Amazon.com will be adding the Bill Me Later payment feature to their Web site and this strategy is fueling some chatter on retail sites.

Bill Me Later is not a new concept. Remember Wimpy's "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today," from the old Popeye cartoons? Some folks are likening it to layaway but the difference I see is that Amazon is shipping the goods not holding your purchase while you pay over time.

It begs the question- is credit too available to the average consumer? Record credit card defalts... sub-prime mortgage issues... increasing foreclosures. It seems to me companies get in trouble when they give credit to folks who weren't a good risk to begin with. There's also the individual's accountability these days it doesn't measure up the same to the WW II generation.

And now we are also faced with defaults by people who were good credit risks and responsible consumers who face a catastrophic life change (flood, job loss, illness with no heath insurance) and find they are having difficulty paying their bills.

it used to be that we paid over time for items that were too big of a cash outlay to make on one check: houses, appliances, cards, educations. Now we can pretty much buy any item on credit and I am willing to bet it is the sum total of all these little purchases- children's meals, the latest hair products, coffees,  that are catching up with the American consumer.

Since for the most part scrapbook retailers sell small items (as compared to a car or fridge) maybe we should go the opposite direction. Instead of extending credit over months, maybe we should offer a discount for cash!

Remember cash? It comes in jaunty green bills and shiny coins.

Or, instead of giving the cash back-track it as a store credit...  I'm not an accountant- so don't consider this financial advice but this seems to be a way for customers to feel good about their purchases. Maybe it will bring them back into the store when they don't have as much to spend the next time.

What do you think? Could it work? How would you do it? Respond to this blog entry. We'd like to hear from you!-- Beth