Three questions to ask yourself before being sucked into the Black Friday frenzy

There's a danger of making bad choices when logic goes out of the window. Stuff magazine's Toby Shapshak has some pointers.

When there's a frenzy, it overtakes logic in the hunt for a deal. You end up spending money that you otherwise would not spend.

Bruce Whitfield, The Money Show host

There's a huge danger of making poor decisions once you get caught up in the frenzy of Black Friday deals.

In this year of Covid there's expected to be a marked increase in online shopping, with plenty of new customers who aren't yet comfortable doing it.

And as Black Friday morphs into Black Friday Month, there's more time to snap up so-called bargains.

Bruce Whitfield chats to Toby Shapshak, publisher of Stuff magazine.

It's kind of bizarre because it's the month just before Christmas, which is the traditional time that everybody buys themselves that big ticket item they've been saving up for.

Toby Shapshak, Publisher - Stuff magazine

The one advantage of online shopping after a crushing year for most consumers, is the ability to make quick comparisons between the offerings on different websites.

But there are questions you must ask yourself before you take the plunge, Shapshak cautions.

Do I need it?

A lot of frenzied buying hinges on the "It's so cheap I'm just going to buy it!" trap.

Would it not be better to look at something a bit more rationally?

Where am I buying it?

Make sure you are buying from a reputable supplier.

And if you're using your credit card, check that there is a two-step verification process via your phone using a one-time password (OTP).

In fact FNB has just changed that. You no longer get an sms. You have to verify it in the app.

Toby Shapshak, Publisher - Stuff magazine

Have I done my homework?

Do your research so that you know for a fact that the product you're eyeing is really on sale at a good price.

We joke in the Stuff office that a certain website prices everything at, let's say, R5. Come back Friday and they increase everything to R7 and say 'reduced to R5'.

Toby Shapshak, Publisher - Stuff magazine

For more from Shapshak, take a listen:

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