I Already Got Scammed During 618 Prep Sales: Here's What to Watch For
Let me start by sharing my own fails.
Last month I saw a promotion for 618 pre-sale on an e-commerce platform—the prices looked good, so I ordered two bottles of essence. When the goods arrived, I realized the pre-sale price wasn’t much different from regular price at all.
Felt scammed. Did some research on this year’s 618 rules and wow—the tricks are real.
First Trap: Inflate Then Discount
This is an old trick but people still fall for it.
The usual tactic: secretly raise prices before the promotion, then advertise 618 special discounts. Looks like a deal, but the final price is basically the same as always.
How to avoid: use price comparison tools, or add items to your cart early and watch the price for a week or so.
Second Trap: Pre-sale Traps
This year’s pre-sale rules vary by platform. Some deposits genuinely reduce costs more, some are just traps.
My lesson: before paying deposit, carefully check the final payment amount and total price. Sometimes deposits are non-refundable, and the final price ends up higher than usual.
Third Trap: Gimmicky Discounts
Spend 300, get 50 off looks great, right? But to hit that threshold you’ll often buy stuff you don’t actually need.
I did this before—bought a bunch of snacks to qualify for the discount. Later realized those snacks cost more than buying them at the supermarket if I hadn’t counted the savings.
My Suggestions
- Make a list in advance, only buy what you actually need
- Use price comparison tools to confirm it’s really the lowest price
- For pre-sale items, check the final price before ordering
- Shop rationally—don’t buy things you don’t need just to hit thresholds
618 is still almost two months away. Any anti-scam tips from you guys? Comments section—let’s share.