5 smart tips to save money on Black Friday and holiday shopping
Check out our 5 expert tips to stretch your budget and get the best deals this Black Friday and holiday season.
As Americans gear up for holiday shopping, they’re bombarded with flashy sales, price cuts, and doorbusters. But if Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals sound too good to be true, they probably are.
Gaz Selman, a freelance web developer in Dearborn, Michigan, started tracking the price of the $299 monitor in October. By early November, the price had risen to $379. This week, he received an email with an early Black Friday deal reduced to its original price of $299.
He had observed this phenomenon before. Small kitchen appliances like air fryers cost $99 year-round, but the list price suddenly jumps to $149 in November just to advertise a “doorbuster” price of $99.
“Consumers think they’re saving $50, but they’re actually paying market price,” Selman said.
His advice? Don’t be fooled by “price anchoring,” a common retail strategy that sets high “anchor” prices to make regular retail prices seem like a bargain, he said.
“Ignore ‘old’ prices. Red slash-through prices are marketing, not reality.”
Trick-or-treating? How are retailers fooled?
Retailers often raise prices and lower prices before big events like Black Friday to trick shoppers into thinking they’re saving money when in fact they aren’t. The goal, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Consumers’ Checkbook, is to trick shoppers into thinking they’re getting such a great deal that they can afford to spend more.
Consumers’ Checkbook researchers spent six months tracking prices at 25 major retailers, buying power tools at hardware stores, clothing and household goods at Kohl’s, and big-ticket electronics at Best Buy.
The investigation found that nearly all retailers artificially inflate prices to mislead shoppers. The “regular” or “list” price is rarely paid, and more than half the time a discount is applied. According to Consumers’ Checkbook, only Apple, Costco, and Dell consistently offered fair discounts.
“I found a great Black Friday sale on Amazon. About 40% off the original price,” one person commented on Reddit. “The ‘new’ price was Walmart’s regular price.”
“I’ve been waiting for a great sale on office chairs. I went to Staples to see if they had any down and found that mesh chairs that normally cost $129 are currently on sale for $129, down from $299.99,” said another.
How to trade at the best price (actual)
Here’s how to avoid being played with.
Please make sure it is authentic. Use price tracking tools and browser extensions such as Camelcamelcamel, Keepa, Honey, Pricegrabber, and PriceRunner to monitor price movements and verify that your trades are actually trades. You can also use ChatGPT and other AI tools, or use the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine to research historical prices. On Amazon, you can check price changes by clicking “Price History”.
Please check the model number. If you’re shopping for a TV or laptop, search for specific model number strings, Selman advises. “If the only results are this week’s Black Friday ads, and no professional reviews from six months ago, it’s likely a ‘derivative model’ designed to look like a deal and be disposable,” he said.
Let’s go shopping. Track prices at multiple stores, as prices can vary widely. “There’s no point in looking at 50% or 60% off the regular price,” says Kevin Brazler, editor-in-chief of Consumers’ Checkbook. “The only way to ensure you get the best deal is to shop around.”
please do research. Read reviews, check shopping forums to spot fake sales, and get historical price data. Investigate seasonal price changes for specific products. Outdoor gear is often marked down in late summer, and bedding in January or February.
Shop Secret Online. Use privacy features that prevent your browser from saving your internet history, cookies, and other data on your device. Please regularly clear your browser history and cookies and log out of retail sites. Use a VPN.
