Festive Sales: Tips to Get the Best Deal on Amazon and Flipkart Sales Buyers can maximise their savings by clubbing cashbacks and offers on debit and credit cards

It's hard to miss advertisements everywhere screaming of discounts, for both online and offline shopping deals. As we enter the Diwali week, Amazon's Great Indian Festival and the Big Diwali Sale of Flipkart are offering mega discounts and cashbacks to buyers for a period of five days until Dhanteras on 25 October.

Electronics such as television, smartphones, music devices and laptops, among other gadgets, are up for sale at attractive rates. For instance, buyers can get a discount of up to INR 4,000 on Redmi Y3 and the recently launched OnePlus 7 Pro on Amazon. OPPO F11 Pro is available for an attractive price of INR 15,990—INR 13,000 less than the market price—on Flipkart.

Apple watches are available at a discount of 17-41 per cent, whereas Phillips air purifier is being sold for INR 7,000 less than the market price.

Apparels, home décor and cosmetics are some other categories showering discounts as high as 75 per cent on selected items.

Additional Bank Offers

Flat discounts on items are bundled with additional cashbacks and benefits on credit and debit cards.

Amazon: Payments made with Axis bank and Citibank debit and credit cards for order value above INR 3,000 will get an instant discount of 10 per cent up to INR 2,000. EMI purchases will get an additional cashback of INR 250. Rupay card payments on a minimum order of INR 1,000 will enjoy a 10 per cent discount up to INR 400.

Smartphone buyers will get one year free screen replacement on all brands.

Flipkart: It is offering a 10 per cent discount to SBI debit and credit card holders, which also includes EMI transactions.

Those who buy a smartphone on Flipkart can get a YouTube Premium free trial for six months, as opposed to one-month free trial if you subscribe directly from YouTube.

How to Get the Best Deal

Studies show that online sales offering mega-discount deals don't always offer big savings. A report by Ace Turtle, a retail technology firm, last year showed the average selling price of items on sale during online sales came down by only 17 per cent than the normal.

Moreover, significant discounts of 50 per cent or above are usually available on old inventory or private labels. The problem with buying non-branded products on deep discounts is that there is no way to check the genuineness of the offer and the quality of the product.

Having said that, you can still take advantage of the ongoing festive sales and bag some good deals by taking these simple steps.

Check the genuineness of discount: Sellers often mark-up the sale price and offer a discount on the inflated price. This is especially true for exclusive items and private labels selling online.

In this case, you should refrain from buying non-branded items if you think the offer price is too good to be true or when you don't really need the product. Alternatively, you can check across 2-3 shopping sites for the same product to see if there's an inconsistency in the original selling price mentioned.

Shop Incognito: Based on your browser's cookies and history, shopping websites jack up the prices. This is especially true for airlines. As you take time to browse and decide what you want to buy, the website may dynamically increase the prices.

You can tackle this by browsing in incognito mode, or private mode. The shortcut for opening incognito mode is Shift+Ctrl+N.

Maximise Savings by Using Coupons: Apart from flat discounts, you should look to maximize your savings by combining your final order with various coupons, cashback offers or affiliated payment methods. For instance, Amazon is offering an extra discount of 15 per cent on Amazon Pantry if the payment is made through Amazon Pay.

Know When Not to Buy: New launches or high-end designer stuff typically never go on sale, especially those items that are not seasonal and can be used throughout the year. When you don't find a deal on a specific product you had been meaning to buy, don't settle for an alternative just to avail an attractive offer. You may regret such a purchase later.