In this smart, engaging book, Lee Eisenberg, best-selling author of The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think about the Rest of Your Life, leads us on a provocative and entertaining tour of America's love/hate affair with shopping, a pursuit that, even in hard times, remains a true national pastime. Why do we shop and buy the way we do? In a work that will explain much about the American character, Eisenberg chronicles the dynamics of selling and buying from almost every angle. Neither a cheerleader for consumption nor an anti-consumerist scold, he explores with boundless curiosity the vast machinery aimed at inducing us to purchase everything from hair mousse to a little black dress. He leads us, with understated humor, into the broad universe of marketing, retailing, advertising, and consumer and scientific research--an arsenal of powerful forces that combine to form what he calls "The Sell Side." Through the rest of the book, Eisenberg leads us through the "Buy Side" -- a journey directly into our own hearts and minds, asking among other questions: What are we really looking for when we buy? Why are we alternately excited, guilt-ridden, satisfied, disappointed, and recklessly impulsive? What are our biases, need for status, impulses to self-express, that lead us individually to buy what we buy? Are you a classic buyer (your head wants to do the right thing), or a romantic buyer (your heart just wants to have fun)? How do men and women differ in their attitudes towards shopping, and does the old cliche -- "Women shop, men buy" -- apply any longer? Of special interest are the author's findings on the subject of What Makes a Good Buy? We all purchase things that we sooner or later regret, but what are the guidelines for making purchases that we'll never regret? What, for instance, defines the perfect gift? Brimming with wit and surprise, Shoptimism will be delightful and instructive reading for anyone with a credit card and a healthy curiosity about American culture, through good times and bad. For here, in one vivid journey, is a memorable, panoramic portrait of our everyday self-delusions, desires, and dreams.

In this smart, engaging book, Lee Eisenberg, best-selling author of The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think about the Rest of Your Life, leads us on a provocative and entertaining tour of America's love/hate affair with shopping, a pursuit that, even in hard times, remains a true national pastime. Why do we shop and buy the way we do? In a work that will explain much about the American character, Eisenberg chronicles the dynamics of selling and buying from almost every angle. Neither a cheerleader for consumption nor an anti-consumerist scold, he explores with boundless curiosity the vast machinery aimed at inducing us to purchase everything from hair mousse to a little black dress. He leads us, with understated humor, into the broad universe of marketing, retailing, advertising, and consumer and scientific research--an arsenal of powerful forces that combine to form what he calls "The Sell Side." Through the rest of the book, Eisenberg leads us through the "Buy Side" -- a journey directly into our own hearts and minds, asking among other questions: What are we really looking for when we buy? Why are we alternately excited, guilt-ridden, satisfied, disappointed, and recklessly impulsive? What are our biases, need for status, impulses to self-express, that lead us individually to buy what we buy? Are you a classic buyer (your head wants to do the right thing), or a romantic buyer (your heart just wants to have fun)? How do men and women differ in their attitudes towards shopping, and does the old cliche -- "Women shop, men buy" -- apply any longer? Of special interest are the author's findings on the subject of What Makes a Good Buy? We all purchase things that we sooner or later regret, but what are the guidelines for making purchases that we'll never regret? What, for instance, defines the perfect gift? Brimming with wit and surprise, Shoptimism will be delightful and instructive reading for anyone with a credit card and a healthy curiosity about American culture, through good times and bad. For here, in one vivid journey, is a memorable, panoramic portrait of our everyday self-delusions, desires, and dreams.

Ka-ching! Ever stop to think how our modern-day shopping culture came to be? In the early 1800s, stores were few and far between in the United States. General stores supplied everything from fabric and flour to handsaws and clocks. As the country grew, mail-order catalogs arrived at homes across the country, Mom and Pop specialty shops sprang up along Main Street, and later, shopping malls and big box megastores thrived in the suburbs. Then online shopping arrived via the Internet and changed the consumer experience yet again! Buying behaviors also changed over time. For example, did you know you could barter for a pound of sugar at a general store in the early 1800s? Or that department stores in the 1900s added restrooms and ladies lounges to encourage women to shop all day long? Or that online shopping in the twenty-first century is a multibillion-dollar industry? Spending Spree takes readers on an amazing journey from farmlands to cyberspace to learn about the evolution of shopping in the United States.

Almost half of everything sold in America is listed at some kind of promotional price. People don't only want a deep discount, they expect it - and won't settle for anything less. In this playful, deeply researched book, journalist Mark Ellwood takes a trip into this new landscape. From the floor of upscale department store Sergdorf Goodman to the bustling aisles of a Turkish bazaar, from the outlet Disneyworld of rural Pennsylvania to a town in Florida that can claim to be couponing's spiritual capital, Ellwood shows how some people are, quite literally, born to be bargain junkies thanks to a quirk of their DNA. He also uncovers the dark side of discounting: the sales-driven sleights of hand that sellers employ to hoodwink unsuspecting buyers. Bargain Feveris a manual for thriving in this new era, when deal hunting has gone from being a sign of indigence to one of intelligence. There's never been a better time to be a buyer - at least if you know how the game works. 'This book is a bargain hunter's bible.' Michael Tonello, author of Bringing Home the Birkin'Bargain Fever is just as fierce, funny, tenacious, and tantalizing as its author. I love this book.' Kelly Cutrone, founder, People's Revolution, and author of Normal Gets You Nowhere'A book after my own heart. Bargain Fever lifts the veils off the sales, ensuring even more that you'll never pay retail again.' Carmen Wong Ulrich, financial contributor, CBS This Morning, and author of Generation Debt'Highly informative and entertaining.' Booklist

A witty, gracious, and charmingly illustrated anti-consumer manifesto Like most people, Sarah Lazarovic covets beautiful things. But rather than giving in to her impulse to spend and acquire, Sarah spent a year painting the objects she wanted to buy instead. Based on a visual essay that was first published on The Hairpin, A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy is a beautiful and witty take on the growing “slow shopping” movement. Sarah is a well-known blogger and illustrator, and she writes brilliantly without preaching or guilt-tripping. Whether she’s trying to justify the purchase of yet another particleboard IKEA home furnishing, debating the pros and cons of leg warmers or calculating the per-day usage cost of big-ticket items, Sarah’s poignant musings will resonate with any reader who’s ever been susceptible to an impulse buy.

From AdBusters to viral marketing, this brief dictionary of ideas and concepts contains over 100 extended, illuminating entries to bring the novice up to speed on the advertising/marketing world and the ideas that underlie it. For the neophyte professional, it describes the various players and strategies of the industry. For the student, it summarizes the key ideas of the most important cultural theorists introduced in advertising and marketing courses. For everyone, it helps explain the cultural, economic, and psychological role that advertising concepts play in society. A handy introduction for students and a quick reference for young professionals.