@tom_g
Nobody is giving away money for a year or more without interest.The retailer is paying interest in borrowed money or they are paying a fee to the company that is collecting the extended payments-they have to pay the manufacturer within 30 days, not a year or more, or they have been holding inventory which costs them money.
A shopper who pays for furniture over, say, a year with no interest is paying the interest someplace. It is clearly hidden in the price. Fair enough. But if I pay the same price, and I pay today, without extending over time, then I am paying the hidden interest cost, even though I am not using the money over time. That means the retailer is getting just a little bit extra on my purchase, since there is no fee paid to the debt collector, or interest on their purchase from manufacturer. The point is there is no such thing as free money. Money paid over time carries interest. So my question is as stated. If I pay “up front” my cost should be lower than the people who take a year or more to pay the money back. But it isn’t, unless I haggle, and that works sometimes, but often enough it does not in the furniture store.
Just wondering since I am not an experienced furniture buyer.