This Friday’s Black Friday, the 25th, comes in handy. A month before Christmas, who wouldn’t want to get good shopping opportunities, at more affordable prices? The economic crisis is therefore forcing consumers to make more well-considered and frugal choices.
Since May 28 there is a set of new rules for sales and promotions, with details that guarantee consumer rights. Let’s pay attention to the sale price, promotion or price reduction: the merchant’s discount must relate to the lowest price at which the product has been sold in the last 30 consecutive days in the same store?? This is a big difference as the reference period has gone from 90 to 30 days.
It is mandatory that the product has an indication of the previous price and, if the sellers deem it necessary, you can also refer to the percentage of the price reduction.
Consumers should know about the means of payment sellers are not required to accept any specific medium (cash, card or check), but what they accept should work every day, with or without a balance.
The call “right to repentance” for online purchases, the consumer can claim or return an item within 14 working days, even if it is not defective.
While promotions can run at any time of the year, merchants can only sell 124 days a year, consecutively or intermittently.
Since January 1, the entitled to a three-year legal guarantee on movable property it also works with goods bought on sale or on sale, and if it is faulty you can ask to have the item repaired or replaced. And all defective products for sale must announce the same defect with signs or labels.
This Friday, when all the storefronts and brand websites announce their best prices, keep your senses alert. ??Beware of discounts above 50%, they don’t exist?? Very few brands can have a margin of 50%. Automatically before there was inflation of the original price,” explains Paulo Pimenta, CEO of KuantoKusta, a price comparison website. “The discount doesn’t matter, the final price matters,” he emphasises.
Consumers should see the price history of the product in recent days and even the competition as “more than half is marketing”.
The discount doesn’t matter, the final price matters
Paulo Pimenta, CEO of KuantoKusta
A year ago, the Portuguese price comparison service KuantoKusta began placing a “seal of opportunity” on really good purchases. That is, they began to clearly identify the products with the lowest price in the past 30 days. One way to draw attention to a trader’s trick: compare the current discount to a previous high price, rather than comparing it to a latest promotion.
To give consumers even more information so they don’t fall for tricks, KuantoKusta has increased the frequency with which it updates prices. The usual three or four times a day, now with more and more dynamic brands, is revised hourly as the price can be cheaper in the morning and cheaper in the afternoon.
It is curious to know how the Portuguese buy, or rather research what they want to buy. They are not generic searches, but for a very specific object, with models, collections and details. Portuguese know exactly what they want, uncertainties arise only when choosing devices?? Then they start determining the price, only then do they look at the brand and characteristics of the equipment.
Paulo Pimenta could sell this data from the top searches to brands and assure them what national consumers are looking for, but he makes a point not to: “We try to show the picture of the market and not the influence the market.”
As it is increasingly rare for brands to have different prices online and in their physical store, it is technology products, such as consoles, high-end smartphones, computers, monitors, tablets and televisions, as well as fashion accessories, mainly branded luxury wallets, and home appliances that lead the demand – and these are also the areas where more false promotions can exist, because the sales values are higher. Electronic fraud is also more common in these purchases.
Fake websites are created at this point, with a design similar to a brand’s original. When purchasing from a website that is a copy, people provide their personal information and pay for a product that, in the case of online purchases, will almost certainly not reach their home. “People are guided by emotions and impulses,” notes Telmo Santos, CEO of EuPago, a financial institution that acts as a payment intermediary for small businesses.
Personal data such as the matrix card of the home bankingmobile number or IBAN (number that identifies the bank account) never, but should never be shared.
With the MBWay system, you also have to be very careful: if instead of a notification to make the payment, the merchant sends you the phone number, do not pay. “It is not normal for the trader to send a number to receive money. This is a practice between individuals,” warns Telmo Santos.
You should also be suspicious when the product price is much lower than the market price and the seller is very insistent on payment. Pay attention to the configuration of the website, domain and security certificate.
Never pay for a purchase if you are redirected to a banking institution page (which may be incorrect) – it is normal to be target of phishing?? electronic fraud where they keep bank details.
Bottom line: watch out for sites that may be fake, especially from big brands; it is not normal for sites to ship links to make the payment; when shopping on social networks, you should look at the seller’s profile first, it may be fake. Search first and then buy.
