Prices on fashion imported from China and other countries are already starting to go up due to tariffs.
So every shopper is looking for a deal before prices rise.
If you find a clearance on boots, shoes, or clothing, you might be tempted to buy. But before you click that purchase button, there are some important warning signs to watch for.
Watch to see the warning signs of a fake online retailer:
HeyDude shoes for just $7
Jesse Smith is a diesel mechanic who doesn't have much spare cash to throw around. So when he saw a social media ad for trendy men's clothing and shoes at a deep discount, he jumped at the opportunity.
"The shoes were supposed to be HeyDude shoes, and they were six or seven bucks a pair, and so I bought six pairs," Smith said.
All in, he spent $40, plus tax and shipping, but says he never received his order.
"They shipped the order twice supposedly, but I never received anything at my house, and I've been fighting to get my money back from them ever since," Smith said.
This past December, Alejandra Matos lost money to another fake retail site, also offering discount HeyDudes.
When asked what they were offering, Matos told us, "20 pairs of HeyDude shoes for just $50."
Social media ads filled with imposter retailers
Dave Hatter of Intrust IT Security says fake retail sites are becoming an epidemic because they advertise on social media and often pop up first in web searches.
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"You can't assume just because you did a search, that what it presents to you is legitimate," Hatter said.
Hatter suspects those fake HeyDude sites copied content from a legitimate seller.
The same thing recently happened with clearance JoAnn Fabrics sites, which lifted photos and descriptions from the real site (the JoAnn going-out-of-business sales were only in-store, and not offered online).
Hatter advises consumers to look for red flags, such as the absence of a physical location or phone number listed on the website.
"If you can't find any contact us information other than how to buy, that's a strong red flag," Hatter said.
Another red flag: customer reviews are all new.
"Do the reviews seem legitimate? Are they spanned over time, or just 30 reviews in the last couple of days?" Hatter said.
Hatter's biggest red flag: complaints at sites like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, or TrustPilot.
That's where Jesse Smith found his seller had more than a dozen complaints for non-delivery.
He says he found other people with "the exact same complaint," he said.
Hatter says if the prices are too low and you've never heard of the retailer, you may want to skip it so you don't waste your money.
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