Even if the offers linked to the event have already started, officially, Black Friday will be November 29, 2024. With discounts that are multiplying and various commercial artifices that encourage hasty purchases, it can be easy to be fooled . Here are five mistakes to avoid.
Biased reductions
To attract maximum attention, merchants do not hesitate to display big promotions, sometimes going up to -80%, if not more. However, to justify such a price reduction, it must be effective on a reference price. This is where the deception comes from. Some resellers in fact inflate the base price to make the reduction appear greater.
To do this, they can, for example, base themselves on the initial recommended selling price at the time the product is released, and not on the price generally observed in the days or weeks preceding Black Friday. Thus, you can find a product displayed at half its price when the real reduction is only 20 or 30%. To avoid this trap, the ideal is not to rush and check the prices offered for the product in question on sites like Google Shopping or Idealo.
Forget customs fees
If you are ordering a product sold and shipped within the European Union, this point does not concern you. However, if you are tempted by a product offered at a knockdown price from a reseller based outside the EU, such as in China, India, Russia or the United States, this detail could well change everything. Indeed, if your order is shipped outside the EU, it will have to go through customs…
Which means you may have to pay customs fees. However, as our guide on calculating these customs fees shows, they can be high, up to doubling the initial price of the purchase. Suffice it to say that the initial good deal turns into a bad deal upon arrival.
Neglecting product differences between countries
We sometimes tend to forget this, but certain products have certain specificities depending on the country in which they are sold. Particular attention must be paid to computer and electronic products. Indeed, depending on the country, certain elements may differ, such as the positioning of keyboard keys or the power outlet. This is without taking into account the possibility of ending up with a product whose instructions are not localized in French, when it is not a device which does not support the language of Molière.
Likewise, products sold in the EU meet standards which are not necessarily identical in other countries. If you are in doubt, it is best to seek advice from the seller and ensure that the item you are purchasing is shipped from a warehouse based in Europe. This will also prevent you from having to deal with the customs fees mentioned a few lines above.
Order from a fake site
An email or SMS received, a promotional campaign seen on a social network… Sometimes, we see an offer that seems very attractive and, in haste, we click, hoping not to miss out on the great deal. However, the offer was perhaps too good to be true and we were redirected to a fraudulent site. The latter can even take on the appearance and codes of famous resellers. We were talking to you about it again a few days ago in this alert about the proliferation of fake sites.
Instead of taking advantage of a great promotion, you find yourself providing hackers with your sensitive data, or even your banking details. Distrust is therefore required when using an external link. You must ensure that said link is indeed that of the desired entity. Some usurp some of the names. To make sure the promotion is legitimate, it’s best to go through the retailer’s search browser or app. This way, you will have the assurance that you are in the right place and you will be able to check if the offer exists.
In any case, be wary of promotions that seem too attractive and of all indicators that push you to act in haste. Countdown in time, number of items remaining, alert signals, etc. are just as many factors that should be taken into account. Likewise, be wary of “.top”, “.shop”, “.store” or “.vip” domain names.
Over budget
It may seem obvious, but spending more than necessary can quickly put a dent in your monthly budget, or even your savings. It is therefore essential to plan the budget allocated to purchases related to Black Friday. With all the promotions stacking up, you can quickly be tempted to make multiple purchases without necessarily calculating everything at the time. When payments are deducted from our account, the return to reality can be brutal.
To avoid this trap, we can only advise you to plan the maximum amount to spend and deduct each purchase made. You will be able to monitor the remaining budget in real time. As promotions encourage unnecessary purchases, do not hesitate to evaluate each potential purchase in relation to your needs and not according to the savings potentially made.
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