Black Friday Deals: Don’t Fall for These Dirty Tricks

Black Friday Deals: Don’t Fall for These Dirty Tricks

Posted By Luke Landes

Many of the “Black Friday deals” you hear about are not good bargains, they’re just marketed in a way to make people believe they are. Furthermore, even if an advertisement is a good deal for someone, it may not be a bargain for you. Here’s how to see past the dirty marketing tricks and determine where and how it’s worthwhile to spend your money this holiday season.

Be skeptical of every advertisement, even if it’s coming from a trusted source.

Dirty trick: companies use your friends and other trusted sources to convince you a deal is worthwhile.

When retailers or manufacturers pay the public to advertise for them, it changes the natural order of communication. If I were to ask you to share a deal I’m offering, let’s say it’s a notebook computer for $400, you might not think it’s such a great deal, and you’d be unlikely to share it. But if I offered the deal and said I’d pay you $25 for every sale you refer to me, you’d be more likely to share the deal. And why not? A few sales and you’d be able to buy the notebook computer for yourself.

Eventually, those who share bad deals as if they’re good will eventually stop because they will, over time, not be seen as a trusted source. But there will always be others.

Be skeptical and always ask questions. This is the basis that will lead you to success in building wealth.

Price history and future.

Dirty trick: Advertisements make you think a price is good when it’s not.

One question you want to ask is whether the deal is a good price, not just based on history but on the future as well. Advertisements can make a price seem good when it is not by evoking an emotional response rather than providing the information you need to make a good decision.

In many cases, Black Friday deals don’t look as good in hindsight, because depending on the items, prices continue to fall as retailers want to eliminate their inventory before the new year.

According to Consumer Reports, prices almost always fall after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The frenzy and hype surrounding these shopping events often cloud what is really happening with prices.

Plan your shopping and stick to the plan.

Dirty trick: Advertisements encourage impulse decisions, and consumers spend more.

When a sale lasts just one day like Black Friday — or when a desired item is likely to run out of stock within hours of a store’s opening —the emotional frenzy takes over and rational decision-making loses. Maybe you can get a toaster oven for $15, but if you weren’t planning to give anyone a toaster oven and you have your own, you’re not saving $40, you’re spending $15. That’s not saving; that’s spending.

And even if supplies don’t last (they might not with“doorbusters”) there will always be a roughly equivalent alternative.

REMEMBER: If it’s not on your list, it’s not a deal for you.

Deals help retailers clear inventory of discontinued items.

Dirty trick: Heavily discounted items are often worth less than nothing to the retailers.

Many of the Black Friday deals are discontinued or old items. Technology moves quickly. One of Best Buy’s biggest deals in its Black Friday advertisement is for $100 off an iPad 2. This sounds like a great deal, and for someone, perhaps a kid, it might make a good gift. But the problem is that this version of the iPad is considered old technology. It won’t even run some of the more modern iPad applications. A year from now, the iPad 2 will seem positively ancient.

Many deeply discounted items in Black Friday ads have been out of date for a year or two.

How to shop for the holidays intelligently.

Black Friday isn’t the best time to buy most things in terms of price.

But if you must, there are a few essential resources.

• Keep your eye on bfads.net ^[3], where you can find deals on just about everything that exists for the holiday season. This is just everything, so there’s no good indication of what might be a legitimate bargain and what won’t be. You need to use a critical eye.
• Consumer Reports ^[4] is simply the best in terms of editorial when it comes to holiday shopping. They are not as easily influenced by the retail industry, and the writers are willing to speak the truth. The magazine’s ratings are absolutely invaluable when it comes to making larger purchases, inside or outside the holiday season.
• It’s best to remain skeptical when reading even the best blogs and websites with holiday deals, but you may want to start withSavingsLifestyle ^[5], FatWallet ^[6], and CNET ^[7].