Sure, if you get caught up in the mania and hype of any particular "sale" and don't price compare then you're bound to get ripped off.
I wouldn't dismiss singles day, though. There were some surprisingly cheap (both in price and quality) items I picked up on singles day.
Got an AirPod clone for something like a dollar last year.
This year I picked up a coffee grinder off the official retailer for Timemore on AliExpress. The official Canadian retailer charges a 100% premium on the product. No thanks, I'll wait for it to come on the slow boat.
I waited for singles day and got it for another $10 off.
I used to chase these kinds of deals, but if you stop to think about it, spending hours to optimize for $10 is almost certainly a terrible waste compared to what you could have been doing with that time. Deal seeking always eats up many hours of time for these small gains. That analysis skill applied to any kind of business problem is easily worth thousands.
No offense intended if this is pure stamp collecting.
When I was salaried, the marginal value of my time was $0. Thar extra thirty minutes shopping costs me nothing and gives me satisfaction. Now that I'm retired, my marginal value is still $0. Taking longer to spend money is in itself valuable. If I get discouraged by the shopping and don't buy the item I was looking for, that's the best outcome for my wallet.
The marginal value of your time was not $0. You could have been doing something other than shopping with your time. That thing could have afforded you pleasure or had some other utility. The dollar value of that utility was not zero.
Even resting has some benefit to you. Unless your only alternative is some mildly unpleasant activity which doesn't allow you to rest, that time was not valueless.
Entertainment is useful. Excess entertainment is wasteful. Keyword being excess. I calculate the waste as: cost of the entertainment plus potential loss of income from missed opportunitys of work and training. Of course if your entertainment is bring some other tangible benefits, like exercise, then that needs to be factored in.
I’m probably one of those people that don’t bother with the sponsored items. I’m not much of a spontanious shopper, if I buy something then I most often know what I want before I even go to the shopping site. Example is if I’m buying a tv then I don’t care if Samsung has an equal model at half off if I’m already set on getting a specific LG. I do look sround to see who has a better deal on the item I’m looking for however.
That only works if the use of that time towards a more productive activity actually pays off in that short duration; sometimes comparing shops and making sure you're getting the best is the most fun part, so there's some utility derived from there as well. At least for myself, I only really deal-hunt during Black Friday and anytime else I get what I need when I need them.
I wouldn't dismiss singles day, though. There were some surprisingly cheap (both in price and quality) items I picked up on singles day.
Got an AirPod clone for something like a dollar last year.
This year I picked up a coffee grinder off the official retailer for Timemore on AliExpress. The official Canadian retailer charges a 100% premium on the product. No thanks, I'll wait for it to come on the slow boat.
I waited for singles day and got it for another $10 off.