With the holiday season upon us, now is the time to separate the good sales from the bad. All too often, consumers spend Thanksgiving day with their families filling up on food and browsing the myriad of Black Friday Ads in high hopes of getting a new flat screen TV or tablet for a steal of a price. What they don’t realize is that once they are in that big box store, there are little traps waiting for them to unsuspectingly fall for. You may go in looking for your doorbuster 60” Smart TV, but by the time you go through the carefully laid out maze-like line, your cart is full and your wallet is emptied. Thankfully, we have a few tips on how to recognize the red flags of a bad sale before it gets into your cart.
Filler Sales:
The worst offenders of this money making technique can be found at most stores lining their aisles with $2-$25 items that can quickly add up. The main issue with these sales is that the overall quality of the product is typically not worth the value. For instance, if you look at one of the Target door buster deals, they advertise select $2, $4, $6, $8, $9 and $10 DVDs and Blue Rays. While these can actually be a remarkable price, if you don’t look carefully, you may pick one up that is not on sale or end up buying what you don’t need just because the value seems to be so great. The best way to combat getting in over your head with the allure of these “great deals” is to simply plan ahead. If it is not on your list, put it back down.
Cheaper Tablets:
It is typical on Black Friday for the lowest price points to be strategically placed in an effort to drive us to make a purchase, and while this seems to be a great deal for the consumer, 9 times out of 10 you are not getting the best value when you take into consideration the specs of the product. This has been a growing trend in tablet sales on Black Friday. Walmart is advertising the RCA 7″ Voyager II Ad-Free Android Tablet for $28.88 and Target has a similar deal with the RCA 8-in. Android tablet with 8GB memory and HD screen for $39.99. While both seem like great deals, they both have are lacking in significant areas. Both tablets only offer 8GB of storage, which is significantly low if you want to store any kind of media on the device. They do not have great resolution, so if you plan on buying this for your kids to watch movies on, chances are the quality will be poor. The worst of all specs for these tablets is the battery life is only up to 6 hours, that only leaves room for you to watch 2-3 full length movies. The best way to avoid getting tricked by the low rated tablet is to always do your homework and compare more than the price tag.
Door Busters:
While waiting in line for the big daddy of deals may be your idea of a fun Thanksgiving, most people only endure it to get what they think is the lowest conceivable price for that item. What most retailers don’t want you to know is that just because it is advertised as a door buster doesn’t mean that it is at its lowest price point. Sometimes there will be items on sale the week or month before Black Friday for a lower price. There is also a growing trend of retailers having Black Friday deals that stretch out through the weekend, so depending on the item you are looking for, you may not even have to deal with sacrificing your Thanksgiving Day plans.
If you do your research, create a list and stick to it, Black Friday weekend can be a great money saving experience. Just remember to follow rule #5: If You Know Their Tricks, They Won’t Work.
