Black Friday shopping is around the corner. As early as mid-October, stores are notorious for the previews of their Black Friday Shopping offers so that you, the customer, can start planning (and budgeting) ahead of time.
As an added bonus, Black Friday shopping can also be done online, whether on the day itself, or the Monday after during “Cyber Monday.” Either way, you will always have the chance to finally see that coveted item you have always wish you could buy, at a more reasonable price.
Watch out for items!
Yes! Black Friday is a wonderful opportunity for shoppers to get cheaper items. However, it is also a prime chance for sellers to push out of the shelves the items that are not selling quickly enough. For this reason, have a list ready with your specifications and data PRIOR to looking at mere pictures of items, and this way you will save a lot of time and money.
1. Netbooks and Tablets – Black Friday is the perfect time to get electronics, particularly those netbooks and tablets that we all could use. However, a myriad of different countries has managed to create knock-off versions of other knock off versions of the same products. The complaints are usually the same:
• The product is slow in browsing and loading.
• It does not recognize network passwords or fails to recognize them the second time around.
• WiFi is not working.
• The product is not compatible with other applications
• The product does not update
All of these complaints occur over and over, each and every Black Friday of every year.
Solution: Research NOW for what you need to get, write down the specifications that go with your network servers, and make sure that you read reviews prior to wasting your money on something that will not work. Also, list the brand names that are trustworthy in the market. Price does not always dictate quality, but sometimes “cheap is cheap” for a reason.
2. Television sets – TVs are always a hot item to buy on Black Friday. The problem is that customers get carried away by the large sizes of the screens, versus the low offering prices, and miss out completely on the specifications of the TV. The typical complaints concerning TVs after the Black Friday shopping furor is over are the following:
• The TV image is of low quality.
• The sound on the TV is bad.
• The built-in Wi-Fi does not recognize the home’s network.
• The TV is slow in detecting networks, or loading streaming channels.
These are complaints that occur when the size matters more than the viewing quality. We all love large-screen TVs. Still, what is a large screen worth if there is a bad image?
Solution: Go to sites such as CNET and check out the latest reviews on TVs. Also, be on the lookout on what will be offered during Black Friday and, at least, be aware of what not to get, even if the price for the screen sounds like a dream come true.
3. Items on Auctions – Oh, what time it is to embellish the truth about sales items on personal auction sites! During Black Friday shopping, our senses are heightened. It is a competition out there to see who gets the most for less. We are looking everywhere for the ideal item. What do we forget to do? We forget to pay attention to the fine print!
Auction sites are rife with people who want to make a quick buck during the hectic shopping season. They are willing to do anything, and say anything, even if they face the sanctions of the auctioning website afterward. Watch out for the following words when you choose to go on auctions:
• As is
• Refurbished
• Gently used
• Parts-only
• Re-purposed
Also, look at the country where the auction originates. If you are buying a product from a foreign country, chances are that it may or may not work in the USA. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to exchange or make a claim when some sellers are far enough to get lost from tracking.
It is your money. Spend it wisely. Shop safely by researching before you open your wallet!