You are already familiar with clothes and shoes at unbeatable prices. Recently, you can also save on dining out, travel, beauty treatments, or sports activities. But are you really getting a good deal?
Are you interested in so-called “deal” sites but afraid of being tricked? What to do? Always make it a habit to compare offers. The safest bet is to rely on well-established sites that have proven themselves, like Groupon, bon-privé, or Lafourchette. The first of these operates on the principle of group buying just like bon-privé. The site negotiates with merchants for a discounted price based on a predefined number of customers. You must first select your city to see offers that sometimes go up to -70%. There is a period for each “deal.” If you are interested in a restaurant dinner or spa treatment deal, click on buy. At the end of the countdown, you will receive your voucher to take advantage of the offer, and your account will be debited. If the minimum quota of people choosing the offer is not met, the deal is not validated, and your account is not debited. This case is rare.
Lafourchette, on the other hand, was launched in 2007 and currently totals 5,783,663 reservations. It involves booking in restaurants and thus obtaining discounts on the bill up to 50%. Some of these restaurants are listed throughout France. Booking is done directly online, and a confirmation is sent to you by email or SMS, so there is no need to call the restaurant. There is no risk since there is no payment online. Another significant advantage is that the site is the second favorite of the French in the leisure category.
Consumer Reviews
Other measures to take: be cautious of consumer reviews that are not always genuine but written by the companies themselves. Some businesses have even made this a commercial practice. These are e-reputation agencies. They write positive or negative reviews at a rate of 7 or 10 euros per comment. To avoid being identified, they use various methods: connecting in a cybercafé, 3G keys, remote servers, spreading over several months. These practices are punishable by law with up to 2 years imprisonment and a fine of 187,500 euros. The DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control) has already uncovered 5 sites, whose names have not been disclosed, and they are currently being prosecuted.
Secure Payment
The advice is always to check that at the time of payment, the website address displays https. The padlock system is becoming increasingly obsolete in browsers, so it is now important to rely on this symbol which means that the connection is secure. Additionally, secure sites sometimes redirect the payment to bank platforms. Some banks also create an additional security layer with a personal question or a code.
Cashback
Another way to ensure the reliability of promotional websites is to use a cashback site (in French, cash back). They list e-commerce sites. By making a purchase on one of the merchant sites offered, you have to activate the cashback, and according to the agreement between the two sites, a certain percentage of the order will be credited back to your cashback account. By using Igraal and ordering from Fnac, you earn back 6% of the order price. If you spend 40 euros, you get back 2.40 euros on your Igraal account. It is then possible to receive a check or transfer from a different accumulated amount depending on the cashback site. Igraal is not the only well-known site of this type; there are also Cashstore, Fabuleos, and more.
