CN|EN 折扣陷阱|discount trap

这个蛋糕叫十全十美。
This cake is called "Perfect in Every Way."

最近在唯品会买了不少衣服，今年我开通了唯品会的VIP会员，说是可以打折，后来开通了才发现打98折，也就是一百块钱便宜两块钱。这会员一开通后吧，就老会惦记着到这个APP来逛逛，另外它还有签到的活动，签到15天可以获得一个5块钱的优惠券，所以每天都会花费时间来签到，万一要买什么，也可以便宜5块钱。后来发现放了许多根本就没打算买的东西到购物车，购物车许多商品下架了我都没买，但是把商品放购物车前，我还会花时间看商品详情以及评价，这也花费了我大把的时间和精力。

今天到了一件衣服，于是我查看了一下这个APP，发现刚刚到货的这件衣服，便宜了10块钱，于是就赶紧申请了价格保护，退了10块钱回来，要是当时没操作，后面可能就会忘了这件事。于是又点了下之前给女儿买的裙子，没想到都降价了，有的便宜了二十块左右，突然觉得自己“亏了”。虽然唯品会设置了“价格保护”这项措施，但是只在有限的时间内，才能够申请，过了这个时间，就只能眼睁睁的把这口“老血”吞到肚子里了。因为买回来的这段时间里，衣服只是已经洗过了，女儿穿过其中一件，其他两件都还是挂着在。

看到商品的页面已经显示是618价格，突然意识到自己把这么重大的“购物节”给忘了，但想想似乎也很正常，因为我已经好几年不参加618、双十一等大型购物促销活动了。最好的省钱的方式就是不花钱，我不知道这句话是不是鲁迅说的，但我觉得很有道理。凑单这种事情，凑去凑来最后只发现，买了许多并不需要的东西，省钱没觉得，反而花了更多的钱。另外有些商家也会在购物节来临的时候，提高商品单价，在这样的基础上再去打折，实际上也并不会便宜多少，所以后来我的购物策略就变成了需要什么买什么。

但是买家似乎总是玩不过卖家，这段时间的购物显然既浪费了我的时间又花费了我的精力，还没让我得到最大的实惠。明年还是不要再续费VIP了，像往常一样，需要什么买什么比较好，不想再为了一个优惠券特意看去看来的，也不想因为是会员而总想便宜那么点钱在某个APP消费。不得不说现在网络科技太发达，消费者很难逃出“大数据杀熟”，避免成为某个APP的熟人，大概也是消费者的一种求生之道吧！反正购物APP这么卷，消费者如果还不能得益，那应该是消费者自己的失败吧！

当然如果太追求利益最大化，就会让自己不开心了，我也不是那么斤斤计较的人，道理是那样的，明天还是会按照老样子生活，就是不会再去刻意的消费了，因为夏天该买的东西基本上买完了，就是北京的夏天到底什么时候来呢？现在出门穿裙子，估计还是会觉得腿冷，所以我还是穿牛仔裤的，当然我喜欢我的牛仔裤，谁让我现在又瘦回了46KG呢，感觉裤子非常宽松。关于凉鞋，仙女们有什么好的建议吗？我发现我选来选去还是选的运动的那种，但是为了配裙子，感觉应该买高跟的吧？那穿着会不会又累脚呢？

English translation by AI for someone who is interested in my post but from other countries:

Recently, I bought a lot of clothes on Vipshop, and this year I upgraded to the VIP membership, which promised discounts. But after upgrading, I realized that the discount was only 2% off, meaning I saved just 2 yuan on every 100 yuan purchase. Once I became a member, I couldn't help but check the app regularly. They also have a sign-in activity where you can get a 5-yuan coupon after signing in for 15 days, so I would spend time checking in every day, thinking, "Why not? If I need to buy something, I can save 5 yuan." Haha~
Later, I realized I had added many items to my shopping cart that I never intended to buy, and as a result, some of them were taken off the shelf without me purchasing them. But before I added items to the cart, I would spend time reading the product details and reviews, which took up a lot of my time and energy.
Today, a piece of clothing I bought arrived, so I checked the app and found that the same item had dropped by 10 yuan. I quickly applied for price protection and got the 10 yuan refunded. If I hadn’t done that, I might have forgotten about it later. Then I clicked on a skirt I had bought for my daughter, and to my surprise, it had dropped in price too—some by as much as 20 yuan. Suddenly, I felt like I had "lost out." Although Vipshop has a "price protection" feature, it's only available for a limited time, and once that time expires, you're just stuck with it. By the time I noticed, the clothes had already been washed, and my daughter had worn one of the pieces, while the other two were still hanging in the closet.
When I saw that the product page showed the 618 sale price, I suddenly realized I had forgotten about such an important "shopping festival." But then I thought, it's probably normal because I haven't participated in big shopping events like 618 or Singles' Day for years. The best way to save money is simply not to spend it. I don’t know if this quote is from Lu Xun, but it makes a lot of sense to me. "Bundle-buying" often ends up with me buying a lot of things I don't need, and I don’t feel like I’ve saved money; instead, I end up spending more. Some sellers even raise the price of their goods before a big sale and then offer discounts, so the actual discount is not really that much. That’s why my shopping strategy has become: buy only what I need.
But it seems like buyers can never outplay sellers. This recent shopping spree has clearly wasted my time and energy without getting me the best deal. Next year, I’m not going to renew my VIP membership. I’ll stick to my old habits: buy only what I need. I don't want to keep checking the app just for a coupon, and I don't want to feel pressured to spend a little more just because I’m a member. I have to admit that with today’s advanced technology, consumers are hard to escape the "big data pricing" trap. Avoiding becoming a familiar face on a certain app seems like a survival strategy for consumers. After all, if shopping apps are so competitive and consumers can't benefit from them, it’s probably their own failure!
Of course, if I focus too much on maximizing profits, it will just make me unhappy. I'm not someone who is overly picky about every detail. The reasoning is as such, but I will continue living the way I always do. I just won’t deliberately spend money anymore because I’ve already bought most of what I need for the summer. The only question left is: when will summer finally arrive in Beijing? If I wear a skirt outside now, I’ll probably feel cold on my legs, so I’m still wearing jeans. But hey, I love my jeans, especially since I’ve slimmed down to 46 kg. They feel so loose now! As for sandals, do any of you have good recommendations? I’ve been choosing sporty ones, but for pairing with a skirt, maybe I should go for heels? But then, will they be uncomfortable to wear?

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