Don't buy now. Wait and save

Once you start using a particular brand of income tax software you are pretty much locked in as a customer. After you install the current year's version of the software all of your previous year's figures are uploaded automatically and thus you save a ton of time re-entering figures etc.

In order to get the most up-to-date tax tables etc. you must register on the website of the software publisher. For the past 10 years I've been using tax software from Intuit. I know it and they know it.

I also have come to know that every year, towards the end of February, the software goes on sale in the local retail stores for about 25% off. And so I resist the questionable attractions of Intuit's November emails offering 10% off and free shipping. I know that if I wait until February I can save 25%.

So, why doesn't Intuit just sell me the software for the 25% off price from the start? I think there are two reasons.

1. Intuit depends on the "channel" for a large portion of the sales of its software (Quicken, Quickbooks etc.) and does not feel that it can risk seriously undercutting the retailers MSRP.
2. Why give a big discount when some of your customers may actually be motivated to buy if you offer 10% off and free shipping?

So, every year I get email from Intuit offering me a paltry discount, and every year I wait until the retailers offer me an even better price.

On the whole this is a highly illogical practice, but as long as Intuit and its retailers are willing to offer me a 25% discount, I'm willing to wait for a couple of months or so.

And since I don't my income tax forms from my banks and employers until the end of February, I can afford to wait until then to buy my software.