Black Friday: A real steal?
November 29th is the great day of savings this year. We all know it as Black Friday. It’s that day after Thanksgiving where just about every category of shopping goes on sale. Typically, folks look at this day as the opportunity to save big bucks on their favorite merchandise. It’s true, Black Friday offers screaming deals. Here, you’ll find out some interesting information about this crazy “holiday” that will either be thought-provoking, or it might make you think twice about buying that TV you’ve always wanted.
Prices
What makes a bargain so awesome? Think about any time you’ve looked at a price tag and saw the original price and then saw the discounted price. Usually there’s an audible, “Wow!” And why wouldn’t there be? Discounts are awesome. That feeling of saving money AND getting an awesome product is stellar. The problem is not all those discount prices are accurate. What does that mean?
According to an article by The Wall Street Journal, it is not uncommon for retailers to hike up the prices of certain products leading up to Black Friday and then drop them back to the original prices. This creates the illusion of a good deal. According to findings from BlackFridayHits.com in a 2018 study, this sort of activity is common across all sorts of retailers.
This doesn’t go for all products, but it is worth keeping in mind. Is there a new KitchenAid that’s calling your name? Take a look at the price now and see if there are any changes as Black Friday approaches. For anyone serious about keeping tabs on price history, check out CamelCamelCamel.com. It’s an online product tracker so you can rest easy knowing whether you actually got a good deal.
Honorable Mention
Ever hear of “derivative models?” This refers to a product that is created to imitate a preexisting, better product, so it can be priced down for a sales event. Basically, it’s possible that TV set you want might actually be cheaper as a knockoff. It has the same guts as the more expensive model, but maybe the housing is made of lower quality materials or it has fewer connection ports – purposely to keep the price lower.
The problem is that, since these models are rolled out only for special events like Black Friday, they have no pricing history. In other words, it can be harder to know whether you’re really getting a good deal.
This Black Friday, be smart with your money and make educated decisions before you start spending. Happy Shopping!
