Black Friday deals are the best; you get to buy goods, gadgets and household items at the lowest prices. Although there have been many controversies about the origin of the term, Black Friday, many people are willing to overlook it in their quest to acquire quality items at the cheapest rate. Who doesn’t like awoof?
In Nigeria however, Black Friday deals are never straightforward because the discounted and flash sales by eCommerce companies in Nigeria are designed to frustrate everyone’s efforts.
Here are some of the antics that online retail stores make to avoid selling customers items at ridiculously low prices, totally negating their advertisements and promises to that end:
Hiked fees weeks before:
So you think you’re really smart by waiting until November before buying anything from that eCommerce store?
Well, you have another think coming because they are always one step ahead, which is why they increase the prices of all their items weeks before Black Friday, then plummet it back to the normal price for “discounted sales” and you’re there chopping that ela like no man’s business.
Treasure hunts that lead nowhere:
When you are told that the only way to get that IPhone X you’ve been lusting after is to canvass through lots of irrelevant items that you don’t want. So begins the merry go round of actually finding NOTHING or clicking on an item that gives a different result:
Websites that take forever to load:
Remember when I said everything is designed to frustrate your efforts? You should have taken that literally because the websites and mobile apps of these eCommerce companies only get temperamental when its Black Friday.
So you’re there trying to login but it’s taking forever and you think it’s your bad network that’s causing it? Nah. You’re gonna miss the 6pm flash sale deadline because the company wants you to.
Tik-tok clock that runs faster than Usian Bolt:
Don’t forget the fact that you are trying to beat the 30 minutes clock of the flash sales while trying to actually get that preferred fridge–all to no avail, because everything is designed to work against you. Losing sleep is simply not worth it.
Sold out items within nanoseconds:
Yes, we know everyone is scrambling to buy every discounted item and the fastest finger wins but, isn’t it weird that some items are tagged as “sold out” and “out of stock” a minute after they were put on display? I smell a rat and its rotten.
Price slash for irrelevant products:
The most ridiculous thing is when you log on to an online store and see that all the items with a price slash are things you are not interested in buying because their original price isn’t that expensive sef and you can buy them at anytime–Black Friday or not.
When you can’t checkout your cart:
Yay! You scaled through and were able to prove everyone that ever said “Black Friday in Nigeria is a scam” wrong. Awesome. Err, have you been able to check out your cart? Ha, maybe you should refresh the website. What? The website has crashed? SORRY O.
