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French Days, Single Day, Prime Day, Black Friday, sales… it's simple, there are now shopping periods all year round. The promotions therefore never really stop and almost all the offers are not always really advantageous.
In reality, it is still possible to get good deals, but provided you have a minimum of knowledge to be able to spot real promotions and avoid scams. As Black Friday approaches, which returns on November 29, here are our tips for shopping smart and avoiding fake promotions.
Black Friday 2024: the main pitfalls to know and avoid
On the Web as in stores, there are certain traps that you must know how to avoid. Often directed by the distributors themselves who try to make you spend as much as possible by using the biases of human psychology, here are the dubious marketing methods and the most common scams.
1 – The (false) prices crossed out
A great shopping classic, just like the “.99 euros” prices, the crossed out price displayed by all resellers to highlight their promotions can be misleading. Indeed, resellers can display crossed-out prices that are well above the average price of the item in order to make the discount offered appear even more attractive (or simply interesting, because sometimes they are even false promotions).
© Capital
Following numerous deviations, the European Union legislated on the subject in 2022now forcing resellers to display in crossed out prices “ the lowest price charged during the last thirty days preceding the application of the price reduction “. However, these legal advances still do not prevent certain merchants from displaying prices above the market average. they simply need to use the method just below…
2 – The (sometimes random) origin of the products
Most e-commerce sites are marketplaces open to the four winds. You must therefore be careful about what you buy and where the products come from. For example, if you want to buy a smartphone or touchscreen tablet on a marketplace during Black Friday, make sure that the product comes from a warehouse located in France (or at least in the European Union). To do this, look at the information and reviews about the retailer putting the product into circulation.
© PIXABAY
When you purchase a product outside the European Union, you may be charged customs fees, which will delay delivery.
Additionally, this may cause compatibility issues. If you buy a Chinese smartphone for example, you risk network problems (Chinese 5G is not necessarily the same as French). An American product, for example, will probably be delivered with a non-compatible electrical outlet. Some products may also not fully meet European quality standards. Finally, think about the warranty which might not work if the product comes from far away.
3 – The (temporary) price increase before Black Friday
To make a promotion appear more attractive than it really is, some brands and retailers increase prices before major sales events like Black Friday.
The trick is quite simple: if the price displayed is high a few weeks before a promotion period, Internet users will more readily checkout once a reseller has applied their discount, thinking that they are getting a good deal, and this, even if the product was potentially cheaper two months before.
This method also works in the middle of shopping events. Some distributors will therefore make it appear that the reduction offer has ended by raising the price of the product before lowering it again a few days later. However, be aware that the Sales have a particularity that Black Friday does not have. Specifically regulated by law, this shopping event is the only one during which distributors have the right to sell products at a loss.
4 – Beware of phishing/phishing
Major promotional periods are often times of choice for scammers of all kinds. Whether by SMS, by email or on social networks, phishing campaigns (theft of personal data) often flourish when Internet users are quicker to draw their credit cards.
As indicated the website Cybermalveillance.gouv.frbefore entering your address, your credit card number or your password on a site “ Check the address displayed in your browser, […] never communicate sensitive information by email or telephone” and “contact the organization concerned directly if possible ».
© PIXABAY
So, if you receive an SMS from La Poste telling you that a package is on its way, go directly to the site with your tracking number rather than clicking on a potentially fraudulent link. As for the address, make sure if you buy on Darty for example that the URL starts with darty.com and not something.darty.com. Finally, always look at reviews before ordering from a website you are unfamiliar with.
Black Friday: our advice for finding the best deals
Fortunately, there are also some real good deals to be had during shopping events. To help you sort the wheat from the chaff, here are some simple tips that can greatly facilitate your bargain search.
1 – Always take the time to compare distributors
During Black Friday, it's often the first few days that we find the best deals, whether on computers, household appliances or home accessories. At least, the offers for the best products often arrive first.
Don't panic if you didn't click quickly enough, products in high demand often experience several promotional cycles. In addition, not all resellers necessarily lower the price of the same devices at the same time. Regularly search for the product that interests you, even if you have already missed THE good promotion.
Never assume that you know the price of a product and that you must rush to grab the first promotion that seems interesting to you. Always compare distributors with each other because on the Internet, the latter use algorithms which modify prices in real time to allow them to align with the competition, or even offer better. So take advantage of it. Note that certain tools can help you monitor price developments more closely, such as those just below.
2 – Use a price tracker
To avoid succumbing to a promotion that isn't really one, many software programs now offer the ability to track the prices of any product in order to inform you about price fluctuations. Thus, you will be able to see if a reseller has artificially inflated prices before Black Friday to display more interesting “promotions”, if a product regularly drops in price outside of the sale period, etc.
The best known of these services is undoubtedly Camelcamelcamelwhich allows you to see the entire price history of a product on Amazon by inserting the link in the search box. The site also offers an extension to install on Chrome or Firefox.
© Capital
The latter will allow you to see price fluctuations directly from an Amazon product page. The service also offers to send you an e-mail when a significant price drop is reported on a product. Other similar services offer the same type of tool. We can in particular cite Keep or the site an ideal.
3 – Read our shopping selections, guides and product tests
The deluge of promotions can make your head spin. So much so that we sometimes find ourselves with a whole bunch of products that we don't necessarily need in our basket. To avoid emptying your bank account with unnecessary products, make a list of the products you really need and stick to it.
Furthermore, if you don't know which headset to choose or if the iPhone 16 is worth it, don't hesitate to read our comparisons et nos tests. We also cover all the biggest shopping periods, during which our journalists sort the offers for you and select the best ones independently according to 2 main criteria: the quality of the product (our journalists know the market like the back of their hand) and the quality of the reduction (we follow price developments in many markets on a daily basis). Whether you are looking for the best smartphones at knockdown prices, the best robot vacuum cleaners or any other tech product, our guides are designed to help you make the best purchase at the best price.
Why trust us
Corentin Béchade is a journalist specializing in digital and new technologies. He went through the editorial process of the siteThe Digitals etNumerama,for whom he has tested more smartphones than a reasonable person will ever buy. He has also looked at more good deals than he wants to admit and has become passionate about covering high-tech news in the broad sense, navigating between product announcements, digital legislation and technological popularization.
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⋙ Live shopping: Carrefour, Fnac, Décathlon… why are all the brands doing it?
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