A number of online merchants/sellers to get customers to buy a product will play psychology games with them. They'll slap on any product something like "a 50% discount" even if no discount has been offered and lots of people will buy that product because they think they are getting a great deal. How do you guys ascertain that a discount is genuine and not used merely as a trick by the seller to get more sales?
To be able to not be fooled, you should always monitor the prices of the items that you want to buy, because that's the only way that you would know. I read a blog post before that had the same situation. She was monitoring this item in Bath And Body Works, and since she was a student, she can't afford it at that time. Then when she browsed at the coveted item again, the saleslady said that the item was "on sale". She then said that she monitored the item for a while and the price was the same. Then the saleslady just kept quiet after she said that. Store owners can be scammers too.
I think this is something that you will naturally pick up and notice if you're a regular shopper, though you're right that they are usually tricky enough to entice seasoned veterans of shopping. I think if you're attentive dnt get used to how much certain products are priced, you'd know if there is an anomaly or if discounts truly mean discounts or just another promotional tool.
I agree with Sidney. To prevent being fooled, you should keep up with prices of item types and compare from store to store, or retailer to retailer.I usually can get a feel for if an item or product is too much for me to feel comfortable purchasing, or justifying purchasing. If I cannot justify spending a certain amount of money, then I won't.
A discount of 50% means nothing if they are double the price of their competitors. I was looking at buying domains and at the ones offering discounts still make their service more expensive than others. I always check out the prices and what other discounts have been offered before, as some companies do an offer each month or around holiday times.
I am agree with what Theo saids. If the seller double the price of their competitor, then their 50% discounts is meaningless.
I'm sure a lot of companies do this nowadays. They make you believe that your getting an awesome deal when your really not. Because people feel better when they know that they're not paying the full price for something and because of that, when people see 50% sale, they automatically believe that they can buy things for cheap. But that's not always the case because they might not even be discounted 50% at all. The only way you really know if it's cheap is if you research and follow the prices on the items you want. Only if you follow and know what the normal prices are will you know if your getting a good deal or not.
If their product isn't an exclusivity to their site/services, then you can look it to similar sites to determine whether that product has faux discount. Though trust me that rarely have I seen sites actually doing that kind of stuff... Mostly just go by the traditional "best available price", even if it's just a mere $0.50 compared to another site. A serious and long-term customer will always look for the cheapest site.
Honestly, discounts mean nothing to me. Its all about the final price that matters to me. However, when it comes to arguing my case to my husband, it helps to be able to show him the word "discount".
Like rightct said, I look at similar retailers or sites. I especially do this with large, important purchases. Sometimes, I even find a better price than all other sites, which is to be expected. However, I have watched items that are claimed to be "discounted" for many days, and have found that often times, the "discount" is removed, only for the product to be the same price.
