I cannot begin to tell you just how excited I am to tell you about Black Friday. What a day to pick up a bargain, assuming you’re smart enough, because you’ll need to be very smart to see through it all. It turns out that a mere 98% of the so-called deals were cheaper or at the same price at other times of the year. Put simply, it’s a scam. And the very worst offenders are Amazon and Very.
The scam comes from all points east, west, north and south. If it’s not multinational behemoths trying to fleece you, local pyramid scheme* traders, almost always found on Facebook these days, are at it too. “Grab a bargain,” with a product that’s four times as expensive as something you’d buy in a shop, making it look like you’ve saved something. You really haven’t.
Best still, many companies bump up their prices just before Black Friday and then – and I am not making this up – ‘reduce’ them for One Day Only. Most bargains aren’t bargains.
Which? magazine says finding a good deal on Black Friday was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
They said: “It’s rarely the cheapest time to shop and you’ll probably find the things you want are the same price or cheaper as we head towards Christmas, the New Year and beyond.”
I still find myself falling for it, though, scouring for bargains that aren’t bargains, and with inflation at 11.1% and food inflation at 16.2%, I am not the only one. The only thing I can logically do is ignore Black Friday altogether. That £10 saving on a wide screen telly can wait.
*As pyramid selling is supposed to be against the law, call it Multi Level Marketing. It’s slightly different, but only slightly.
