I recently saw an advertisement on TV for Fingerhut, and how you now can get ALL the gifts you want at a low price. This intrigued me considering I love a good deal. However, what I found was another Rent to Own Money Sucking Deal. All of these Payment Based Shopping Sites are terrible financial decisions. They lure you in with promises of savings and deals, but in the end you are stuck in a wormhole of debt.
Why Fingerhut is a
bad idea:
- Items listed on Fingerhut are brand name goods, From Household items to high End Electronics. However, the pricing is highly inflated. I took a sample of 20 items I considered key Christmas gifts and compared FingerHut pricing to Amazon. On average, Fingerhut items are 14% more expensive than Amazon. (Shipping and Handling not accounted for)
- Fingerhut is just another Credit Agency that happens to sell goods. Their "low payment" options are backed by high interest rates around 25%.
For
Example: A Keurig Coffee Brewer is listed at $140.00 with 15 payments. Using Finderhut payment plan this coffee
maker will minimally cost you $157.34.
(Whereas buying at Target it is $109.00).
- Shipping Costs may be rolled into Final Finance Price, which means you will be paying Finance Charges on shipping. Fingerhut has a tiny link at the bottom of the page that shows the true cost of ownership based on product prices. After a 5 min search I was able to find that the $139.99 Keurig would eventually cost between $157 - $300.00!!! (see Table below)
- Fingerhut likes to pride itself that it can help build Credit with the Fresh Start Program. First off, if you have a terrible credit score, its most likely because you were not able to repay loans..so why are you continuing to borrow money?? You should never try to get a better credit score by increasing your debt. Payoff what current debt you have, and continue to pay all other bills (cell, electric, etc ) on time.
Example
of how Buying a Keurig via Fingerhut can hurt financially.
