Everyone wants a good deal. No one wants to know after spending money that they could have picked up the same product for much less. And with offer periods like Black Friday, many people keep scavenging online for good deals.

The argument that Black Friday no longer makes sense holds true for me. It used to be a one day event with crazy shopping deals. Nowadays, many companies – and I’m sure you’ve seen them – are going in all weird with month long ‘deals’. We’ve see some call it Black November, others making all Fridays during the month a Super Friday Deal etc.

It is almost impossible to know if the so called deal is an actual deal. Or just a marketing strategy. Are you being lied to? Our minds love deals, so whenever we hear it is a deal, we want in. Most of the times, the so called slashed prices are lies. And the deal is just a mind play.

So, how does one know what they’re getting is an actual deal? For me it is easy:

Don’t look at the original vs new price. NOPE. Look at the real price from weeks or months ago.
Make sure it is an item you actually have been planning to get, or are in need of. Do not justify getting an item because it is “on sale”.
Do you know the real price of the item? What was it selling for months ago?
Do you trust the merchant? Are you sure it is a real product that won’t have issues?
Does it match the “original” price you’re seeing on the current deal?
If so, check the new price being indicated in the deal, is there a significant slash? Is there an actual deal?
If there is, then you can pick up the item.
If not, don’t.
Make sure you check shipping price, and delivery timelines too. You don’t want to be buying an item for a certain amount and paying almost half the price for shipping and delivery.

JUMIA Black Friday Deals

We’ve seen many ecommerce sites change prices then slash them calling them Black Friday deals, and many people are falling for them. In Kenya, on many sites you’ll find a phone that’s worth KES. 10,000 selling at KES. 9,999 and the site will indicate the original price as KES. 20,000 to lie to people that there’s a 50% slash. Falling for such a scam is plain stupid. That’s why it is important to know the original real price of an item.

Why it is important to check on shipping and delivery is because some cheeky sites will transfer price of the deal to things like shipping to ensure you’ve actually paid in full for the item, thus making it a no-deal per se. Make sure you have a rough idea of what shipping should be before getting any item. If you’re in a physical store, this won’t be an issue.

Nowadays, deals are meant to force you into impulse buying. Don’t fall for them. Happy shopping. Remember though, come January prices will fall. And this time, it will be for real.