Costly mistakes in the Christmas rush
If you have not yet finished your Christmas shopping, this week might take on an extra layer of urgency.
But if you’re racing around the shops, or frantically browsing overnightdelivery websites, take care. It can be easy to make costly mistakes.
Here are 10 ways you might be caught out. Not comparing prices When you’re in a hurry, it’s tempting to buy the first thing you see. If you’re short of time, price comparison sites are a good way to make sure that you’re getting the best price possible on the gifts you buy.
It’s worth asking the retailer if they have a sale coming up. If you buy something and then find it is selling at a big discount the next day, you don’t automatically have any rights to demand that same discount.
But if you ask about planned sales and are misled, you have rights to recourse.
If you’re buying big-ticket items, it’s a good idea to have an idea of what they would usually cost – so you’ll know whether it’s worth going out of your way for a ‘‘special’’ price. Not sharing the load University of Auckland senior marketing lecturer Bodo Lang said research had shown women tended to be more involved in Christmas shopping than men, so were more stressed because of it.
‘‘Specifically, women tend to start their Christmas shopping much earlier, go on more Christmas shopping trips and purchase more gifts compared to males. Women also tend to scrutinise more information to make a sound purchase decision when doing their Christmas shopping. Males, on the other hand, tend to use shortcuts to more efficiently get through their Christmas shopping list.’’
He said people could try to share the Christmas shopping load more equally, or start early, buy online or at ‘‘fringe hours’’ to reduce the stress. Spending more to get the discount Some retailers offer a percentage discount if you spend a certain amount. Don’t be tempted to buy more to get the discount unless it’s a very significant reduction, or things you were going to buy soon, anyway. If you’re confused, use the calculator on your phone to work out whether you’re actually getting a good deal. Buying extended warranties They can be expensive but extended warranties rarely offer any extra protection beyond what you’d get from the Consumer Guarantees Act. Blowing your budget If you spend more than you can afford on your Christmas gift list, you’ll regret it in the New Year. Buying on credit cards is an expensive way to pay. If you think you’ll be left with a balance after Christmas that you can’t pay off in full, investigate a balance transfer to reduce your interest bill.
New part-pay options that allow you to spread the cost of purchases over several weeks are a cheaper way to buy presents, but keep track of how many you’ve signed up to and be sure you can afford to pay them off. Some of these services have quite hefty fees for missed payments, so you’ll need to have the money in your account when the time comes. Not checking your points Do a quick stocktake of the various loyalty and rewards programmes you’re involved in, including credit card schemes and retailers’ programmes. You may find you qualify for a voucher or other incentive that will help your Christmas shopping. Saving your credit card details Some online shopping sites offer you the option of storing your credit card details for future purchases. This is tempting – it makes it much easier to buy next time. But that can be problematic if you’re trying to save money.
There’s also a security concern: If the site is compromised, your data could be stolen. Forgetting shipping costs It’s not savvy shopping if you find an item $5 cheaper online, but then spend $7 on delivery.
Not checking statements
If you’ve spent a lot of money, it can be tempting to stick your head in the sand. But keep an eye on your credit card statements and bank accounts to ensure that the only transactions going through are those you expect – and nothing has been put through twice. Being too trusting If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Just because a site is ‘‘co.nz’’, it doesn’t mean it’s based in New Zealand.
Look for the padlock authentication symbol in the address bar on the payment page, and that the website starts with ‘‘https’’, so that you know it is secure before you pay. your bank