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to think Black Friday is One Big Con

46 replies

viioletsarentblue · 27/11/2015 18:27

They inflate the prices then mark them down to make you think youre getting a bargain.
I bought a fitbit flex for under £60 last May.
That same item is showing as being reduced from £70 to £64.
Wow what a saving.

Want to buy some perfume?
Okay if you want to buy the 50ml. bottles. Loads of those marked down.
Hardly any of the 30ml bottles in the Black Friday deals.

Its all desiged to shift stock that they otherwise find hard to sell.


On the hunt for Black Friday discounts? Find our guide to this year's best Amazon Black Friday deals. Hope this helps, and happy shopping! MNHQ

OP posts:
LetGoOrBeDragged · 27/11/2015 22:51

Something is only a bargain if you get an item at a reduced price that you were going to buy anyway, at the higher price.

If the store get you to buy more products than you actually wanted in the first place, it is not a bargain because you will have spent more money than you initially intended.

passmethewineplease · 27/11/2015 22:56

Hmm think it doeends if you do your research or not. Some people will see a sale ticket and automatically think it's a bargain/massive saving.

I like to research past prices, how long the prices were that price for, past special offers, that sort of thing.

I did get DD a snow glow elsa for 13 pound delivered though, I'm happy with that.

ToadsJustFellFromTheSky · 27/11/2015 22:57

Baby Grin

ouryve · 27/11/2015 23:03

DH just got a 99p refund on a box set from Amazon because it;s cheaper not it's no longer on sale!

The key is to know what you're buying. I replaced my old Panazonic breadmaker for £50 less than it would normally have cost me for the model I wanted, last year. I was somehow not tempted by the case for a model of my phone that preceded it, when I'd already had that phone over a year. Some reductions are good, while some are simply a ploy to get rid of out of date shite that cluttering up the stock rooms.

Junosmum · 27/11/2015 23:03

I don't know. OH has been keeping an eye on PS4 prices for nearly a year and he got a great deal today. Saved loads.

He also bought 7 work shirts, he's needed some for ages and was going to order some earlier in the week but forgot. They are all ones he would have bought at full price but got them at 50% off.

We also got a baby monitor at 50% - our friends bought the same one 6 months ago at full price.

So I think sometimes it can be great, but you need to do your research and don't just buy things because it says 50% or whatever.

ouryve · 27/11/2015 23:09

And i took advantage of the M&S sale, this year to stock up on jammies and vests. Handy for DS1 who is in the midst of a massive adolescent growth spurt

salsmum · 27/11/2015 23:11

I bought an Amazon fire for £35 from Argos with free fast track P+P...ordered at 1.30am (Argos started at 1am) and it arrived at 9.30 this morning so very impressed.....Although I had sworn never to use Argos again after they cancelled delivery of my daughters fridge freezer SEVEN times after payment when she first moved into her own pad.

mrsjanedoe · 27/11/2015 23:11

Completely disagree, it really depends.

I had most of my Christmas shopping in various baskets/ wish lists on amazon (and a few others), the prices have really gone done today, so I have now ordered. It was definitively the cheapest prices since I started looking, over a few weeks.

It might get even cheaper in the coming weeks to be fair, but I want to be done before the 1st December.

The only thing that has gone up in price on Amazon was the gro-clock!

DollyMcDolly · 27/11/2015 23:16

I got a fantastic deal on a ps4 bundle today. I'm very happy. I agree that you need to know the true prices beforehand

Titsywoo · 27/11/2015 23:20

I bought 3 sofas from Marks and Spencer today. I was going to buy them anyway and when I got there they were 40% off so I saved £1200! Couldn't find anything else worth buying today but that was certainly a bargain.

crispytruffle · 27/11/2015 23:25

Totally agree. I do a lot of online research when I am buying stuff and I notice a lot of things suddenly on sale which are actually now more than they were last week!

colleysmill · 27/11/2015 23:33

Hhhmm the two things I have bought for presents aren't much cheaper today than previously although one was half price and one had an additional toy for free worth 15 quid and free delivery (worth a fiver). I'm reasonably happy I've not been diddled.

I have been watching for a particular princess castle which doesn't seem to be on offer anywhere ..... yet. I live in hope.

CointreauVersial · 28/11/2015 00:07

Too much stuff on sale! I can't keep up with it all.

Irritatingly, there's nothing big I really need to buy at the moment. I did however get a set of Real Techniques makeup brushes (for DD2) on Amazon at a great price....but they were in my basket already wjen I noticed them in the Black Friday deal. Saved myself....oooh, maybe £5.

SingingSamosa · 28/11/2015 00:47

I've been keeping an eye on the final few things that I wanted to get for my children for Christmas (have done most of the rest of my shopping). We decided to bite the bullet and get all three of them a Kindle Fire Kids Edition each for Christmas and have been waiting for some good deals on them. They are usually £100 and we picked up three of them for £210 instead of £300. That's a bargain in my book!
I also usually buy some nice PJs and dressing gowns for Christmas Eve and Hatley had a 50% off sale today. Their dressing gowns are gorgeous and I picked up three of those and PJs for a bargain price too. I'm very happy with my bargains!

viioletsarentblue · 28/11/2015 10:26

I still find it amusing that I bought a fitness tracker from a well known electrical store in May this year when it was reduced from approx £60 to £50.
Fast forward a couple of months and that same item is showing up in the BF sales as being reduced from£70 to £60..

I wish I had kept the receipt to give the exact figures... but you get the picture Smile

OP posts:
Tinklewinkle · 28/11/2015 10:36

Depends on what you're buying.

I've bought presents for the kids for Christmas and saved quite a few £££.

DD2 asked for an iPad and I've had my eye on those for months and got one yesterday far cheaper than I have ever seen them.

A Black Friday code got me 10% off on something that doesn't usually discount

I haven't bought anything I hadn't planned to buy.

maggiethemagpie · 28/11/2015 15:52

It seems all the major retailers now amp up their prices by 20% and then have constant '20% off' offers... I'm talking about you, Debenhams and M and S!

It must work as a business model, as it creates that sense of scarcity when they have the offer on to make us buy now and avoid missing out.

I try not to buy anything full price these days, which just means waiting for sale/offer days whenever I want to buy anything. They seem to happen all the time though. BF no different to the usual 20% off weekends

Dulceetdecorum · 28/11/2015 16:05

I bought the same laptop as Painauchocolat. It was down to £179 from £279 and it's for sale elsewhere today for £299. Black Friday worked for me this year Smile

FireCrotch · 28/11/2015 17:37

Our washer broke down yesterday. It was on it's last legs anyway. I'd had my eye on a 10kg Zanussi but it was always £400+. Yesterday I got it on AO for £271. I also found a voucher code for £10, free delivery and managed to get free connection and removal of old machine. I'm very very VERY happy! It's like my old machine was waiting for Black Friday. :o

LetGoOrBeDragged · 28/11/2015 20:27

I just returned a dress I bought at full price last week and have reordered it online at £40 cheaper. I view that as a bargain because I was willing just to pay full price. That said, it was overpriced imo, so maybe now I've just paid what it's actually worth!

Figmentofmyimagination · 28/11/2015 21:53

It does give you a sense that these are pretty desperate times. You can feel the palpable retail desperation in the adverts - puleeeze buy more crappy unnecessary stuff .... Christmas is always bad but it really does feel as if stores are trying too hard with this Black Friday business. Our economy is so heavily reliant on personal debt that you almost sense it is becoming our patriotic duty to get the credit card out.

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