by Jason Snell
Holiday deals: Buyer beware
Really nice piece by Farhad Manjoo about holiday deals, with a prominent appearance from my friend Jacqui Cheng, editor in chief of The Wirecutter.
During the holidays, Ms. Cheng turns her entire staff of about 20 writers and editors toward investigating advertised discounts on technology and home goods. “I kind of expected that we would be able to say that 85 percent or 90 percent were bad, but it turns out that almost literally every single one is bad,” Ms. Cheng said.
My daughter, who is 13, has become obsessed with holiday sales. It’s really amazing to see how sales psychology works on someone who is not yet inoculated with a modicum of shopping savvy. She keeps wanting to buy things because they’re a great deal, even if she doesn’t actually need them. And, as it turns out, it’s probably not a great deal either.