When the shopping phenomenon Black Friday crashed upon these shores from our cousins across the Atlantic it was seen as retail heaven by many.
Prices slashed pretty much everywhere on everything and the best part was its timing.
Black Friday or Noir Vendredi as it would be referred to in France (do they even have it over the Channel?) comes after the American celebration of Thanksgiving. This year it’s on Friday 23 November. Just over a month before Christmas – hurrah for cheaper presents.
It’s been a tradition in America for many years but over here it’s only the last five years when it’s caught the eye of the UK’s marketing machines and the attention of shoppers.
But is Black Friday all the marketing maestros crank it up to be?
At Forbes Estates we think not.
Especially after we read a recent report on choosewisely.co.uk
It said that despite the headline grabbing claims of many retailers suggesting 50-75 percent off items, across a selection of products the average discount was just 9 percent.
And that doesn’t factor in the extra stress of queuing, getting to the shopping centre or watching the internet prices like a hungry hawk.
Many retailers are turning their back on it. Last year Next, Boots and ASDA among several other giants took no part in it. The general line from these companies was that they keep their prices competitive all year round not just for 24 hours or so on Black Friday. We can relate to that.
We’ve even seen estate agents jump on the Black Friday bandwagon with what can only be described as rock-bottom fees.
The trouble with this approach is estate agency isn’t a commodity or an off the shelf product. Buying or selling a home is a personal transaction which has a huge impact on your life in one way or another.
Good, experienced and professional estate agents won’t work for low fees. And we don’t have to resort to Black Friday tactics because we know that when you slash fees the client loses out in the long-run.
The first thing to suffer is the personal service. And as estate agency is primarily a service industry going for a cheap option may cost you a lot more than you expected in the future, especially in negotiating the highest sale price, for example, Forbes Estates on average sells homes for 5% more than the low fee DIY online agents.
And if you do get your head turned by an estate agency Black Friday offer, or any offer come to that, always read the small print.
Thanks for reading and whatever you are doing this Friday take care and have fun.
If you have any property related questions either Sales or Lettings Forbes Estate Agents are here to help and advise you on the local property market, as always look forward to the opportunity of speaking to you soon.
Call 01257 273 324 or drop us an email at info@forbesestates.com
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Best regards
Paul
