It’s Black Friday week.
While most of the big deals haven’t yet been released, many shops are going to
be doing their best to target your spending impulses – especially online with
deals, codes and discounts emailed into your inbox. So who better to dictate
the bargains from the balderdash than our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis…
What is Black Friday? Is it
all hype?
Black Friday started as a US
phenomenon, but started to grow here in 2013 – when it merged with Cyber Monday
(which was the busiest online shopping day), so we get a whole weekend of it.
In many ways this isn’t new, we’ve long had deals throughout November and
December, just now many of them have moved so they are more concertinaed into
this one weekend.
Deals come in two types –
specific product promotions, which I’d avoid as they’re just a way to get you
to buy things you probably wouldn’t do anyway – and cross store discounts and
codes. These are the ones to watch for as it means if you have something
specific on your shopping list, this is the key point pre-Christmas to buy it –
so right now is the time to watch for that.
But don’t get sucked into
the hype. Just because something is discounted doesn’t make it a good deal. Remember
to always do your own research first and check if you can get it cheaper
elsewhere. Also don’t buy on impulse. Though if you have things on your list
you need, it’s worth checking out if you can buy them cheaper right now.
So if you’re going to be buying,
here’s my tips to boost the discounts…
1. No code available -
abandon your online basket to try and score a discount
When shopping online, sign
into your store account (otherwise they won’t know who you are), and add items
to your online shopping basket, then abandon it. Close the window and walk away
from your computer. You may find that companies will often send you codes to
tempt you back and finish your order. I’ve heard of people getting codes for
Asos, Currys, New Look, Asda, Tesco and Waitrose. Like Michaela who tweeted
“@MartinSLewisI leave shopping in basket on the Tesco grocery site & they
send me £12 off a shop. Done it three times now.”
2. Try a shop bot for big
ticket items
If you’re buying something
large while online is often cheap, there can still be big price variance in
different stores. So try shopping price comparison sites like 123PriceCheck,
PriceRunner and Dealpond. For example with the Sony Bravia smart TV (model
number KDL32RE453BU) price difference in stores ranges from £249 in PC World to
£310 in Tesco Direct.
3. Know your free delivery
thresholds
To get free delivery with
many online retailers your order needs to be a certain amount. Yet sometimes
you can play this. For example, you need to spend minimum £20 with Amazon to get
free delivery, otherwise it can cost up to £4.75. Yet the Super Saver Delivery
tool helps find a smaller item to add to your basket get the total over the
threshold. For example if you’ve a £19.50 electric toothbrush in your basket,
it’ll find a 59p bandage – which is cheaper than paying say the £4.75 delivery
charge.
Read more
on... Martin Lewis: Tips and
Tricks For Shopping Online This Christmas
Author: itv.com
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