How to get the best Black Friday deals

With Black Friday now spreading to encompass an entire week, or longer, there’s never been a better opportunity to secure a discount. Tracking the best deals isn’t always easy, with so many specialised businesses seeking to offer products, subscriptions and services at a substantial discount.

Getting the best out of Black Friday means following a few simple tips. Let’s take a look at them.

Research the products in advance

When Black Friday rolls around, it’s easy to spend hours scrolling through discounted items in search of a bargain. But too often, the items in question aren’t of the required quality. It’s a good idea to know exactly what it is you need, and to only pull the trigger on a deal if the item in question is on your ‘pre-approved’ list. That way, you’ll have a good knowledge of the item you’re investing in.

Look out for junk brands

Retailers often take Black Friday as an opportunity to offload low-quality items they can’t sell at other times of the year. This means that you might see plenty of no-name brands, especially when it comes to electronics. If you’re willing to deal with this, then you might still find a bargain –don’t expect premium products for non-premium prices. If a deal appears too good to be true, then it probably is.

Sign up for newsletters

The major retailers will give customers as much notice as possible of an impending sale. But if they can’t get in touch with you, then you won’t get the message. For this reason, it’s worth signing up to a few mailing lists from retailers you’re interested in. Then, when the deals land, you’ll be told about them.

Look at delivery costs

If you’re shopping for Black Friday deals, it’s worth looking at whether next or same-day delivery is on offer at a discount, too. Some retailers might offer cheaper goods, but use the shipping to bring the price back up.

Ask for a price match

What if you find a product at a heavy discount somewhere, but you’d rather give your custom to someone else? It’s always worth sending an email and finding out if your preferred vendor is willing to match prices.

Look into software

Certain kinds of product are more easily replicated than others. It’s very difficult to build a new laptop, for example, but creating the software that powers the laptop is a matter of simply copying a lot of files. For this reason, you’ll often find that the most substantial Black Friday savings are to be found on digital goods. This means software and video instruction tend to come in at a heavy discount.

Start shopping early

Many retailers will launch their Black Friday sales early on. This means that the most desirable items might actually have disappeared by the time the day itself rolls around. When you know what you’re looking for, you’ll be saved the trouble of refreshing the page every day.