This Friday, November 25, is Black Friday, the day when numerous sellers worldwide slash their prices and urge consumers to grab the best bargains of the year. But are the advertised offers as good as they look? Or is Black Friday just a marketing stunt designed to get consumers to make impulsive purchase choices? Well, the reality is that some Black Friday offers are really a good deal for consumers but others are not as great as they look.
Shop around
Before starting your Black Friday shopping spree, online or in-store, do some research first. This means checking what different sellers are offering and compare. Ideally you should be familiar with the products and their presale prices as this will help you confirm that the advertised discounts are genuine.
Comparing different offers will also help you gauge the real extent of the offers and thus avoid being impressed by bombastic discount claims. Furthermore, before seriously considering taking up an offer, your attention should focus on the selling price, not the percentage discount. If you are shopping for Black Friday offers online, check that the price includes shipping and tax.
Don’t forget that a product is a bargain only if you need it. So it is a good idea to prepare a list of the goods you need to buy before hitting the high street or start browsing online markets.
A product is a bargain only if you need it
Your legal rights
Regardless of the slashed prices and discounts, your legal consumer rights remain unchanged. This means the goods you buy must be as described by the seller, fit for their intended purpose and must be of the quality and deliver performance that are normal in goods of the same type. If these rights are breached, sellers – both online and in-store – are legally obliged to provide you with a free remedy.
Furthermore, if you are buying online, you have additional protection through the right of withdrawal. The consumer rights regulations give you 14 days from the day the purchased item is delivered to you to cancel the sale and return the product to the seller. This right applies even if the reason you want to return the product is that you don’t like it.
When exercising your withdrawal rights, you should be refunded your money within 14 days from the date you inform the seller about your decision to cancel the sale or from the day the seller receives the unwanted product. The seller may, however, request you to pay the return postage. In this case, the seller must inform you about this cost before the sale is concluded. If this information is not provided, then the transport costs must be paid by the seller.
Change of mind
Unlike when buying goods online, when consumers purchase products in-store, sellers have no legal obligation to accept returns of unwanted goods or offer a remedy to consumers. Fortunately, most sellers do allow consumers to return unwanted items within a stipulated time frame. It is, however, the consumers’ responsibility to check shops’ voluntary return policies before buying. These policies should be double-checked during ‘sales’ and promotional events such as Black Friday as sellers may decide to either temporarily suspend their return policies or reduce the normal time-window.
Shopping for Christmas gifts
Consumers who are planning to start shopping for Christmas presents during this Black Friday should check that the sellers’ return policies are flexible enough to allow the receivers of the gifts to change any unwanted presents. This means that the time frame during which the goods may be returned or exchanged will not expire until after Christmas. This information, alongside with other relevant terms and conditions, should be clearly written on the gift receipt or proof of purchase.
Price indication, prior price comparison
Even when prices are reduced for a seasonal or time-limited offer, sellers have a legal obligation to clearly indicate the final selling price. This means it is not enough for sellers to indicate the percentage discount.
In addition, offers must be genuine. It is illegal for sellers to make discounts appear higher than they really are. If a shop is making a comparison with previous prices, the price that the discounted price is compared to must be the lowest price the product was sold by the trader within a period of at least 30 days preceding the price reduction announcement.
Report fake offers
Misleading adverts or possible fake offers may be reported to the Office for Consumer Affairs through the ‘Flag a concern’ form on the MCCAA website https://mccaa.org.mt/home/infringement or by calling 8007 4400.