Holiday Shopping Deals: TV Sales and Home and Your Home Card

With most people earning south of $500 a month it is naturally difficult for them to afford high quality gadgets. Even if you earn a good salary you might want to be in touch with your frugal self this holiday if you are to avoid the scourge that is January disease. You do not want to spent a miserable January frantically calling relatives( some of whom you haven’t spoken to in a while) asking for a loan. On the other-hand you might not want to be miserly and banish the holiday spirit away from your home either. I think if you are looking for home gadgets and other electronics you are best advised to look to shops that offer good old Hire Purchase. One of the most reputable shop that offers credit is TV Sales & Home.

The group has got branches in Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare, Marondera, Chinhoyi, Karoi, Kadoma, Kwekwe, Hwange and Gweru which makes it accessible to most folks in the country. Despite their name they sell more than just T.V.s. They offer a varied range of products including smartphones, digital cameras, HiFi systems, BluRay DVD players, LCD T.V.s and other home electronic products. Like most local businesses some of their prices have gone up in anticipation of holiday sales, but a good number of items is still reasonably priced- in Zimbabwean terms.

Unlike with most credit stores that limit themselves to civil servants this shop allows almost anyone- employed or self-employed- to open an account with them provided they have a proof of income-they even allow foreigners to open an account. A more complete list of their requirements is available here. Once you have submitted your application the vetting process usually takes about 48 hours. The company offers direct credit on specific items in the store but they also have a “credit card” that they have branded Your Home card. This card offers a revolving credit that allows you to purchase items from the TV Sales & Home stores around the country on credit.  This would have been more useful had the company not rigidly set the credit limit of the card at $300.

Calculating the interest rate.

Although some of the products require 0% deposit you still have to pay interest on the offered credit. If you have other credit alternatives you might want to decide whether it is worthwhile use their credit facility or not. To do so you need to calculate the rate of interest for the product you want to buy. You can use the following formula:

(Credit Price-Cash Price)/Cash Price x100.

The Credit Price=Deposit+Credit Period( Installments)

Example.

TV Sales & Home is selling a Sony 42″ LCD T.V. for the Cash price of $1 899.00

The required Deposit on the same T.V. is $570 followed by 12 month installments of $167.

So the Credit Price=570+12(167)=$2 574

The effective interest rate is=(2 574-1 899)/1 899×100

35.55%

Deciding

If you could say, get a similar loan from your bank at a lower interest rate then you should consider getting the loan from the bank instead for two reasons:

• The interest rate from you bank is lower.
• You are not bound to this store but can instead buy from a store of your choice and possibly get a greater bargain.

Evaluation

PROS

• The group has branches nationwide which means easy access to the customer.
• Electronic products come with a 12 months warranty. Unlike with those dingy shops downtown with tersely worded “No returns policy” notes in the back.
• Offers credit to almost everyone including the self-employed.
• Free delivery of goods within the 25 km radius.
• The Your Home Card allows customers to buy small items without going through the vetting process each time.

Cons.

• You have to pay a higher price price than the cash price.
• A limited selection of gadgets: you would be hard pressed to find a laptop on their shelves.
• The Your Home Card credit limit of $300 is a bit low and too rigidly set. They should change it from customer to customer.

Happy shopping folks.