One of the biggest shopping events of the year will take place online and in stores across the country today. Black Friday will commence on November 25 and thousands of products will be reduced ahead of the Christmas period.
Big retailers including Amazon, Currys, Argos and more will go head to head to offer shoppers the best discounts on some of the hottest products of the year. However with the cost of living crisis and household bills at an all time-high many consumers may be avoiding the Black Friday sales altogether this year.
For those who will still be curious, it will be important to understand what actually makes a deal a deal, and whether in the long-run you’re saving money on a product that you’ve been waiting to be reduced for a while.
In 2021, around £2.7 billion was spent in the UK on Black Friday alone, with the average Brit spending an estimated £275 on the shopping event, according to finder.com ’s annual research around Black Friday spending. With the anticipation of mass spending, online scammers are also likely to take advantage; so knowing how to avoid and identify scams is crucial.
With this in mind we have compiled a list of tips to make sure you are getting the most out of Black Friday this year, as well as listing scams and how to avoid them so you don’t get caught out.
Setting a budget and knowing original prices is key
Many shoppers will be setting budgets this year, not only because some of the deals may not be worthy of overspending but because less consumers may have less to spend amid the cost of living crisis.
Having a limit on certain products will not only ensure reasonable spending but also, if you know how much say for example, a Shark vacuum cleaner usually retails for, you can know what to expect to spend roughly on that item, and how much of a good deal it is when it comes down in price.
Be aware of ‘fake’ price drops
Unfortunately a lot of retailers do this, they hike their prices up before Black Friday only to bring them back down again for the week of the sale or on the day itself, and usually the ‘deals’ are at the same price they were in October or earlier that year.
It’s important to do your research and if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is. Avoid falling victim to fake discounts and price drops by doing research ahead of time and comparing the price of a product across multiple retailers to work out the true value of what you’re purchasing.
Early shopping may be better
Over the years many retailers like Amazon have offered better deals in the run up to Black Friday, so throughout November rather than on the day. Many retailers will start their sales in the weeks leading up to this date and run discounts throughout the whole month of November.
So if you want to be savvy about your Black Friday spending, it’s best to start as early as possible rather than waiting until Black Friday itself to snap up a bargain, as other people might get to it sooner and items on your wish list might sell out or revert back to their original price.
Is it a good deal?
To know if you are getting a good deal in the Black Friday sales you’ll need to keep track of the product you’re after. How much is it now, how much was it last year and what’s the cheapest it has been?
To do this you can look at deals for it now and also research the price of it on sites like camelcamelcamel.com . This site checks and monitors millions of products on Amazon and can alert you when a product has dropped in price.
It also has useful data from previous years and Black Friday events so you can see how the price of an item has changed over time.
Cashback sites
Cashback sites are a good way of getting extra money off an existing deal. TopCashback often offers further discounts on Amazon devices, which are already reduced in the Black Friday sale. They also have thousands of other retailer offers on their site here.
The site works by giving new or existing customers money back every time they buy a retailer deal or offer through their site. It’s free to sign up too. Find out more here.
Suspicious links
This could be anything from an email, text message or online advert, if it doesn’t seem legitimate, don’t click it. There are a few ways you can check the legitimacy of a text or email, clicking on the contact information of the sender can provide insight; if the email address or phone number of the sender doesn’t match up with that of the company they’re associating themselves with, it’s likely fake.
Browser extensions
Around Black Friday a lot of “money-saving” browser extensions start appearing - be cautious with these, some are legitimate but some have been developed by scammers for phishing data. In short, to avoid installing any new browser extensions relating to finances around this time of year, the most legitimate Black Friday savings will be found through the company websites directly. If you do opt to install extensions, be sure to do your research, putting the name through sites like TrustPilot can help identify any suspicions.
Billing scams
Scammers might send you a message claiming to be a company you’ve bought from, telling you that your payment has not gone through and that you need to update your payment information immediately.
They might back this up with a sense of urgency, claiming that you will miss out on the deal. If you are faced with a message like this, it’s best to contact the company directly to ensure that you aren’t sending your details to an external source.
Unfamiliar websites
It’s easy to get lost in the deals of Black Friday, but it’s important to check where you’re ordering from. A lot of scammers will create fake websites claiming to sell products for an “amazing” price, when in fact they are using the opportunity to retrieve your data and bank details.
Before purchasing anything from a site you don’t recognise, search the name on TrustPilot to ensure they’re a legitimate seller, but ultimately it’s best to avoid unfamiliar sites, especially around this time of year.
Verification code scams
This scam is used by hackers to get through a two-factor authentication put in place to protect your data, they may pose as your bank or a company you’ve recently purchased from, claiming that you need to confirm a verification code in order to finalise a purchase. These scammers will often already have your password and username, but with the verification, will be able to access more of your data.
Thanks to Proxyrack who have contributed their knowledge on common Black Friday scams to help you avoid being caught up in an attack.
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