Five expert hacks for bagging a Black Friday bargain

Black Friday 2022 is in exactly four weeks’ time, but in recent years the mass shopping event has grown to become a month-long extravaganza – which is why shoppers on the hunt for a bargain should start planning now.

This year is especially unique with the country in the midst of a cost of living crisis, sending prices across the board spiraling, meaning shoppers will look to be extra savvy when it comes to parting with their hard-earned cash.

The good news for you is that the retail experts at online marketplace OnBuy.com are here to help and ensure you’re able cut through the noise and get ahead this busy shopping season.

From avoiding the common Black Friday pitfalls to planning ahead, with a host of industry expert hacks in between, OnBuy has you covered. For their experts’ top five tips and tricks for Black Friday 2022 on a budget, see below.

CREATE A SHOPPING LIST

In the weeks and days leading up to Black Friday, it’s important to know what products you’re in the market for, so you should create a list of all the items you want to buy.

A list of must-have items will help you focus your spending and prevent you from getting overwhelmed by the sheer volume of deals available, which is easy to do when confronted by offer after offer from hundreds of different retailers.

If you’re disciplined and stick to the list, not only will you walk away with everything you want – you’ll also avoid making unnecessary purchases that you end up regretting.

Sticking to must-have purchases will help ensure that your budget works for you, which is especially important with finances stretched for millions amid the cost of living crisis.

BAG A BARGAIN, NOT JUST A HYPED UP PRICE CUT

One of the main challenges amid the Black Friday sale extravaganza is figuring out which discounts are actually worth it and which ones are just a hyped up price cut.

Some retailers will display items with a ‘significant reduction’, when really all they’ve done is bring in a misleading price cut in order to draw unwitting customers in.

Once you know what products you want, it’s a good idea to do some research. Find out how much your desired products usually retails for on different websites and in different shops.

If you find out how much you can expect to spend on a product, then come Black Friday you will be able to evaluate if the discount is actually worth it (a lot of the time it’s not!).

As well as that, there are several handy price tracking sites out there like camelcamelcamel that monitor the cost of products over time, allowing you to see when exactly is the best time to buy.

A little bit of research goes a long way and can help you make some big savings. And remember – don’t always get sucked in by the bright lights and big deals!

SET A BUDGET

With so many exciting items just a click or swipe away, it can be all too easy to overspend on Black Friday. So, before you spend a single penny, set yourself a budget.

Delve into your accounts to establish exactly how much you can afford to spend over the course of the sale and ensure that you don’t surpass it.

Once you have your figure, you can go through your wishlist and prioritise the items you want from top to bottom – ensuring that you’re able to purchase all your top-tier items without overspending.

USE A CREDIT CARD

When it comes to paying for your big ticket Black Friday purchases, try and provide yourself with extra protection by purchasing with a credit card.

Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, using a credit card means that if there’s a breakdown in the supply chain and you’re unable to receive a refund, you can claim the full cost back from your credit card provider.

Remember that this only applies to items costing between £100 and £30,000, so credit cards are best used for the more expensive Black Friday buys like televisions and mobile phones.

DON’T HESITATE, SIGN UP NOW

Black Friday has grown exponentially to become a wide-ranging event that can go on for longer than a month, so savvy shoppers should sign up to their favourite sites now and start scouring for offers.

You could get the brilliant deal you’re after as early as the end of October (yes, really!), with many retailers launching daily deals, secret sales and flash sales in the weeks leading up to Black Friday.

On the big day itself, which falls on November 25th, the biggest and most popular online retailers experience some of the busiest traffic of the year, which means things can move slowly.

The knock-on effect of this is that the best deals can sometimes sell out in a matter of minutes, so you need to be nimble in order to bag the bargain of your choice.

That’s why you should set up your online account well in advance of Black Friday, setting your payment and shipping details so that you make your purchases quickly – and get that deal.

OnBuy will be joining the party and launching a host of enticing deals between now and the big day, sign up for an account here: https://www.onbuy.com/gb/account/register/