Are you a sucker or a savvy shopper?
Yes, Christmas is coming and here are SEVEN tips to prepare you for the December frenzy…
Black Friday, winter sales and Christmas shopping… are you ready for the looming retail madness? There will be bargains aplenty – but also clever traps laid by the retailers. Here are seven tips to help you spot them and get the most bang for your Christmas shopping buck.
AVOID IMPULSE BUYS IN SALES
If you buy something you don’t want or need just because it’s a ‘bargain’, ask yourself if it really is a bargain. Remember that you have the same rights in sales as any other time unless defects are clearly marked as such.
This means you can be offered one of the three Rs if a product is defective – refund, replacement or repair. Shops don’t have to do anything if you change your mind (unless you buy online – see below). But many stores have an exchange policy and will honour it as long as you have the receipt.
GO ONLINE FOR THE BEST DEALS
Online shopping can provide bargains at any time of year. Amazon scored very well on pricing in a recent major retail report by Which? magazine. You can also research prices online before you shop. Comparison sites such as PriceSpy.ie will compare products across hundreds of retailers.
When you buy online, there is another advantage over store shopping: you are entitled to a coolingoff period during which you can return the item, although you may have to pay for post and packaging.
USE DISCOUNT WEBSITES
Discount websites such as Groupon and Living Social can offer substantial discounts, so it is well worth keeping an eye out if you plan on buying a specific item. However, as with online bargains, leave plenty of time for delivery at this time of year.
DON’T LET THE SHOPS FOOL YOU
Beware of retailer advertising and pricing tricks. One such trick is ‘decoy pricing’, where a shop places a third more expensive option alongside two other comparable items.
Studies show that we will most likely go for the middle option, the ‘compromise’. But it may not offer the best value and often doesn’t, as shops exploit this bit of retail psychology to squeeze more money out of you. Also watch out for sales deals that use unrealistic RRPs (rec- ommended retail prices) for comparison purposes. Retailers can often manipulate them to make a discount seem bigger.
DON’T BE A BRAND SNOB
Dearer prices don’t necessarily mean better quality. Going with a less well-known brand can save you lots. Apple, for example, is rightly credited for its quality and innovation but is it really worth paying €1,300 for a phone?
Which? reveals that not only have some Android products caught up with Apple, they’ve actually surpassed them. Which? compared the iPhone XS with the Samsung Galaxy S9, and the iPhone XS Max with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.
In both cases, the Android Samsung phone won out due to its superior battery life. The Samsung models are also significantly cheaper.
Cheaper still is OnePlus, a Chinese brand that is beginning to make a big impact on the phones market. Which? rates the OnePlus 6 the best smartphone overall for less than half the price of an iPhone.
‘The latest processor, 6GB of Ram and a 2K bezel-less display for under €600 is some achievement,’ the consumer magazine concluded.
TIME YOUR PURCHASE
Plan ahead for buying big items such as household goods and furniture. If you can wait for the sales or Black Friday on November 23, you could snap up a bargain. But it depends on what you want. Which?’s shopping study found that Black Friday is the best time to buy televisions, speakers, headphones and electric toothbrushes.
However, vaccuum cleaners are cheaper in spring, while Fitbits are good value in summer due to seasonal promotions. Christmas sales are another opportunity for savings if you can wait an extra few days for Santa to arrive.
Beware of ‘hurry pricing’, though, rushing to buy in a ‘sale ends at midnight’ promotion only to find that another sale
BEWARE OF PRICY CREDIT
Some retailers charge so much for credit that they have to register as moneylenders. Yes, Oxendales, Jacamo and Simply Be, all licensed to charge up to 51%, I am looking at you. Littlewoods is also on the Central Bank’s moneylenders list, and can charge up to 43.7%. There’s only one thing to say to such Scrooge-like deals: Bah! Humbug!