Fact or Fiction: Black Friday Edition
Halloween has come and gone, and Thanksgiving is approaching fast. With this, shopaholics are anxiously awaiting Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when stores offer big deals for early-bird shoppers. This “holiday” is notorious for bringing out the completive and vicious side of shoppers. Anything to get the deal, right? But are the deals really as great as advertised? Here is what I found:
1. Mark-ups: Stores actually mark up the prices, so when they discount items back to the original price for Black Friday, consumers think they are getting a deal.
What you can do: Prepare ahead of time for Black Friday. Make a list of what you want –which will also prevent frivolous spending- and keep an eye on the prices leading up to the sale. This will allow you to realize when a store is trying to trick you into thinking its a steal! Be a smarter consumer than the store anticipates.
2. BOGO BOGUS: Often stores will lure you to keep shopping by offering irresistible buy-one-get-one free or half off deals. This can lead the consumer to buying more stuff, which they originally hadn’t planned on purchasing, because the deal was just too good.
What you can do: Be faithful to your list! If you stay on track with what you need, you won’t be fooled by the so-called deals.
3. Advertising fear tactics: Black Friday is commonly thought to be the best day of the year to shop, because of all the deals. This, however, is not true. By instilling the fear that you will not be able to get something cheaper, motivates people to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to hit the stores. Other events like Cyber Monday, the Monday after Black Friday, offer similar if not identical deals online. Also, many times, the same deals people wait in line for are offered online on Black Friday. Same deals, but no lines, no crowds, and no hassle. Sometimes online deals are actually more attractive than in store.
What can you do: Once again, be a smart consumer. Do your research before you compulsively head to the mall.
Sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/fake-black-friday-dealsdeals/story?id=14981901#.UKG4jmk-t78
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/…