Flash Sales and Limited-Time Deals: What Smart Shoppers Check First

Your phone buzzes. 70% OFF - ENDS IN 2 HOURS. Your thumb is already hovering over the notification before your brain catches up.

Flash sales are meant to get you to act quick but think slow. And for the most part, they work just as expected. However, there’s one trick you need to know to stop you from being one of those people and instead become the one who gets the best deal, not the story. Here are the things you should look out for when you’re about to enter your card number.

Here's what to check before you hand over your card details the next time a countdown timer starts ticking.

WHY FLASH SALES FEEL SO URGENT

Countdown clocks and 3 left banners are no accidents on part of retailers. It’s simply basic psychology - scarcity and sense of urgency make people make decisions faster and more thoughtlessly.

It doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily wrong - some flash deals are just right, saving you money in the process. What is wrong with it is that sense of urgency makes it easier to bypass some of the boring but necessary steps, such as making sure the deal you’re getting is actually cheaper.

CHECK THE PRICE HISTORY FIRST

This is the one and only key habit you should form.

It seems that many flash sales hike the price just prior to slashing it in order to make the discount appear more substantial. So, before purchasing something, spend just 30 seconds and check the price history of an item using a web extension or other service.

If the sale price coincides with the price at which the item has been selling all year long, then there is nothing special about it - this is the price.

READ THE FINE PRINT ON RETURNS

In many cases, the products on flash sale tend to be final sale, not refundable, or exchange for store credit only. And this fact is usually stated somewhere at the very bottom of the checkout page where no one bothers looking after the countdown timer is ticking away.

Before you buy, try asking yourself:

1. Am I able to return the item should it fail to meet my requirements?
2. Is there an expiration date before the store’s usual policy?
3. Is the shipping cost included in the offer or will be charged separately?

In all these cases, the extra 10% saving will hardly be worth your while.

VERIFY THE SELLER, NOT JUST THE DEAL

Flash deals make up the most commonly used marketing approach for untrustworthy sellers because urgency reduces time spent on research. The combination of a new website, major discounts offered, and lack of reviews is a bigger warning sign than a sluggish website checkout.

A couple of simple steps will help:

1. Google the name of the brand followed by either review or scam.
2. Make sure that the site actually offers any contact methods other than a contact form.
3. Learn about when the domain was established since a website providing huge discounts should not be taken seriously at all.

COMPARE ACROSS MULTIPLE SOURCES BEFORE COMMITTING

However, just because there is a real offer does not necessarily mean that it is the best deal available. The same item usually appears on various deal-finding websites, and their prices are different from what people might think.

It is here that some comparisons help. Various websites such as viewyourdealtoday.com provide a collection of time-specific deals, making it easy to decide whether the current offer is good enough.

WATCH FOR ARTIFICIAL SCARCITY

"Only 2 left in stock," and "14 people are currently looking at this product" are examples of legitimate statements made by a genuine website, but it is very simple to forge these. In case of a low-inventory warning that has been displaying the same number for several hours or just resets when the page is refreshed, consider it marketing.

Real scarcity always varies while a fabricated one remains the same.

ASK IF YOU'D BUY IT AT FULL PRICE

This is one of the easiest gut checks to make, and it beats any other tool.

Would you purchase the same item for its normal price if you were not to enjoy a discount on it? If the answer is negative, then the price reduction is the factor that is encouraging your purchase of an unnecessary item.

FAQs:

Are there any flash sales worth participating in?

Indeed, there are plenty of them which can be considered legitimate, particularly sales organized by known brands trying to get rid of the seasonal inventory. The most important thing here is to be sure that the discount and the vendor are legitimate.

How do I know that a certain discount is legitimate?

Just see how much the product was usually sold for in the last few months. If the price of the sale equals the original price, the discount is just marketing.

What is the major mistake made by customers during the flash sales?

Not checking the return policy. It is easy to forget about it when you have only few minutes left.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Flash sales are not in themselves shady, but they are designed to make you overlook the safeguards for your own financial security. Taking some time to research the prices, to check the terms of any returns, and to do a little comparing can be done within a shorter period of time than the flash sale lasts.