Ready for Black Friday 2023 discounts?
Beyond being ready, in reality, you can already test yourself, because several e-commerce and marketplaces are anticipating the fateful day of Friday 24 November with special offers.
In fact, let us remember, for the very few who don’t know, that Black Friday is in theory a day of heavy discounts, which falls on the fourth Friday of November, the day after Thanksgiving.
Born in 1924, Black Friday symbolically kicks off Christmas shopping, and shops – physical and virtual – compete to advertise unique and unmissable offers. Furthermore, what was once a day of discounts is now expanding out of all proportion. It continues until the following Monday (with Cyber Monday) and beyond. And, as we said, it is brought forward by one or even two weeks.
When will Black Friday 2023 be?
Black Friday 2023 discounts: is all that glitters gold?
But the pitfalls for consumers in the days around Black Friday are at least of two types.
The first and most significant ones come from the various scam attempts, to which as every year we will dedicate (and have already dedicated) more than one article.
Then there is a more subtle discussion. Black Friday discounts, it goes without saying, appeal to our desire. Which is partly based on the real need to buy that appliance that we should have changed some time ago at an affordable price. But which partly ignites our tendency towards compulsive buying.
In short: such an eagerly awaited event makes us lose sight of the fact that not all Black Friday discounts must necessarily be unrepeatable throughout the year.
So what? How to disentangle the various super offers, to distinguish the real ones from the presumed ones?
Price trackers?
The main question, around which all the others relating to Black Friday 2023 discounts revolve, is: Is the proposed discount really something exceptional? Or maybe I’m buying a product that I’ll find at a lower price in fifteen days?
The future, certainly, cannot be predicted exactly, but the past is certainly knowable. In this case, making use of the so-called price tracker. They are sites (there are several) that work in this way: by entering the URL or name of a product, its price fluctuation in recent months is shown.
If in the period preceding Black Friday a certain product has already been put on sale with a similar or greater discount, let’s say that we no longer have all that urgency to buy it on November 24th (or within that period of days).
The reference price
We remind you, among other things, that from March 2023, when the new article 17-bis of the consumer code came into force, the reference price indicated must be the lowest price applied in the previous 30 days.
The year of production
Another important parameter: not all Black Friday 2023 discounts have the same “weight”.
For example, if a certain object is offered with a very strong percentage discount, first let’s at least ask ourselves what its year of production is.. For example, it could be a product superseded by more recent and much more performing models, and perhaps destined to be incompatible with the technological standards of the present or near future.
Is it better to secure, let’s say, a smartphone with a 50% discount, but which in a few months will be incompatible with charging standards, or a very modern one with a 15% discount?
Black Friday 2023: how to understand if a discount is unmissable
If we are looking for a product from a specific product category, it would be superfluous to say that the low price, or the shock discount, should not be the only parameter to evaluate.
If we have in mind to purchase the product of a certain importance for us, and at a non-trivial price, we pay attention to its quality. Never having heard the name of a company, for example, is not an encouraging sign. Let’s rely on the comparison with similar products from well-known brands (if the price difference is notable, there must be a reason) and perhaps on customer reviews.
Always keeping in mind that this too is a delicate topic: too many flattering reviews in a row should make us suspicious and make us doubt their authenticity.
The old, timeless common sense
In short: on Black Friday we will all be invited to buy more than necessary.
Let’s do it, but always trying to remain vigilant: let’s compare current prices with recent ones, ask ourselves if it is a quality product, understand well what the return policy is.
In the end, It would be wonderful to be able to ask yourself the most difficult of questions: do I really need what I’m buying?