PSA about Black Friday Deals

sweetpotato

Tue, Nov 22 2016, 10:45 am

There are a lot of threads asking for helping shopping for Black Friday deals. I wanted to share some tips for anyone who wants to shop online on Thursday/Fri and Monday. (I work in journalism/product testing/reviewing and we spend a lot of time analyzing how companies price products around big sale days, like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon's Prime Day.)

As a lot of posters have noted, the vast, vast, vast majority of Black Friday deals are not good deals. That's because either the retailer inflated the item's price in the weeks preceding Black Friday, or the sale price simply isn't the lowest price it's been offered at this year. In fact, fewer than 1% of the deals out there on Black Friday are actually "good deals"--meaning, the lowest or near the lowest price a quality item has been offered at over the course of the year.

Here are some ways to analyze if it's actually a significant discount and to get things you need:

-Don't judge by the "MSRP," which is the manufacturer's retail price. This is simply a suggested price but retailers rarely ever sell an item at this price. So if you see something listed as 50% off of $400, keep in mind that the product was probably never sold at $400 in the first place.

-Manufacturers will sometimes make special Black Friday versions of popular products, which are stripped down versions of the real thing, marketed only on Black Friday. This allows them to effectively trick people into thinking they are getting the popular item at a deep discount, but actually it's a cheaper version of that item. It will often have a nearly identical name/model number, but will have fewer features, be of lower quality, or have a shorter warranty than the popular item.

-Be sure that the price it's offered at is indeed close to its lowest price of the season. This website tracks prices on Amazon throughout the year, so you can enter the URL of the item and it'll show you the high/low prices and dates. If you see something was available for a cheaper price earlier in the year, UNLESS it's a very seasonal or limited edition item, it'll likely go back to that price at some point after Black Friday.

http://camelcamelcamel.com/

-Know what you are in the market for before looking at deals. Do not decide to buy something because it's on sale for Black Friday, but rather look for deals on a specific item and ideally model that you've decided is best for you. This is ESPECIALLY crucial for electronics and appliances, as noted above. Compare model numbers or key features of the products you are interested in. Make sure you are getting the size you want (especially for mixers, food processors, toaster ovens, etc.--sometimes a smaller version of the usual size will be marketed on Black Friday.)

-Some stores rarely actually have good deals. Macy's is one of these--they appear to have constant sales going on, but in reality their discounts (when you compare to other retailers) are rarely significant.

-Pay attention to user reviews on Amazon when deciding what to get. Many products will have artificially high reviews because the reviews are essentially fake. This site uses algorithms to analyze the percentage of likely fake reviews: www.fakespot.com It's not perfect, but it's worth checking to make sure the product you're considering has legit reviews.

amother

Gold

Tue, Nov 22 2016, 11:02 am

Many frum people are selling on Amazon now and giving products for free to get high reviews.

Last year dans deal posted a deal from Amazon where you get a product for free with a coupon code so of course everyone ran to get it. Then five hours later he posted a letter from a guy in boro park telling him that this code was only supposed to go to a few friends and if he can please ask all of his readers to cancel their order because if he cancels on them then Amazon will penalize him of course many people canceled because you don't want a frum guy to lose parnasah but honestly that's not how to do business by giving people free products in exchange for good feedback.

I'm on a few whatsapp groups and I just got an invite to get free small kitchen utensils for free plus an extra ten dollars for each time I order in exchange for positive feedback. This is all not honest business practices.

amother

Copper

Tue, Nov 22 2016, 12:41 pm

amother wrote:

Actually, it is perfectly in line with Amazon regulations, as long as all participants write that they received it for free or discounted. That's how many new products get exposure, and it's perfectly legal. Consumers have to read through reviews carefully, and I believe that Amazon sellers who don't comply with review guidelines can be kicked off Amazon. Receiving money for good reviews is a separate story - I have no idea if that's allowed or not, but can't imagine it is.

sweetpotato

Tue, Nov 22 2016, 1:47 pm

allthingsblue wrote:

Thank you sweet potato. Is your advice relevant only to electronic type items, or also to clothing? Particularly gap, banana republic type stores that go 50% off.

I'm not as familiar with the clothing market, but in general, I've heard that Black Friday isn't where you'll see the best deals on clothing/shoes/accessories. Clothing is extremely seasonal, so it gets the deepest discounts when retailers are trying to move last-season's stock off the racks. For winter clothing, you'll probably see better deals at the end of January when they start to move out inventory for spring. Clothing goes on sale so often that it's unlikely there would be any incredible deals specifically on Black Friday that you wouldn't see at other times throughout the year.

That said, if there are items you need and don't want to wait for (like winter boots that you need now and don't want to wait for end of the season closeouts), you may find a deal that's worth it to you. I'm going to watch some retailers I know make quality clothing (like LL Bean) to see what kinds of sales/discounts they offer on Black Friday, because there are items I've been waiting to buy.

amother

Indigo

Tue, Nov 22 2016, 11:27 pm

amother wrote:

fyi Amazon updated their policy with regard to reviews about a month ago. No longer are sellers allowed to offer free or discounted products in exchange for review. Even if reviewer writes a disclaimer.

Amelia Bedelia

Wed, Nov 23 2016, 5:34 am

amother wrote:

Would you be able to PM me the invite? I would be interested...

sweetpotato

Wed, Nov 23 2016, 2:22 pm

seeker wrote:

On a totally tangential note, how did you get into the profession of journalism/product testing/reviewing? I would really love to go in that direction. I already do freelance writing and I'm always analyzing the things I use or consider using and sharing those observations with friends. I'm not motivated enough to go ahead and make my own product review blog but I'd be interested in actual jobs like that.

I've been working for magazines and newspapers for awhile, in writing and research positions. I worked at a big newspaper for the technology section, and that inevitably involved testing/reviewing new consumer tech products, so I got some background there. I now work for a website that specializes in reviewing/testing consumer tech products and home goods.

There are actually a ton of websites that set out to do this-- both individual blogs, and bigger operations. The vast majority aren't great quality and are just trying to put up content with affiliate links to make money. But many major journalism outlets are starting legitimate endeavors to do strong, practical, quality product testing and reviewing, because people really need the information. Shopping is hard, people do a lot of research nowadays before buying a product (when you shop online, you have access to exponentially more product options that you would have 20 years ago shopping mostly in brick and mortar stores). So they realize it's becoming a part of journalism (they call it "service journalism," I.e., articles and reporting aimed at helping people make real decisions).

The good sites do extensive independent testing and reporting and have a solid ethical protocol (I.e., no reviews/recommendations in exchange for free products, keeping the business and editorial departments separate, etc.)

A lot of the writers I've worked with are strong writers/researchers who have a niche interest that translates to being able to learn deeply about a product category. So for example a skilled quilter who know tests and reviews sewing machines and textiles, or a former carpenter who now writes about tools.

I personally think a blog or site doing this from a Jewish perspective could be great-- there are so many products we use that are ubiquitous but used in a niche way, like Crock Pots, hot plates, mattress connectors, etc.