Black Friday – Our top 8 smart shopping tips

It’s that time of year again – the run-up to Black Friday and the mad rush to grab yourself an unbelievable bargain on technology, Christmas presents or mobile phones.

Black Friday is an American tradition that has made its way across the pond that involves, on the first Friday after Thanksgiving (this year, it’s November 27), a huge sale mainly on electrical products, though almost all kinds of brands have joined in now.

In fact, last year’s discounts were so appealing to UK customers that – on just Black Friday alone – they spent a combined £2.5 billion.  So, whether you’re new to Black Friday or a seasoned, weather-worn, bargain-hunting veteran, we thought we’d give you a few tips to stay ahead of the competition and grab yourself a deal this November 27.

Our Black Friday tips:

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare.

It’s easy to get caught up in the panic and excitement of Black Friday – ‘oh wow, look how cheap this is! Do we need one? At this price, it’s almost silly not to!’ – but the best way to save money on Black Friday is often not to spend it. Before the big day arrives, make a list of all the things that you need to buy and would have bought regardless of Black Friday sales. If your thinking of buying something just because of a discounted price and would not have bought it otherwise, it’s not a saving, it’s an extra cost. So you need to control your spending impulses and plan exactly what you need first.

Ask yourself do I need it? Can I afford it? Have I checked whether it is available cheaper elsewhere? If the answer to any of those is no. Then don’t buy it.“

2. Be quick

On Black Friday, deals get snapped up in the blink of an eye – you can’t afford the luxury of thinking a decision through which is precisely why our first tip is very important. The very nature of Black Friday means you have to be impulsive – but that can also mean that you can end up with a few questionable purchases. Once you’ve made your list of items you want, as soon as you see a great deal, snap it up. (But don’t be tempted to stray from the list, unless you’re feeling particularly flush!)

3. Get ahead of the curve

Some sites offer deals in the week leading up to Black Friday – sometimes to everyone, sometimes to special customers. Keep your eyes peeled for any early deals that might crop up, and get ready to pounce.

4. Budget

As you can probably imagine, it’s easy to spend a lot of money on Black Friday. When you’re faced with more crazy discounts than you can possibly imagine, it’s easy to feel like a child in a sweet shop – you just want to buy everything. However, if you’ve laid out a budget on how much you want to spend, then you’re less likely to splurge. This is great advice for the whole year but is especially important with Christmas just around the corner. By all means, grab all of the bargains you need, but make sure that you can afford it and that you’ll have enough left for the Christmas period.

5. Save even more

Even though they’ve already applied massive discounts, some stores allow you to use coupons and money off vouchers on top of that. Check out HotUKDeals all day to see the best deals, and whether you can use coupons to make them even better.

6. The early bird catches the worm

The main rush on Black Friday is between 9 am-11 am and after that, a lot of the good deals are gone or have very limited stock. Why not get ahead of the crowd and check out Black Friday after midnight on Thursday or on Friday over breakfast? You’re far more likely to grab yourself a bargain, and won’t have that horrible disappointment of finding out the item you wanted has gone out of stock before you’ve had a chance to pay.

7. Sign up ahead of Black Friday

Another tip to avoid missing out on products and save time: sign up to the websites you’ll think you’ll use before Black Friday. That way, rather than registering before you pay and risking missing out, you’ll have a quick, easy way to grab those bargains in a hurry.

8.  Don’t forget to check the returns policy 

If you’ve decided that you’re not going to avoid shopping on Black Friday, make sure you check the returns policies on everything, even if it’s a site or a store you know and trust. Most retailers extend their returns period during the Christmas season, but some retailers might not extend that to Black Friday or introduce different rules for electronics or other discounted goods. Either way, it’s worth checking before you hit that buy now button. There’s nothing worse than getting stuck with store credit for a shop or site you probably won’t shop with again.

That’s it, our top 8 Black Friday shopping tips!

And don’t forget, the biggest saving is to not shop at all! Don’t let yourself get allured by discounts on items you don’t need.