Festive prices

By Jason Moore, NOW I know that times are hard on the high street but they are also hard for all of us. I have noticed some rather smart practices by Palma stores over this festive period. I bought one Christmas present at a leading Palma store for 90 euros only to discover that two weeks later it had been reduced to just 60 euros. Now, this was not just an isolated case. Stores appear to have slashed their prices in the days before Christmas only to gingerly increase them again for Three Kings. Prices will be reduced once again today as the winter sales get underway. Now this is obviously smart practice and it shouldn´t really be allowed. We are all feeling the financial pinch at the moment. On the mainland the winter sales start just after New Year and still in time for Three Kings. Now, this is rather nice and will probably mean that you end up spending more because of the discounted prices. But not in the Balearics. Government legislation says that the shop sales must start after Three Kings. Many families who are struggling financially would have loved to have discovered that their gifts were 20 percent cheaper. But not in the Balearics. If the government wants to legislate to protect the consumer then it might ensure that there were no big changes in prices over the festive period. The sales will start today will have bargains galore with discounts of up to 50 percent. It is just a shame that these discounts were not available earlier.