UNITED STATES—If you’re rushing to your computer to do a bit of shopping on Cyber Monday or throughout this coming week, you might want to pause for a second. Why? The deals are not as great as you think they are. I have no clue why people think Cyber Monday is like this massive day of deals from retailers who want the consumers to shop online.
I want to say about five years ago when people were always shopping online, there were much better deals on Cyber Monday, but as of late that has not been the case. If anything, if you’re purchasing items at most retailers after those Black Friday sales that ended on Saturday or Sunday in most cases, you will see items (the same items) are still on sale, but they now cost $2 to $3 more on Cyber Monday.
So you’re saving, but you’re not saving as much if you had purchased the items last week on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Yeah, there might be individuals thinking, oh, $2 extra bucks is not going to hurt my wallet, but if you truly think about it, there is a good shot that it will indeed hurt your wallet, and it might be wise to save when you can because that becomes money that you can use later for other things.
I am a firm believer of not spending more money if you do not have to do so. That is just stupid, and it makes absolutely no sense at all. Amazon is already advertising the hell out of Cyber Monday and deals that they are claiming to have every five minutes or so on their app and the draw about the online titan is that you can get items within a rapid period of time. However, you have to spend more for free shipping, or you have to be a member of Amazon Prime where you pay for a membership. Sorry not interested, because if I have to pay more money to save than how am I saving. That’s it people, you’re not saving.
In addition, the lure about shopping online is that you find a deal so great, you feel there is no absolute way that you can pass it up, but the reality is, sometimes you need to pass the deal. Why? You might not need the item at all, and you just bought it for the sake of buying it. You know what transpires as a result, you endure buyer’s remorse.
You have an item or items that you purchased that in all truth, you wish you never purchased, and you dread the thought of having to go back to the retailer to return the item. However, I’m a believer if you have the receipt and the item hasn’t been used take it back! Don’t allow money to go down the drain if you do not have to.
You’re working super hard currently on trying to find ways to stretch a dollar or save a bit of change here and there for unexpected things that may arise. America, it is life, the unexpected always transpires and if you do not have that cushion you can find yourself in major trouble as a result.
In addition, don’t be so quick to purchase an item from a website without being certain the site that you are purchasing from is secure. Not all websites are secure and sometimes you can be redirected to a third party site, where all is not as it seems. So be careful. Biggest tip about shopping online is if a deal feels too good to be true, it is likely too good to be true.
I recently had to point such a situation out to my parent who thought they were about to get a $400 recliner for only $35. What was the catch? It was a third party site that didn’t even look legit to begin with. Only use your credit card if you’re making online purchases because it is much easier to dispute a charge if fraud or other issues arise. There can be fun shopping online, but there are plenty of security concerns you have to be aware of and FYI be sure you’re actually getting a deal by looking at the regular price and comparing that item to the sale price. Are you actually saving or did the retailer just attempt to make you think that?
Remember the retailers are doing all in their power to get the consumer to spend money. Don’t fall for those tricks that are so obvious.
Written By Zoe Mitchell
