Guidelines for safe shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Stores will be open on Sunday, December 1st from 9:00am to 6:00pm due to Black Friday, which is this Friday, November 29th, but also Cyber Monday, which is Monday, December 2nd.
On the occasion of the upcoming “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” on Friday 29 November and Monday 2 December respectively, the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce appeals to consumers to be especially careful when shopping and provides useful advice for safe shopping, according to the instructions of the Consumer Ombudsman and the European Consumer Center of Greece.
Many stores show big discounts, without always being real. It is recommended to carefully check and compare product prices before and during the sale period. The evolution of prices over a period of several months can be easily done by consumers using relevant online tools.
It is good to choose stores not only based on low prices, but also on the basis of their good reputation and long-term presence in the market. The positive experiences and reviews of other consumers are also a parameter that can help in the final choice.
It is recommended to avoid transactions with online stores that operate exclusively through social networks, without having a physical headquarters at the same time and without disclosing full contact details (postal and electronic address, landline number), as well as registration number in the General Commercial Register (G.E .NON.).
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are an opportunity for the astute to deceive unsuspecting consumers with a preference for online shopping. It is recommended that consumers visit secure store websites that begin with “https” (with an SSL certificate).
It is a good idea to avoid storing sensitive personal data, such as credit card numbers, on store websites that consumers do not deal with often, and also to avoid making online purchases while connected to public Wi-Fi networks.
In some cases, the original cost of a product can be significantly increased by adding additional charges to the shopping cart, such as shipping, cash on delivery and insurance. To avoid unpleasant surprises, we always check the total value of each purchase before completing the transaction.
Online email scams increase rapidly during the sales season. Consumers are advised to pay particular attention to commercial offers sent by email from strangers or with very attractive prices, as they may constitute phishing traps for sensitive personal information by opening malicious external links (links) or attached files.
Any sales event that promises low prices encourages overconsumption. We always try to focus on real needs and purchases that have absolute priority, making proper planning based on our budget.
