Black Friday is great at making you feel you'll miss out. Big red "was" prices, countdown timers and "only 3 left" banners all push you to buy now and think later. Some of the discounts are real. Many are smaller than they look, and some products are no cheaper than they were a few weeks earlier. This article shows you how to tell the difference before you pay.
Understand what a "was" price really means
A crossed-out price only tells you what the retailer says the item used to cost. It doesn't tell you how long it was at that price, or whether anyone actually bought it at that level. A product that briefly sat at a high price in the summer can then be shown as "50% off" in November at its normal everyday price.
So treat the "was" figure as marketing until you've checked it. The only number that matters is what you'd pay elsewhere, or at a different time, for the same item.
Check price history before the sale
The single best defence is knowing the normal price. A few ways to do that:
- Price trackers: free tools such as CamelCamelCamel and Keepa show how an Amazon UK product's price has moved over months, and can alert you when it drops below a target. Look at the lowest price over the past three to six months, not just last week.
- Your own watchlist: in October or early November, write down the current price of anything you're thinking of buying, or screenshot it. Our Black Friday watchlist is built around exactly this idea.
- Compare retailers: search the exact model number at two or three other shops. If the "deal" price is the same as the normal price elsewhere, it isn't really a deal.
Watch for model-number tricks
Retailers sometimes sell special versions of TVs, laptops and appliances for big sales events. They can look identical to a well-reviewed model but have a slightly different model number and different parts or features. Before you buy:
- Compare the full model number, not just the brand and size.
- Check the specification table line by line: storage, ports, screen panel type, warranty.
- Be wary of reviews that seem to belong to a different version.
Do the unit-price maths
Multipacks and "bundles" are common Black Friday offers. Work out the price per item, per 100g or per wash, and compare it with buying single items. Supermarkets show unit prices on shelf labels; online, you may have to work it out yourself. A bundle with extras you don't need is not a saving.
Don't forget delivery, returns and warranty
- Delivery: a low headline price with high postage can end up dearer than a slightly higher price with free delivery. This is especially common with marketplace sellers.
- Returns: check the returns window and who pays return postage. Many large retailers extend returns over Christmas, but not all, and marketplace sellers vary. Our article on UK consumer rights for online purchases explains your legal minimums.
- Warranty: a cheaper import version of an appliance might come with a shorter or non-UK warranty.
Check who you're actually buying from
On Amazon and eBay, the same listing can be sold by different sellers. A great price from a seller with no history and poor feedback is a risk, especially for chargers, electricals and branded goods where counterfeits are common. Our article on checking a seller on Amazon and eBay walks through what to look at.
Recognise pressure tactics
- Countdown timers that reset when you reload the page.
- "Only 2 left" messages on items that are always "only 2 left".
- "Deal ends tonight" on offers that return the following week, sometimes at a lower price.
None of these mean the deal is fake, but they're designed to stop you comparing. Give yourself permission to close the tab and come back in an hour.
Be wary of deal links in messages
Black Friday is a busy time for scam texts and emails pretending to be from big retailers or delivery firms. Rather than clicking a link in an unexpected message, go to the retailer's site directly. If an offer is only available through a link in a text from an unknown number, it's best avoided.
Check what UK rules say about price claims
In the UK, businesses aren't allowed to mislead consumers with price comparisons, for example by inventing a "was" price that never really applied. If you think a retailer's discount claim is misleading, you can report it to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline. It won't get you a refund on its own, but it helps regulators spot patterns. You can find contact details on the Citizens Advice consumer pages.
A simple Black Friday routine
- Make a list now of things you actually need, with today's price for each.
- Set price alerts on the items that matter most.
- On the day, compare the deal price with your note and with one other retailer.
- Check the model number, seller and delivery cost.
- Buy only if the price is genuinely lower than your baseline and you'd have bought it anyway.
A deal is only a deal if you wanted the thing in the first place. The money you don't spend on impulse buys is the biggest Black Friday saving of all.
For our own pre-sale baseline list, see the Black Friday watchlist, and for gift ideas with sensible budgets, see Christmas gifting on a budget.