Old new, layaway online at Kmart
Filed under: Shopping
It's not quite an official holiday -- heck, it's not even a Hallmark holiday -- but Kmart has declared this National Layaway Week. And while layaway can make a meaningful difference, particularly when budgeting for holiday gifts, don't forget you'll be paying for the privilege.Kmart made news last year when it revived its layaway program and sister store, Sears, quickly followed suit. Now, both Kmart and Sears are extending the program to online shoppers, bringing a decidedly old practice to the newer medium.
The whole process is really pretty simple. Plug in your zip code to find a store near you offering the program (not all are) and select your items. Once you've registered and selected payment type, that store puts aside your items and online payments can be made every two weeks. Paid up items are then collected at the store.
But like many good things in life, layaway isn't free. Kmart and Sears charge a $5 fee for each item and requires a down payment of $15 or 10%, whichever is greater.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-07-2009 @ 10:49PM
K. Carter said...
Kmart, actually never stopped having layaway. It wasn't revived last year. Its always been there.Yeah!!!!!
Reply
10-07-2009 @ 11:22PM
hi said...
this could help.
I read that Wal-Mart is planning on being more aggressive toward stomping out competition, and because of that, intend to boycott Wal-Mart.
Reply
10-07-2009 @ 11:52PM
Kathryn said...
I heard a rumor that Wal-mart was going to bring back lay-a-way. I sent the powers that be @ Wal-mart asking if this were true. They sent me a rather lengthy email stating that their prices are so good, there is no need to have lay-a-way. They said that lay-a-way was a loss of money for them, so they would not be bringing it back, ever. Okay...guess I'll be shopping at K-mart and Sears from now on. Single parents without child support, in this economy, cannot afford to buy school clothes, let alone Christmas and Birthday gifts without lay-a-way! Sorry, Wal-mart! Your out! ;-)
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10-19-2009 @ 5:48PM
Dyan said...
Thank you for that comment as I now will not shop Walmart for the holidays. I am not a single parent, however in these ecconomic hard times we all need a little help affording the holidays even at walmart. Walmart's price are fairly good most of the time, however, if you are buying for several kids it's impossible to afford everything all at once and layway is a great way to know that your child will get the Toy they want from "Santa" and not have to wait to till you can afford it then low and behold, they are out! I am passing your comment along to all my friends, email buddies and even on facebook because I think people should know what kind of company that they are dealing with. Thank you!
10-08-2009 @ 1:32AM
Julie Smith said...
The article is incorrect; there is not a $5.00 fee PER ITEM, there is a one-time $5 layaway fee.
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10-08-2009 @ 1:34AM
lisa said...
I shop at kmart because of the layaway plan and I just like kmart walmart made a big mistake doing away with layaways there prices are not that great that an average working person can just take of holiday shopping like it is no big deal people are having to watch every penny and I really wonder what walmart thinks the average working people w/ families should do ? with out the little people where would walmart be? go kmart thinking of the average people.
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10-08-2009 @ 2:23AM
john said...
I agree Kmart at least in my area has always had layaway and they charge a $5.00 fee and require 10% down. and I can pay down my balance every payday within 2 months I have my items. I use it for any big purchases like christmas shopping school shopping etc. I have 0% credit card debt. and many times Items that are a hot seller are sold out mine is safely in layaway. you should always ask if something goes on sale while in layaway they usually give me the sale price. Wal mart has layaway on jewlery as they are trying to sell bigger ticket items in that dept. Wal-mart discontinued layaway as soon as they entered the credit card scam. they felt it was more profitable to issue credit cards at 28% interest then to use the layaway program!!
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10-08-2009 @ 5:57AM
bigdaddy said...
Lets see k mart I went in to that store and found 3 items that would have cost me a total of 26.5% less at wal-mart. The Stores are old and dirty. They don't have hardly any employs on duty most days. So any body who likes K marts must be living in the dark ages yet. The only good thing about K mart is that you are not fighting people going down lanes. Because most days you may only find 25 people tops at a time in the stores.
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10-16-2009 @ 12:56PM
SUSAN said...
YOU SAID IT BIGDADDY!!!!! NOT ONLY THAT REGUARDING THEIR ON LINE LAWAWAY PROGRAM CHARGING $5.00 PER ITEM THEY ARE NUTS!!!!!
10-26-2009 @ 7:11AM
Lisa Jakub said...
Our KMart is newer and very nice! As the other's have said they have always had lay-a-way. As far as saving at WalMart, well I don't know about your KMart, but at ours, if you go to customer service with a WalMart ad or tell them that W.M. has the item cheaper, they will verify it and give it to you for the same price.
Just ask next time you go in, maybe your's will do the same.
Our K.M. is much more reasonable on just about everything than our W.M. since they built their million(+) dollar super store. Their prices went thru the roof!
10-24-2009 @ 2:39AM
Geogee said...
Don't fall for the banana in the tailpipe by paying for a layaway with a credit card, especially one issued by the merchant holding the layaway.
I suspect this is a hidden pitfall with the implementation of online layaway that consumers should be wary of. Paying with a credit card with a high interest rate.
Online layaway is a convenience mechanism vs going into the the brick and mortar unit. Convenience always comes at a price and for those that are taking the layaway route to avoid using credit cards, or maybe just savvy enough to see it as a means to divert the attached rates and fees with spending someone else's money this is something they would be wise to consider.
Don't use credit cards to pay out a layaway.
http://geogee.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/the-resurrection-of-layaway/
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10-26-2009 @ 7:23AM
Lisa said...
The Lay-A-Way contract charge is $5. There is not a charge per item. The article is incorrect, I just checked.
You don't have to use a credit card, you can use your debit card and pay cash directly through your bank and not have any service fees or interests charges.
I think it's great that KMart is still in business and working hard to allow people to have nice things at a low cost. Some people cannot afford to spend an entire paycheck in one visit, but can put something more expensive; say a T.V., in layaway and take a few paychecks with no interest to pay for it.
Way to go Kmart!
Sincerely,
Loyal Customer
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10-26-2009 @ 4:26PM
RichfromFL said...
What is the benefit of layaway? Can't you just save your money then make a purchase. There is no need for it...its just discipline. I have a trust account for my kids and we withdraw a portion of what we put in for christmas. Am I missing anything???
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11-04-2009 @ 10:51AM
Mary said...
no, RichfromFL, you just have more discipline than most of us who are living paycheck to paycheck and obviously have more money too.
11-08-2009 @ 8:41AM
Mocatmo said...
If your child wants one of the more popular toys, you can't wait until you save the money, not everything is available later in the Christmas shopping season. If you have two or three kids to buy for and you don't want to use credit, layaway is a great option. The only difference between layaway and buying on credit is when you take the items home. Personally, I think $5 for all layaway purchases is a very reasonable fee for K-Mart to track and store the items. If you charge purchases on credit cards in Oct or Nov, you'll pay a lot more in interest than that. Layaway is a smart choice for anyone.