The Ultimate Black Friday Survival Tips

Black Friday is an exciting opportunity to pick up some cut-price bargains ahead of the festive season. But it can also be an overwhelming experience. With large numbers of retailers all promoting deals, sometimes it can be hard to see the wood from the trees.

We’ve put together these Black Friday survival tips to help you cut through the noise and get the products you need at the best possible price. Let’s look at some of the things you can do to survive Black Friday and get the bargains you want.

1. Research before Black Friday itself

Your Black Friday shopping should start long before the day actually arrives (and not only because many retailers now promote early deals ahead of Black Friday). If you sit down to start shopping on Black Friday, you’re already on the back foot. Start thinking about what you plan to buy and start to build a picture of which retailers stock that product.

Dig into product reviews to see what other consumers have to say about the products you’re looking at. Will issues raised in negative reviews be a problem for you? Has this product got 5-star reviews across the board?

If you want or need to buy a product in person at a brick-and-mortar store, plan ahead so you know how the shopping trip will fit into your day and map out your route to the shop (especially if the product you want is in high demand and likely to sell out).

2. Set a budget

With bargains on offer left, right and centre, it can be easy to get carried away. If you’re not careful, all of your discount buys can start to add up to a sizeable sum. Again, this can be avoided at the preparation stage.

Set a budget for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. How much can you afford to spend? How much do you want to spend? Will you spend your budget on one high-ticket item or spread your spending across multiple products?

By working out the answers to those questions ahead of Black Friday, you can avoid over-stretching yourself and your finances on the big day.

3. Know the prices before Black Friday

Another invaluable piece of pre-Black Friday research is to check on the prices. Start to build a picture of the price of products that are of interest to you across several different shops. Take screenshots of ads and other promos you see in case they disappear or you need to hold a retailer to account at a later stage.

Following prices closely will also give you a chance to keep tabs on the infuriating tactic employed by some retailers of inflating prices in the run-up to Black Friday in order to pretend they’re offering a bigger discount than is actually the case. You’ll never find that happening on Gr8Fires.co.uk — we always keep prices as low as possible and our Black Friday deals represent genuine, additional savings.

4. Follow your target retailers on social media

Many retailers will give early access to their social media followers and email subscribers. So if you’ve got your eye on a particular product, it makes sense to put yourself in contention to be among the first to know when a Black Friday discount goes live.

You can follow Gr8Fires on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

5. Bring a buddy

When you shop online there are obvious conveniences, such as being able to shop from anywhere and not having to worry about carrying your purchases home. If you are shopping in person, it’s useful to take a Black Friday shopping buddy with you. Someone to help carry your bags, hold your place in queues and head off to a different store if you’re held up at a checkout can be a valuable addition to your Black Friday shopping trip.

6. Check out returns policies

If you go to town on the research stage of Black Friday shopping tips, hopefully, you will limit the number of items you need to return. But returns are part and parcel of Black Friday shopping, so double-check a retailer’s returns policy before going ahead with a purchase.

7. Use your credit card for Black Friday buys

When it comes down to the moment of truth and actually making your Black Friday buys, it’s always better to use a credit card rather than a debit card or cash. The primary reason for this is that credit cards give your better protection as a consumer. If there is an issue with your purchase and you need to get your money back, it is far easier to do this if the payment was made on a credit card.

Depending on the terms and conditions offered by your credit card provider, you might also be able to avail of 0% interest and longer payment terms to spread the cost of your Black Friday shopping. Some credit cards also offer cashback deals, which can translate into even more savings.

8. Experience the best of both worlds

One of our top shopping tips for Black Friday is to give yourself the best of both worlds. As we’ve mentioned, online shopping gives you greater convenience, access and choice. Use this to your advantage by shopping online for larger and heavier items. If the idea of an elbows-out free-for-all down the aisles of a busy shop fills you with dread, you can also target your online shopping to avoid having to go to stores that are likely to be chaotic.

At the other end of the scale, you can focus your in-person Black Friday shopping on locations or specific stores that are likely to offer a more relaxed experience. This might mean avoiding city centres or heading to lesser-known or boutique stores.

9. Enjoy your Black Friday

While Black Friday can be stressful and unfortunately a Black Friday survival guide is a necessity, it’s important to keep in mind that this is supposed to be an enjoyable experience.

Busy stores and the desperate hunt to secure a particular item from a loved one’s Christmas wish list can ramp up the intensity. But at the end of the day, we’re talking about securing items, which in all likelihood we want rather than need, at the lowest possible price. If you frame it like that, it’s easier to enjoy the thrill of the chase and take Black Friday in your stride.

That concludes our Black Friday Tips Conclusion

We hope our round-up of shopping tips for Black Friday will be helpful as you plan your purchases. We’d suggest starting your research as early as possible to start monitoring prices and narrowing down the many options available to you.

See our Black Friday deals on electric fireplaces.

Happy Black Friday bargain hunting!