine in ways not dissimilar to that experienced by a drug addict getting a fix. Dopamine gets involved when we are faced with something new, thrilling or challenging. Bargain Mama dopes us up with her thousands of bits of information on sales, shopper’s dopamine, that she puts out on Twitter, her Web site, and through the many media appearances she has made.
San Diego’s “Bargain Mama” is in great company. Interestingly, more than 12 percent of all posts on mom-oriented blogs nationally during March and April of this year included mentions of the economy and how to save money, up from 8 percent a year earlier, according to Nielsen Online. They studied more than 10,000 parenting blogs to arrive at this data.
Couponmom.com, which Nielsen says is among the top five blogs written by moms and devoted to saving money, attracts nearly 975,000 visitors in one month. 5dollardinners.com is another influential mother-oriented blog, written by a Dayton, Ohio mother of two. Consumerqueen.com, written by Melissa Garcia, attracts 30,000 people each month to her site, and like other queens of money saving mom-helping blogs, is penning a book and signing deals to run online marketing for companies.
Here’s a quick test to see if you are just enjoying these bargain sites, or have a real problem with bargain hunting addiction. Answer these questions on a seven-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree:
• My closet has unopened shopping bags in it
• Others might consider me a “shopaholic”
• Much of my life centers around buying things
• I buy things I don’t need
• I buy things I didn’t plan to buy
• I consider myself an impulse shopper
If you scored 25 or higher, you might well be considered a compulsive buyer.
Do you hit those sales when you are emotionally upset? Or see sales as opportunities you just can’t pass up? Do you ask yourself if you really need it, how you will pay for it, what’ll you do with it, where will you put it, what would happen if you didn’t buy it? These questions also point to “bargainaholism.”
Bargain Mama is on to something for San Diegans who want bargains, deals and “steals” and shouldn’t be passed up. After all, who can pass up a real deal? And Stacey is as real a deal as you can get.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Mantell has successfully been bringing upbeat, friendly and helpful psychological insights to individuals, families and businesses in San Diego as a clinical and corporate psychologist in private practice. He's been a regular on Good Morning America, KFMB-TV News 8, has appeared on Oprah, Larry King Live, the Today show, authored two best-selling books and speaks regularly for audiences throughout the country. He can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/michael.mantell and Twitter at DrSanDiego.
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Reader Comments:
Yikes, I may have some self-spending-analysis to do!
DRSD has hit it again, lol. As a 20-something metro, I definitely keep up with the styles (which includes being a San Diego Magazine subscriber), so I MAY have a few "unopened shopping bags" and clothing with tags on them in my closet.
PUT DR SAN DIEGO in SD MAGAZINE IN PRINT! I'd love to read longer articles by you Doc, but in the meantime, these are great. So far I haven't read a single blog that doesn't apply. And make me laugh.
I am huge shopper and like you, can’t stand to pay retail! I must admit I love the feeling of buying new things electronics, books, clothing, etc.
Dr. Blog keep up the great topics.
Alright, so I do love shopping, and I definitely feel a dopamine rush when I come home with a bunch of bags from different stores...
Blog-On, Dr. San Diego! Sounds like you may be one of "us" who loves to get a great deal on, say, a pair of Prada or Rock and Republic jeans? HAHAHA... Maybe not, in any event, you rock, and always have great topics for reading on my iPhone!
-NY2SD
Posted from my iPhone
as a fellow bargain hunter I appreciate your words of wisdom.
I will be reviewing my spending after reading this.
Thank you!
its nice to have a blog that legitimizes bargain hunting in this economy.
Thank you!
Hey Dr. M.: My closet has unopened shopping bags in it, my friends consider me a “shopaholic'" all of my life centers around buying things, I always buy things I don’t need, I always buy things I didn’t plan to buy, I consider myself an impulse shopper...but I always take 20 mg of Lexapro in the mall parking lot so I feel better. By the way, check out the sale rack at....well, I probably shouldn't mention any names, but did I get a beautiful shirt on sale this morning. I needed it like a hole in my head, but who cares...it was on sale. I need to go for a run to burn off the cheese cake I ate while at the mall. Love your article...keep 'em comin' Doc.
Boy, oh boy! That surely sounds like me! I love the call of the mall.
Whether it's an Insider Sale at Bloomingdales', the Half-Yearly at Nordstrom, or a Last Call at Neiman-Marcus, I am there. Do I nees the bargains that I buy - probably not, but I sure love the dopamine rush that I get!
Thank you Dr. SD for explaining the lure of the bargain!
yay! a bargain shopper like myself, i always love reading your blog, keep them coming dr san diego!!!
Dr san diego,
you did it again! I look forward to your blog every week, i am now a reformed full price shopper!!!
Guilty As Charged!! When I was a top salesperson at a media company, my Amex would top $5-7K a month in 'retail therapy'.
Albeit, I always bought the sale rack.... it still was a huge
amount. Today, as an unemployed person, I shop at garage sales,
resale, and best of all the half price day at the Salvation Army! I have come home with designer suits for $5. That, in of itself, stimulates me more than anything!! I love the art of the deal. My mom taught me this. When we were growing up, my father was a commissioned sales person, who also had a drinking issue,.... so we either had two Cadillac's and a maid, or no car at all. I love the art of the deal, and that treasure I may
find is worth all the effort. It's not shopping... it's treasure hunting! Yes, I am certain my classification would be
'shopaholic'... but thus far, I don't know of a 12 step group and frankly am not willing to Let go and Let God on this issue!~
I come home with a bag of goodies and spent $10. The dollar stores also are fun for 'therapy', especially if you know the items that retail for up to $35 that you walk out for a buck!
It's the greatest high ever~~ Thanks for the links to the other 'hunters'~