The flurry of substantial markdowns makes many shoppers an easy target, and speedy online purchases make it simple to be misled by dodgy domains or inaccurate price tags. So, to help you shop with care and ease this Prime holiday, we’ve put together some of the most common (and lesser-known) scams to make note of. The retail giant has a range of sales throughout the two-day period, this year on 12th and 13th July, discounting anything from vacuum cleaners (opens in new tab) to gadgets like smartwatches (opens in new tab) and Bluetooth headsets (opens in new tab), making it a prime opportunity to strike a bargain. Founded in 2015 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the business, it has developed into one of the biggest online shopping events, offering Prime members the opportunity to save money on a massive variety of household items.
1. Some deals have already started
This year, the dates for Prime Day are set as the 12th and 13th July, but this doesn’t mean some discounts haven’t snuck through the net. Many other retailers are also now competing with the grand event, with many of their own sales starting before the big rush. This makes it ever the more important to shop around to ensure you are getting the best price, at the right time.
2. Be aware of price hikes
Perhaps one of the most common shopping scams out there, but one of the easiest to miss, is when retailers increase the price of an item only to then reduce it at the point of sale. This creates the illusion of a huge discount, luring consumers in to snap up what they believe are substantial savings. A good way to avoid this is by always checking the price of an item across multiple retailers, to assess any discrepancies. Carefully considering potential purchases in advance of sales will also be a good indicator of whether this is occurring, as you will have a better understanding of the cost beforehand.
3. Double check the seller
This sometimes means that third-party sellers set up accounts with believable images and biographies that are hard to immediately distinguish from legit companies.
4. Be wary of fake reviews
When you see a huge range of 4 and 5-star reviews, it is easy to take it at face value and race into adding the item to your cart. But how many times have you stopped to not only read them in detail but also check who wrote them? With many companies aiming to increase their site rankings and sales, some take to review websites such as Trustpilot (opens in new tab)to generate fake reviews. A few things you can do to spot any fictitious ratings are as follows:
Check the reviewers profile: Have they bought and reviewed similar products in the past? Generally, there should be a natural pattern to their shopping habits whereas if they have bene paid to review items, it may not build up an accurate consumer image. Check the review dates: If multiple reviews were posted on the same day, this could be a sign a user has been paid to upload fake ratings in bulk. Read the reviews in detail: Fake reviews are more likely to contain spelling errors or little detail about the product, so make sure you are assessing the actual content, not just the star rating.
5. Double check domains
Julian House, Managing Director of My Favourite Voucher Codes (opens in new tab), also recommended to “avoid websites which you don’t recognise and don’t click on any hyperlinks which look suspicious. If you’re bombarded with multiple pop-up windows, that’s a classic red flag of a fraudulent website.”
title: “5 Scams To Avoid This Amazon Prime Day” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-26” author: “Ryan Moody”
The flurry of substantial markdowns makes many shoppers an easy target, and speedy online purchases make it simple to be misled by dodgy domains or inaccurate price tags. So, to help you shop with care and ease this Prime holiday, we’ve put together some of the most common (and lesser-known) scams to make note of. The retail giant has a range of sales throughout the two-day period, this year on 12th and 13th July, discounting anything from vacuum cleaners (opens in new tab) to gadgets like smartwatches (opens in new tab) and Bluetooth headsets (opens in new tab), making it a prime opportunity to strike a bargain. Founded in 2015 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the business, it has developed into one of the biggest online shopping events, offering Prime members the opportunity to save money on a massive variety of household items.
1. Some deals have already started
This year, the dates for Prime Day are set as the 12th and 13th July, but this doesn’t mean some discounts haven’t snuck through the net. Many other retailers are also now competing with the grand event, with many of their own sales starting before the big rush. This makes it ever the more important to shop around to ensure you are getting the best price, at the right time.
2. Be aware of price hikes
Perhaps one of the most common shopping scams out there, but one of the easiest to miss, is when retailers increase the price of an item only to then reduce it at the point of sale. This creates the illusion of a huge discount, luring consumers in to snap up what they believe are substantial savings. A good way to avoid this is by always checking the price of an item across multiple retailers, to assess any discrepancies. Carefully considering potential purchases in advance of sales will also be a good indicator of whether this is occurring, as you will have a better understanding of the cost beforehand.
3. Double check the seller
This sometimes means that third-party sellers set up accounts with believable images and biographies that are hard to immediately distinguish from legit companies.
4. Be wary of fake reviews
When you see a huge range of 4 and 5-star reviews, it is easy to take it at face value and race into adding the item to your cart. But how many times have you stopped to not only read them in detail but also check who wrote them? With many companies aiming to increase their site rankings and sales, some take to review websites such as Trustpilot (opens in new tab)to generate fake reviews. A few things you can do to spot any fictitious ratings are as follows:
Check the reviewers profile: Have they bought and reviewed similar products in the past? Generally, there should be a natural pattern to their shopping habits whereas if they have bene paid to review items, it may not build up an accurate consumer image. Check the review dates: If multiple reviews were posted on the same day, this could be a sign a user has been paid to upload fake ratings in bulk. Read the reviews in detail: Fake reviews are more likely to contain spelling errors or little detail about the product, so make sure you are assessing the actual content, not just the star rating.
5. Double check domains
Julian House, Managing Director of My Favourite Voucher Codes (opens in new tab), also recommended to “avoid websites which you don’t recognise and don’t click on any hyperlinks which look suspicious. If you’re bombarded with multiple pop-up windows, that’s a classic red flag of a fraudulent website.”
