AJ stands for Andrew Jackson, our 7th president. His reputation for toughness earned him the nickname "Old Hickory." A hero of the War of 1812, Jackson has appeared on the $20 bill since 1928.

Save yourself $40—do some comparison shopping.

You've been saving for months for a 16GB iPod Nano. Your discipline has been heroic. No fast food. No video arcade. No reckless spending of any kind. At last, you're ready to buy.

First, take $40 from your savings and feed it into a paper shredder.

Wait...What?!?

Do some comparison shopping

You'll throw money away if you don't comparison shop. I did, and in less than five minutes of searching online, I found a 16GB iPod Nano for $204.95.

A few clicks later, I found the exact same iPod for $189. And shortly after that, I found one for $149.00.

So what's the deal? Why are the prices so different?

The man in the middle

Why would one middleman charge more than another?Why Charge More?

Why would one middleman charge more than another for the same iPod?

• Convenience: A middleman with many locations has many more bills to pay. You might help pay those bills by paying more for his wares.
• Name recognition: Sometimes the very fact that a middleman is 'well-known' allows it to charge a higher price. If buyers recognize and trust the name, they might pay more for the quality it suggests.
• Less buying power: Not all middlemen negotiate the same prices from the manufacturer. Suppose I buy soda from the manufacturer at 20 cents a can. You buy it at 16 cents a can. Which of us can sell soda at a cheaper price?

Close

You can find the same brands of soda at many different stores, but the prices aren’t necessarily the same. The difference is the middleman's profit.

There's no rule that says a store owner has to charge the same as everyone else.

A store is a middleman, or a go-between. The store buys from the manufacturer (in the case of soda, the bottling plant) and sells to the final buyer (you).

The middleman usually buys in large quantities at a discount. Then the middleman sells the product for more than he paid for it.

What's a teenager supposed you do? Meet Alex, 12...

Midwest Community FCU What makes credit unions so great? Members like you. Every dollar you invest in your credit union earns you money while other members borrow it. When you're ready for a loan, other members' savings will be there to help you out at the lowest possible cost.