I’m a Frugal Shopper: 3 Types of Sales That Don’t Fool Me

When you want to know about sales that aren’t worth it or could lead you to overspend, no one knows better than one of our shopping experts.

GOBankingRates interviewed Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst with DealNews, to learn more about three types of sales that don’t fool her. Plus, find out what red flags you should look for if you see a sale that seems too good to be true.

Ramhold said that flash sales are usually done to take advantage of trends, or offer a small amount of compensation to shoppers for a site going down unexpectedly (or something similar).

“But these discounts usually aren’t all that impressive,” she said. “It’s more to try to get shoppers to actually visit the store in the hopes they’ll buy something, not necessarily provide a real incentive in the form of savings. On the other hand, if a retailer does offer a massive discount as part of a flash sale, those items will sell out super quickly, so if you weren’t able to jump on it right away, there’s a good chance you may have missed out anyway.”

Everyone loves a buy-one-get-one-free deal, but are they always worth it?

“If it’s a BOGO free sale, it might be worth a look, but if something is along the lines of buy one, get one 30% off then it may not be worth your time, especially if the items in question aren’t very pricey to begin with,” explained Ramhold.

“If you do decide to check out these kinds of promotions, it’s a good idea to see if you actually have to buy two in order to get a discount or if the items are discounted regardless of how many you buy. It could be that the retailer is trying to entice shoppers to spend more so they’re making it sound like you have to buy at least two of something, even though that may not be the case.”

Also, you should make sure if you are buying two of something that you will actually use the second one. Otherwise, you just got a free waste of space.

“This is something I feel like a lot of retailers will use in their email marketing to entice shoppers to check out a sale that’s been going on for some time,” said Ramhold.

“I’ve seen enough of these that I doubt most of them are as good as they’re made out to be. If I see one from a retailer that doesn’t seem to constantly have a sale, I’ll check it out, but otherwise I tend to gloss over these unless I’m looking for a specific item from a certain store.”

Here are some warning signs Ramhold advised to beware of so you don’t end up getting fooled into buying something you don’t really want or need — or ends up being a waste of money.

Discounts Are Super High

Ramhold said that it can’t hurt to check out these types of sales. However, if the deep discounts are for a store that has mostly pricey items, she said it could be a red flag.

“If an email is promising up to 80% off its worth, take a quick look but also be prepared for the best discounts to be on a very limited selection of items. Most of the time, these discounts won’t comprise the majority of the promotion and the number is meant to lure shoppers in, but very often it may turn out to be disappointing. Go in with little to no expectations and if it turns out to be a great one, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

Promotions Are Stacked on Top of Each Other

“This isn’t like taking an extra 20% to 30% off via a coupon code in a modest sale that’s already discounting items to 40% or something like that,” said Ramhold. “More like if you see absurdly high discounts (80%-90% off) along with free shipping and bonus gifts … it’s best to be cautious. Odds are good that if this is coming from a reputable retailer, there’s going to be a lot of fine print and restrictions attached to the event, so it won’t be as easy as saving 90% on a sweater — and getting free shipping — and snagging a free gift worth another $30.”

Significant Discounts Only Apply to Certain Models

“Specifically, exclusive model numbers that may have been created for a certain holiday — like a Black Friday exclusive on a streaming media player or TV. Discounts on those are notoriously hard to track to see when you’re getting a good deal, so this to me suggests the deal isn’t as great as it seems,” Ramhold explained.

The Sale Includes Store Credits That Force You To Shop Again

Ramhold said that one of the best examples of this is Kohl’s Cash. “And to be fair, if you’re a regular Kohl’s shopper, these discounts can be well worth it,” she said. “But if you rarely (or never) shop at Kohl’s, this kind of thing can lure you in with the promise of a good deal, but it’s only going to actually be worth your time if you end up using the Kohl’s Cash.”

Vague Offers That Require You To ‘Add To Cart’ 

Ramhold said these vague offers are usually not rock-bottom deals that’ll make your jaw drop. “Instead, it’s a tactic to make shoppers think something is amazing, and because they have to hide the price, it must be like the best one available, so you should definitely buy it right now, right away. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case and if you do a little research, you can find out relatively quickly that it’s often not the first time that product has dropped to that price.”