Fake deals - How to avoid them this Black Friday
By Klarna
Keep your eyes open
A few weeks ahead of Black Friday and Black Week there are always a number of shops that increase the prices on their products only to drop it just in time for Black Friday, this gives the impression of a price drop when in fact you're paying the original price for the product. So it's important to keep your cool and not just fall for every good sale you see and with the help of some of our price comparing tools we will help you learn how to easily tell the actually good deals from the fake ones.
Use the price history function
First of all it's a good idea to check the price history of the product you wish to purchase. Here you will be able to see in detail how the pricing has increased and decreased over the past few months, years even! This way you can make sure that you are really getting a good deal and that the price hasn't just been increased a few weeks before to then be lowered just in time for Black Week or Black Friday, this is what we call a fake deal but without the price history function you would just think you were getting a great offer. However if the price is steady for a longer period of time leading up to Black Week and then drops around Black Friday, you have a good deal on your hands.
Practically speaking you will need to scroll down a bit on the product page to find the price history graph, you can also use the short cut menu just under the product image and select __ Statistics__ to jump to the right section. Well there you can select to view the price history of a period of 1,3 or 6 months, you can even select to see the price history for the entire time the product has been on site. The most significant sales periods such as Black Week, Black Friday and even Cyber Monday will be marked on the price graph so you simply can compare with last years sale. In addition you will be able to track the price development day by day and you can even isolate a single shop to see their price development, this may be particularly useful if you wish to only see prices from local shops. It's worth keeping in mind that there may be added costs when buying from EU or over-seas.
Keep an eye on shipping costs and stock status
It's also smart to take into consideration the shipping costs of a product when trying to find the cheapest option. Some shops may lower the cost of the actual product to get you to choose them, but then add significant shipping costs that end up making the total cost higher than it would've been if you'd chosen a different option. On the product pages you can opt to include the delivery cost in the total cost, giving you a more accurate overview. We also recommend keeping an eye delivery times, so you don't have to wait months just because you wanted to save a few pounds - especially if you're buying Christmas gifts that need to arrive on time.
Finally be smart and use you common sense and have a critical eye when looking at prices. This along with the aforementioned tips should help you bag a few good deals once the Black Week and Black Friday sales start!