Pressure Selling

“Pressure selling is an age-old technique for getting people to sign on the dotted line before they’ve had a chance to think about it,” says Jasmine. “But buying online is so easy and quick, it’s easier for sellers to dupe us into buying something that we probably wouldn’t do so readily if we were in a shop.” Common tactics include warnings that stock is low (“only 2 left!”); that lots of people “are looking at the same product right now”, or that the item you’re interested in is only available for a limited time. ◆ Always check at least two sites before buying anything.

◆ Think carefully before you click Pay. Why not check the offer with a family member or sleep on it and come back tomorrow?

◆ Don’t accept “all cookies” when visiting websites. Browse in “Incognito” or “Private Browsing” mode (if you’re using Chrome, for instance, tap the three vertical dots in the top right-hand corner and select New Incognito Window from the list). This means the history of the websites you have visited and the items you have searched for are erased as soon as you close the browser window and you don’t receive targeted adverts.

◆ Remember, all retailers have mu ultiple sales a year.