With promotions in the thousands, Black Friday seems to be the ideal time to score good deals. But be careful, because the discounts displayed are sometimes exaggerated. Here's how to find the best prices.
The end of November, like every year, marks the return of Black Friday and its share of promotions, each more attractive than the last. Or more precisely Black Friday Week, because what was originally a single-day commercial operation now extends over the entire week preceding the last Friday in November, or even over the entire month.
And once over, this crazy period of promotions will be immediately followed by Cyber Monday, which will be another opportunity to get good deals on your high-tech purchases. But behind these seemingly unbeatable offers lie pitfalls to avoid. To avoid being seduced by false reductions and to make real savings, it is therefore essential to compare real prices, in order to thwart the not always very honest marketing strategies of merchants.
In France, Black Friday is subject to the same regulatory framework as all promotional operations. In this case, article L112-1-1 of the Consumer Code indicates that, when a reduction is displayed in the form of a crossed out reference price, “This previous price corresponds to the lowest price charged by the professional to all consumers over the last thirty days”. However, to display spectacular discount percentages, some do not hesitate to inflate product prices in the days or weeks preceding Black Friday.
To avoid falling into this quite classic trap, the most reliable solution is to follow the evolution of the prices of the products that interest us over several months. Doing this ensures that the great prices and incredible discounts displayed by merchants during Black Friday are real promotions, and not artificial price cuts. The problem is that this method is extremely time-consuming, especially if you want to compare many products.
Fortunately, there are online tools and services designed specifically to make this tracking work easier. Price comparison sites such as LCD-Compare, Electro-Compare, Idealo or Le Dénicheur offer, for each referenced product, not only detailed technical sheets, but above all price development curves over several months. These tools allow you to quickly see whether the displayed price is really attractive or whether it is just a temporary increase.
Furthermore, some Internet browser extensions, such as Keepa or CamelCamelCamel, offer similar functions. During your shopping sessions on the Web, they are superimposed directly on the product pages of merchant sites and display price history in real time. Thanks to these extensions, you can know the evolution of the price of a product that catches your eye very smoothly, and even mark it in order to receive automatic alerts when its price is falling.
By using these different tools and services jointly and intelligently, you will be able to make better purchasing decisions, and avoid being fooled by a false promotion on the product of your dreams, which you have been eyeing for months. In general, during periods of excitement and buying frenzy like Black Friday, do not rush without thinking to the first offer, even if it concerns the smartphone or PC that you dream of.
Always take a moment to consult price comparison sites and determine whether it is really a good deal… or not. It will only take you a few minutes, and will perhaps allow you to avoid a false promotion, or even a real scam.
