Black Friday: How To Be Sure You’re Saving

When purchasing from sites you’re unsure of, reduce the risk by paying via PayPal, Klarna or with a credit card to protect yourself. PayPal offers buyer protection and Klarna will pause your payment and investigate purchases you believe to be fraud. With a credit card, you can take advantage of a chargeback and get your money back from your bank. 

When dealing with retailers you don’t recognise and have never heard of, check Companies House to see if they’re a registered company with everything in order. Whilst this isn’t a guarantee of their service, it shows that they’re more legitimate.

In the run-up to and on the day of Black Friday, you’ll receive a mountain of emails promoting deals. But some of these will be used to target shoppers and potentially scam you, leaving you short-changed. Always check the sender of any emails encouraging you to click links to verify it’s a genuine email and to make sure the URL you’re being linked to looks genuine. 

If something’s too good to be true, it probably is. If you’ve done all the digging you can on a site or retailer and something still doesn’t feel right, then sometimes the best saving is your peace of mind. Worrying about whether you will receive your order or anxiously awaiting a refund isn’t worth the risk. Check out The Guardian’s article on Black Friday: how to avoid scams to find out more. 

Keep your devices up to date as software and app updates often feature security updates. This will help secure your email account by using strong passwords and activating two-factor authentication (2FA) which guarantees it’s you logging in. Action Fraud has a range of ways to protect yourself when shopping online this Black Friday and all year round. 

It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the price of anything you’re thinking of purchasing during Black Friday. Some retailers have been known to exaggerate how much of a saving their Black Friday prices are. Thankfully, there are websites and tools to track prices such as  Pricespy and Idealo. There’s also camelcamelcamel solely for tracking the prices of products on Amazon.

Some retailers have even been known to raise prices just before Black Friday so that when they reduce the price they can claim a more considerable discount. There’s been a few big-name retailers and sites that have been caught doing this. Thankfully, those handy little price trackers can help you avoid being taken advantage of. 

Cyber Monday follows directly after Black Friday and often has excellent offers and products on sale for a similar price and possibly cheaper. Black Friday has also become an unofficial start to the Christmas shopping period. So it's worth noting that you don't have to shop on Black Friday itself because it's likely the deals aren't fixed to one day.

Before purchasing, ensure you know exactly how much you should be spending on specific products, and what features to look out for. Even when saving, if you buy something that you’re not 100% satisfied with, you’ll end up spending more further down the line to replace it. So, it’s a good idea to do a bit of research before you buy. 

Some manufacturers have been caught producing and selling cheaper models on Black Friday, as noted by Melanie Hicken over at CNN. These are lower spec and lower quality but made to look like more expensive models. Give the serial number or product name a quick Google to see if you're getting a good deal to avoid spending money on poorer quality items.

Avoid overspending on Black Friday by creating a wishlist. Wishlists can help you avoid impulse purchases and can ensure that you truly want the product. Purchasing items you want are more likely to be used and less likely to end up at the back of the cupboard of shame - we’ve all been there. Figure out what you want before going into the day and stick to it. 

Once you’ve made a wishlist of what you’d ideally get your hands on, set a budget and stick to it. Set a maximum spend, or only buy something on your watchlist if it drops below a specific price. This can be an easy way to ensure that your bank account doesn’t look so scary on Saturday morning.  

Lighting deals are driven by fear of missing out (FOMO) and sometimes push people to buy something because it is so cheap or the discount is so high. Before you know it, the transaction has gone through, and you own another air fryer. That's not to say these are bad deals, but maybe they’re just not the deal for you. After all, spending no money is the best way to save. 

When setting yourself a budget, don’t forget the added costs that come with certain purchases. When ordering large appliances you could be looking at high delivery costs if the retailer doesn’t offer free delivery. These added delivery costs could quite easily wipe out any potential savings, so be sure to check that you’re still getting a deal before you place your order.

Any potential savings might be cancelled out by the warranty cost or a lack of one. Some retailers offer guarantees and warranties to remove this stress as part of the purchase. Tom Bedford over at TechRadar pointed out that shopping at John Lewis could make a Black Friday deal worthwhile in the long run. With a minimum guarantee of 2 years, a whopping 5-year minimum on TVs, and warranties going up to 15 years, John Lewis is an excellent choice for shopping with confidence this Black Friday.