Remarkably, retailers are falling over themselves to cut prices for items such as compact discs, furniture, home appliances, automobiles and antiques, none of which are subject to seasonal fluctuations. And prices for gold, real estate and land, normally much sought after as a hedge against inflation, have not only failed to rise rapidly, some are actually falling at an astonishing rate.
更值得注意的是，像雷射唱片、傢具、家電、汽車、古董……，都和「換季」無關，竟也紛紛打折促銷；而以往有通貨膨脹之虞時，最常被用以保值的黃金、房屋與土地，價格不但沒怎麼漲，有的反而跌幅驚人。