Black Friday and Cyber Monday are right around the corner, and in recent years many major retailers have started spreading these one day sales into a week-long shopping extravaganza.
During the large sales between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, retailers will drop additional sales and limited-time discounts on their own schedules. Each of these promotions will have its own terms and conditions, including limited item inventories, rebate requirements and specific promotion dates and times.
There will be an overwhelming amount of sales to participate in during the holiday season and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) advises shoppers to pay close attention to the sales details in the promotions.
“Holiday advertising sets high expectations for consumers seeking great deals, but there are terms and conditions for each sale that need to be considered before you start to shop,” said Michelle Reinen, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Shoppers need to review the fine print in ads in order to set expectations and avoid disappointment.”
DATCP’s tips to remember when shopping for deals this holiday season include:
- If you use a retailer’s app, familiarize yourself with its operation in advance of your trip to the store so that you can access discounts and promotional offers before you hit the register.
- In-store promotions may require you to spend a certain amount on particular products and accept a text message from the business in order to receive a coupon or promo code. Read the fine print on posted signs for the offer.
- If you use print ads, keep them available and take note of any special prices while you shop online or in store.
- Print out promotional offers from retailers’ websites if you intend to buy a particular item in store. Include as much product information with the offer as you can, including sale prices and SKU or model numbers.
- Some one-day deals may require tickets that you receive at the front door of the store. These tickets will be limited.
- A store’s price match policies may not apply to sale items listed in holiday ads.
- Make sure you understand return/refund/exchange policies before you buy. Retailers may have alternative policies in place for holiday sales, and online purchases may not necessarily be eligible for in-store returns. Keep your receipts and pick up gift receipts for gift recipients.
- Be aware that clearance and “open items” may have different return policies or not be returnable at all.
It is also important for consumers to watch the prices of their items during check-out, because Wisconsin law requires stores to charge their lowest advertised price for a product and to refund any overcharge. If a consumer believes that an item did not register at its advertised price they need to bring it to the attention of the store employee.
If a consumer is charged the wrong price on an item and the business will not correct the error, they need to file a complaint with DATCP’s Weights and Measures Bureau, visit http://datcp.wi.gov, send an e-mail to [email protected] call 608-224-4942.
