November is the month of intense money spending for many with the existence of a wide range of sales: first there was Singles Day, and today is Black Friday, followed by Cyber Monday next week. It comes with such perfect timing as well – most people will make great use of sales to purchase upcoming Christmas gifts at a steal of a price!
As crazy as Black Friday sounds, Singapore is still considered safe in terms of crowd stampedes and trashing of outlets as what usually happens in America. Maybe except for Robinsons when huge queues formed the night before the store at Heeren opened at 7am on Friday to let the hoards in.
However, most people, especially youth between the ages of 18-35 prefer to shop online in Singapore during Black Friday. As a student on a tight budget, this is the best time to get most of the things on your wish list. That being said, might as well check out some tips on how we can make the most of this sale season.
Prioritize your Wish List
It is an overused phrase but it always helps to make a list of things that you need. For instance if you’re hunting for school essentials, you should always list down what do you plan on getting. Why? Well, to avoid yourself from getting sidetracked by all the amazing items on discount when you window shop!
Be careful of your passwords
If you’re the type who prefers to shop online, be extra cautious of the passwords you use while doing financial transactions. Stay away from birthdays and last names as your password as this is easier to hack into. Trust me, the last thing you would want during this festive sale season is to see your funds disappear.
In fact try to complicate your passwords if possible. Kaspersky came out with an exact number of seconds it takes a hacker to decode one’s password. The password “123456” took them apparently about a second to decode.
Save the links!
Have you ever faced a problem where you kept an item in your shopping basket and within seconds before you even make it to payment, it disappears? Well these problems are even more common during Black Friday, Singles Day and Cyber Monday because everyone is hunting down the exact item for that fantastic discount.
One way to help yourself is by window shopping in advance before the sale. Let’s say you are eyeing a pair of white sneakers for your sister. There’s just so many options for white sneakers from Adidas, H&M, Nike and others which will leave you spoiled for choice. You can save the sneakers in your shopping basket. But while you’re deciding on which sneaker to buy, someone might already be ready to make the purchase and this will cause your chosen shoes to disappear.
One way to help you is by saving all the links to items on your wish list. Only once you have decided which item you want for good, you can put everything in your basket and pay immediately to avoid it from disappearing into someone else’s basket.
Keep your orders separated
If you are the type who enjoys shopping from international sites, bear in mind that packages entering Singapore are subject to 7% GST if the items exceed SGD400. Smart move would be to order several items separately to avoid unnecessary additional spending.
Always double check your financial details
Better safe than sorry indeed. Imagine that you have everything in your wish list, but you accidentally keyed in the wrong credit card number or address. There goes your Christmas gifts for the year! It is always an excellent idea to make sure all your details are checked before proceeding.
Shopping during the sale season may be a temptation that is difficult to resist for some, but hopefully by taking into consideration these tips you will be able to enjoy the sale while securing your accounts and online safety.
by Atiqah Khamurudin, Black-Friday.Sale
