On Black Friday, which refers to the day after Thanksgiving in the US, stores there typically offer goods at highly discounted prices. In recent years, retailers have tended to prolong the duration of the promotion, cutting prices before Thanksgiving even starts.

Korean online shoppers have bought enormous amounts of products directly from foreign websites in the past few days. Due to the Black Friday shopping spree, packages containing a variety of goods shipped from the US were piling up at Incheon customs on Thursday.

Some customers even bought urea solution, a necessary component for diesel engines, through cross-border online shopping. After China drastically reduced the export, urea has been in scarce supply in Korea since early this month.

However, the Korea Consumer Agency warns online shoppers that it is crucial to double-check whether the Black Friday offer is legitimate or not. Consumers must adequately examine the delivery schedule and online reviews before purchasing products from foreign websites.

According to the KCA, over 35,000 Korean consumers have suffered fraud from cross-border online shopping in the past three years. Surprisingly, 19 percent of the fraud took place in November and December, largely due to Black Friday promotions.

Meanwhile, Amazon, one of the largest worldwide online shopping platforms, has urged consumers to make their purchases before Thanksgiving to avoid holiday shipping delays.


(Photos: Yonhap)


By Kim Ye-rin (kyl8706@heraldcorp.com)