Black Friday started off as a US thing in the run up to Thanksgiving. As usual, it has now crossed the big wide pond to the UK, and it seems like it's been here forever. Hate it or love it, you can hide away from the fact that it's happening.
Before I go any further, a word to the wise - make sure you follow the golden rules of buying stuff that is advertised as on sale or discounted. Over here in the UK we have a wonderful organisation called "WHICH" who act on behalf of consumers by reviewing everything from bank accounts to washing machines etc. Their latest report points out that what may seem a good deal during the 'Black Friday' event are not always so.
Retailers are out to make money and if they can get away with something, they will. So, the legal requirements to be able to say something is on sale or discounted vary from country to country and no doubt from State to State in some places. An item may even have been cheaper earlier than it now is at the so-called discounted price. As long as it was at a higher price at some point, the retailer gets away with it. So, be sure to check prices elsewhere and make sure the 'deal' you are being offered is actually a deal. WHICH actually found that around 60% of deals were actually cheaper earlier in the year.
Their advice is to follow some simple rules:
The key though is be sceptical and don't just accept what is offered as a deal until you have done some checking. If you have then start with the big retailers such as Amazon, eBay, John Lewis etc. Once you have identified what looks to be a good deal, check online for what other retailers are selling the item at. You can do this whilst in store by using your smartphone. If you are online at home checking the website, even better.
Also, be sure to check your local small retailers (who aren't part of a chain) as they may have good offers available for the item you are interested in. If they have a website it's even easier to do this. Small retailers can't compete with the larger ones but sometimes they will have bigger discounts on some items as they need cash flow more than the big retailers do. Sometimes they match the price but offer a better warranty or free installation for white goods such as cookers and refrigerators.
Recommendation: If you are having problems with wi-fi in your home in that there are places around the home just don't get a reliable wi-fi. maybe you have tried various solutions without success. Well, I had this problem too and over the years have spent plenty of money on solutions that didn't live up to expectations. recently however I found a solution that has literally banished dead spots around our home! Its the BT Whole Home Wi-fi. I bought the 3-pack but if your apartment/home is smaller than our 3 -bedroomed you might find that the 2-pack will suffice. I can recommend it as the best solution around. It even got the top-rating in a review. The review came out after I bought the product so it was reassuring to know I'd made the right choice. If you are interested please click on either of the images on the top right.
So good luck and I hope you find a real bargain! BTW if you feel like helping me out at no cost to yourself please click on the banner below to start your search online at Amazon.
Before I go any further, a word to the wise - make sure you follow the golden rules of buying stuff that is advertised as on sale or discounted. Over here in the UK we have a wonderful organisation called "WHICH" who act on behalf of consumers by reviewing everything from bank accounts to washing machines etc. Their latest report points out that what may seem a good deal during the 'Black Friday' event are not always so.
Retailers are out to make money and if they can get away with something, they will. So, the legal requirements to be able to say something is on sale or discounted vary from country to country and no doubt from State to State in some places. An item may even have been cheaper earlier than it now is at the so-called discounted price. As long as it was at a higher price at some point, the retailer gets away with it. So, be sure to check prices elsewhere and make sure the 'deal' you are being offered is actually a deal. WHICH actually found that around 60% of deals were actually cheaper earlier in the year.
Their advice is to follow some simple rules:
- As already said, check online for competitors prices. Just because an item is discounted on one retailer doesn't mean its not available elsewhere at a cheaper price.
- Read the small print whether on the 'Sale' notice in a store or online (usually tucked away in the Terms & Conditions!
- Check whether the Recommended Retail Price is correct. You should check the RRP on the retailer's site (or in store) is the same as the manufacturer's. Not all have a RRP for their products but if they do and it's different from the what the retailer says then their figures for the amount of discount/saving is wrong and might even infringe the law!
- Mistakes happen so if unsure about the stated discount do follow the 3 steps above to reduce the risk that you are buying an item that has mistakenly been priced incorrectly.
The key though is be sceptical and don't just accept what is offered as a deal until you have done some checking. If you have then start with the big retailers such as Amazon, eBay, John Lewis etc. Once you have identified what looks to be a good deal, check online for what other retailers are selling the item at. You can do this whilst in store by using your smartphone. If you are online at home checking the website, even better.
Also, be sure to check your local small retailers (who aren't part of a chain) as they may have good offers available for the item you are interested in. If they have a website it's even easier to do this. Small retailers can't compete with the larger ones but sometimes they will have bigger discounts on some items as they need cash flow more than the big retailers do. Sometimes they match the price but offer a better warranty or free installation for white goods such as cookers and refrigerators.
Recommendation: If you are having problems with wi-fi in your home in that there are places around the home just don't get a reliable wi-fi. maybe you have tried various solutions without success. Well, I had this problem too and over the years have spent plenty of money on solutions that didn't live up to expectations. recently however I found a solution that has literally banished dead spots around our home! Its the BT Whole Home Wi-fi. I bought the 3-pack but if your apartment/home is smaller than our 3 -bedroomed you might find that the 2-pack will suffice. I can recommend it as the best solution around. It even got the top-rating in a review. The review came out after I bought the product so it was reassuring to know I'd made the right choice. If you are interested please click on either of the images on the top right.
So good luck and I hope you find a real bargain! BTW if you feel like helping me out at no cost to yourself please click on the banner below to start your search online at Amazon.
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