Anyone else feeling totally ripped off by a Black Friday 'bargain'?

That's not strictly true. If it's in the terms and conditions when you buy that you have to pay return postage, then they are covered. It's how a lot of shady businesses work- hide the fact that its coming from China, knowing its too costly to return.

There's some exceptions, but if you're dealing with a dodgy company, you won't get far with them.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/a-retailer-is-charging-for-a-return-do-i-have-to-pay-atS1g7a9Phub

Yes, you are legally allowed to return an online purchase, even one on sale. It’s specifically to protect people from parting with their money in good faith for an item they’ve never seen. It doesn’t apply to shops - that’s up to them if they do and it goes beyond your statutory rights if they do - because you saw the item in person when you decided to buy it. So don’t worry! PayPal will help.

I wonder if you've bought from a dodgy company, OP, one of the ones that are constantly advertising on Facebook with .co.uk website addresses, and don't admit they are based in China or Pakistan or wherever. It might be worth looking at Trustpilot for negative reviews. If it is one of those companies, they may just ignore your request to return the item, ask you to return the goods at your own cost, or they may offer a partial refund and let you keep it.
However, I hope that Paypal come good and refund you.

Last year I bought a plug in hob I needed slightly cheaper than usual, and this year I bought a couple of Lego sets and three board games, all of which I had in my basket and all of which were great bargains. I was very nearly sucked into spending more money though, just pulled myself back in time…

Yes John Lewis have got very sneaky recently. Their old price promise meant that if they reduced the price of anything on their website within thirty five days of you having purchased it they would refund the difference. They’ve now reduced that to seven days but have dressed it up as having improved their pricing by claiming to match other places. However, they say they’ll match places like ARGOS but only if the item you want is actually in stock. This means that if ARGOS has run out of the item for example, JL can and will justify selling it at a higher price and therefore ARE knowingly undersold.

I have lost confidence in them to be honest after years of shopping there.

People will probably correct me, but I think Camel Camel Camel is great for checking how prices on Amazon have changed over the last year and so whether you are getting a good deal. Fingers crossed this links to a page showing price variations for a popular vacuum cleaner but you can then search for any item.....

https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/product/B0CFVBTCGR?context=search&active=amazon

Ours have usb cables to charge. So does our torch.

It might be useful to some https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/ watches Amazon prices and sends alerts.

Sorry just read back and saw it already mentioned.

I know! But one told me it didn’t apply to online sales and the other said it only applied to outside company price matching. I tell you, I am earning that £10 the hard way by reinforcing John Lewis staff customer service training!

Thanks

I did see the Philips toothbrushes on sale as well, but the Oral B ones were recommended by colleagues and my dentist

Honestly I think you've been scammed rather than falling for a black Friday deal.

Check the website- I bet it doesn't come up on Google. Then Google the company name and trust pilot- you'll see the real reviews for the 'company'.

I also bet that they have nothing but 5 star reviews and lots of positive comments on social media (there's loads of fake websites on facebook). Oh, and it's always a company based in the UK, top quality etc, website looks legit.

I fell for a similar scam, they send you a cheap item to say you recieved the item and make it harder to raise a dispute!

I fell for something similar, ordered a lovely thick memory foam play rug, got a hairband from China! Since then, I've noticed so many fake websites on Facebook, all with amazing reviews!

Just closing a cruise deal and it's a corker imo.

But I agree @Pliudev Black Friday etc is a big disappointment, just like most sales are. The best bargain I found was packet noodles for 9p a packet at Aldi 🤩

This is more the site you should be showing them, better still the law itself but this might be clearer:

Online, mail and phone order sales
Online, mail and telephone order customers have the right to cancel their order for a limited time even if the goods are not faulty. Sales of this kind are known as ‘distance selling’.

You must offer a refund to customers if they’ve told you within 14 days of receiving their goods that they want to cancel. They have another 14 days to return the goods once they’ve told you.

You must refund the customer within 14 days of receiving the goods back. They do not have to provide a reason.

https://www.gov.uk/accepting-returns-and-giving-refunds#:~:text=Online%2C%20mail%20and%20telephone%20order,that%20they%20want%20to%20cancel.

@Gabitule the returning to china was never your responsibility , the seller was taking the piss, knowing you wouldn't post due to the cost . Glad you got sorted

FFS. It's on their home page at the top! Plus they always used to refund price differences if discounts took place within a couple of weeks of the original sale.

I’ve learnt my lesson over the years and only get BF deals on things I’ve had my eye on for a while so I know if they are a decent actually discounted price. This year I got some Lego sets for DCs Christmas gifts, a steam mop, some facial oils, and a carpet cleaning machine for big discounts.

I am really pleased with my bf deal.
I have had my eye on a lego model but it was £390, ridiculous I know but I've been wanting it for a year. Anyway I checked Argos and it was £260. So having recently retired I treated myself for working for 50 years and never putting me first.

@Pliudev I had a similar experience. The seller knew they had to refund me, unfortunately the item had been shipped from China, and I was expected to return the item to China, which would have cost a fortune. In the end I managed to get my money back from my bank by proving that the item was not as described (it was substantially different in brand, colour, etc). You have various protections if you used a credit card or debit card (or PayPal, obviously). I hope your seller is in the uk and that will make for a quick and cheap return

Which? (the consumer magazine) did a report on black Friday discounting, and generally BF isn't the cheapest price of the year:
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/black-friday/article/black-friday-deals-how-to-check-if-a-black-friday-deal-is-real-aKtJD2L0zJEt
It shows what a rip off it is.

I was pretty happy with my orders but I didn't get much

Filled my Amazon basket ages ago and checked the prices and total was £190
Checked again on Black Friday and total was £135
Got a new electric toothbrush - are they like sofas and never full price?!
Basically stocked up on boring stuff I needed like cat litter and floor cleaner

I didn't buy it but I was going to order a Dominoes pizza last week, opened the app and was so annoyed with the 'Black Friday' banners offering 50% off, as if this offer isn't available every bloody day of the year, because they double the price of the pizzas so they can pretend to discount them. And it's still very overpriced.

I was so annoyed I didn't buy it and made myself a meal instead haha. Need to boycott them permanently really for all that nonsense.

My boss bought a laptop for £700 last year, They had the exact same laptop for sale in the Black Friday sale for £865 two weeks later, He got an email advertising the 'sale' lol

I got one amazing thing which is still a deal now. Bobbl hats (which I have one which cost £45 and the Bobble extra) some styles are £5 each and the bobbles are £1. Utter bargain bought a few for birthday presents in the new year!

If PayPal don’t sort it out try your credit card comp for a chargeback refund although PayPal should sort it out.

I don't have a shaver socket so mine gets charged in the kitchen. It's a shame they aren't all USB chargers now

Wasn't Rosely London was it?