You may wait for Black Friday to get items you desire at historically low prices, and retailers know that. To avoid dodgy discounts, there are several ways to tell if a Black Friday deal is a true bargain.
1 Check the Price History
Retailers sometimes temporarily raise prices and then return them to the previous lower price on Black Friday as a “discount.” This promotional tactic aims to mislead you into thinking you have a real deal on your hands. However, a quick price history check can reveal this marketing ploy.
Let’s look at an example of checking the price history of Amazon products with CamelCamelCamel. To use it, search for the product on Amazon and copy its name or URL. Then, you paste it into the search bar on CamelCamelCamel and press Enter.
Once the item is found, scroll down to the Amazon Price History section to see a chart of its price history.
2 Compare Offers Across Multiple Websites
If you see a Black Friday deal on a website like Amazon, it helps to check other retailers’ websites for a price comparison. When you spot the lowest price on the list, that’s the real deal.
Luckily, you don’t have to do this manually, as you can use sites like Google Shopping to compare the product across multiple retailers in a few clicks. For instance, on Google Shopping, search for the product, then select the “On Sale” filter at the top to see all the deals available for that product.
Alternatively, you can install a browser extension like PriceBlink and compare prices on the product’s page.
3 Don’t Focus on Percentages
When trying to find real Black Friday deals, it’s important not to give too much weight to the discount’s percentage value. Rather, you should investigate to find out the actual money you’re saving. It’s easy for retailers to inflate the price and slap a big percentage on it as a significant discount.
Research and understand the real market price of the product. When you factor that in, along with the listed price and percentage, you will know just how much you’re actually saving.
4 Watch for Signs of Black Friday Scams
Black Friday is rife with phishing scams, so spotting real Black Friday deals is not all about finding the “true” low price. It’s also about not getting scammed with fake deals. You can always stick to the major online stores to avoid this, but you may find better deals on websites from unknown retailers.
Here are some major red flags that could indicate your Black Friday deal is a scam:
- Extremely low discount: The discount is extremely steep; if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
- Terrible-looking ad or website: The design of the ad or website is unprofessional, has several spelling mistakes, and has performance issues (e.g., loads slowly or checkout doesn’t work).
- No contact details: There is no such thing as a reputable retailer who doesn’t post contact details on their website. And even if they do have contact details, you should still verify them.
- Urgency: Black Friday lasts about a week, including the weekend and Cyber Monday, but this deal in particular will expire in a few hours. So, you’re encouraged to act as quickly as possible.
- Questionable payment methods: Reputable retailers don’t accept gift cards from other retailers, wire transfers, and cryptocurrency as payment methods.
While you’re more likely to find historically low prices on Black Friday, don’t be too pressured to shop on this day in particular. Remember, there is also Cyber Monday, so you have time to research and still walk away with the items you desire at a considerable discount.
