Black Friday and its online counterpart, Cyber Monday, are fast approaching, and experts are hoping consumers don't get taken for a ride on the back of an advertised "deal" that really saves nothing.
The Better Business Bureau is advising consumers to check for an item's regular price when looking at an advertised "deal," and make sure the reduced price isn't from the MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price), a number that retailers rarely use as a price point.
Still, shoppers might be able to avoid the Black Friday headaches altogether, and still come away with a good price.
"What we've been finding is that Black Friday specials can be offered way before Black Friday, and way after," said Dottie Callina, BBB spokeswoman.
"Think about end-of-the-year (sales), right after Christmas. (Retailers) are really going to be dropping prices to get you to buy their products."
Consumers are also advised to watch the terms and conditions of any upcoming sales. Some sales are limited to only a certain quantity of an item (The first 10 TV's sold are 40-percent off.) or during a certain time of day (TV's are 40-percent off between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.).
And when it comes to Cyber Monday, online shoppers are best served by using a credit card, which the BBB said "provides the highest level of protection against fraud."
Online shopping websites are safest when the URL begins with "https," which indicates a secure website. Some web browsers will show a padlock symbol in the left-hand corner to indicate a secure website.
Callina said, as always, shoppers should be wary of any deal that seems too good to be true, because it probably is.
