The day after the fourth Thursday of November, one of the most striking commercial celebrations of the twentieth century takes place in the United States. It sounds a little complicated to glimpse the exact date; but every year, thousands of people take advantage of Black Friday to make all kinds of purchases.

This has become the favorite date for many buyers, due to the great discounts offered on products and services. For example, with the passing of Halloween on sites like Amazon, it is common to start advertising offers in all departments, so they seek to take advantage of buying what they need.

On Black Friday you can save, but you have to learn some saving tricks that will allow you to avoid the bad time of being scammed.

Here we will tell you what you should do when you find out that a product you need is on sale; how to take advantage to buy and do it without waiting long hours at the doors of a store.

What is Black Friday?

At first, the date was established thanks to a major soccer game that was to take place in the city of Philadelphia (1950); but, it was overshadowed by the large number of people in the streets who were preparing to do Christmas shopping.

At that time, the police force had to keep vigil from Thanksgiving Day, that Friday and the Saturday day of the game. So, the story was published in later years in The American Philatelist (1966), baptized as “Black Friday”; due to its implication with the work that the officers had to do and the tide of people it attracted.

It was a date that struck a chord among the people and, thus, merchants began to describe the day after Thanksgivin in this way. It marked the beginning of Christmas shopping in the United States, an occasion they took advantage of to offer better prices and increase sales.

Something that did not go unnoticed by thousands of retailers around the world who, today, have taken the date as their own.

Starting with Amazon and other large e-commerce companies who year after year contribute to the consolidation of the date; who, in 2022, will continue the commercial tradition to be celebrated on November 25.

What can we buy on Black Friday?

This date marks the beginning of the sale of gifts and all kinds of objects related to Christmas and the festivities to come in December. Where, the main sectors in which sales are observed are: clothing and textiles, toys and electronic devices of all kinds; such as: computers, cell phones and video game consoles.

4 out of 10 Spaniards are willing to buy a technological device during Black Friday (Itreseller, 2021).

In Spain, it became generalized as a celebration of consumerism since 2012, an occasion taken advantage of so that department stores remain open after their normal time; offering offers and sales in all types of businesses, especially those in the electronics and retail sector.

Meanwhile, in countries such as Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, the celebration has been going on for about a decade and can be extended for the whole weekend.

Black Friday: how to take advantage of the offers
Black Friday is the date of massive shopping par excellence in half the world. However, despite the sales and shopping options offered in the United States, in Spain and Latin America, this date lends itself to everything.

Thus, some manufacturers and brands of all kinds use this day to trick their buyers. Advertising misleading offers that invite to acquire an old, defective or bad product for a supposedly very convenient price. Avoid scams by keeping the following in mind:

1. Don’t believe everything you see

No business that prides itself on being competitive can stay out of the Black Friday sales party in every way. Therefore, everyone is going to publish offers and offer discounts that cannot be found on any other date.

Even if they have the most eye-catching advertising, either on Amazon or any online store, check the product features.

Many times, they are published quite generic specifications that do not end up giving information; but, that on the cover they have the image of the product we want and when it arrives, it is a used product, rebuilt, etc.

2. Compare prices

Sales at this time of the year are a fact, although, many businesses tend to offer “the best sales” after raising the price in October. How do you realize this? Visit different sites and compare the same product in all of them; this way, you will be able to realize the true average value of a certain item and avoid paying too much.

3. Beware of fraud

A store created in two days has as much right to sell as those brands that have decades of renown. But, there is something that cannot be denied, and that is that the recognition for the quality of the product will precede them and our intention to buy as well.

Therefore, if you are not very clear about the origin of the item to buy, or the store that sells it, the best thing to do is to use an offer verifier; to check that the site exists and is not a scam.

4. Filter and order your purchases

The offers will come, but taking a little time before the arrival of Black Friday to have your products in the cart, will save you hassle.

Think about what you need and set a shopping budget, this will help you know how much you can spend; always keep in mind that, although there are offers, this is not necessarily the best day of the year to buy everything you see.

5. Track the offers

There are digital trackers that have the function of constantly monitoring the offers published by different stores throughout the day. You may not appreciate their usefulness now, but they are able to filter unwanted advertising and sales that are emerging; showing only what we want to see.

In the United States the main companies with this service are GottaDeal and Slickdeals, while in Spain there is ValorTop, recently launched.

6. No one can follow your device

Among the cookies that we accept on some websites, the data obtained are used to establish our geographical location; and, in this way, offer different offers with higher or lower prices, depending on where we live.

It sounds a little crazy and not everyone does it, but, of course it happens and it is an annoying situation to avoid.

To prevent this from happening to us, we should log into the browser and disable the browser tracking options or visit sites in incognito mode; likewise, a VPN can help us hide the location of the device, helping us to shop in regions outside our country.

7. Ask for guarantees on everything

Regardless of the fact that Black Friday is a time of sales, products must offer the same quality guarantee as any other day. Therefore, it is advisable to check that the warranty offered by the products is in accordance with the standards that are carried throughout the year.

For example, factory warranties in Spain have a minimum of 2 years when it comes to an electronic device. Likewise, if we are buying clothes, make sure that there is a return and shipping policy in place to protect our money.

Cybersecurity tips for accounts on Black Friday 2022

Black Friday is a time when cybercriminals take the opportunity to do their thing left and right around the world. How? Well, through massive malware campaigns, scams, fraud, theft of personal data, account theft and more.

Therefore, keeping our data up to date and reinforcing our security can help us buy with greater peace of mind. Here are some recommendations for online shopping:

Create advanced passwords. It may not be a problem in day-to-day life to have a 1234amor type password; but for online shopping, it can mean vulnerability, being easy to discover. If your browser is Google, it surely offers a strong password that is very difficult to steal, take note of it and use it.

If you are going to buy several things, try to use the same card or bank account. This way, you minimize the possibilities of massive data theft in the same purchase.

Be wary of open wifi networks. The networks that have free access are not safe to make any transaction, much less banking; since, they are the first targets used by cybercriminals to steal data.
Avoid dubious links. When you come across an advertisement that catches your attention, go directly to the company’s site; do not take shortcuts and do not click on any link that appears, especially if they appear out of nowhere on the screen.

Avoid phishing. In this day and age, one of the most common ways to advertise is through email marketing; you will receive a lot of links to promotions and codes on all kinds of products and services. Pay special attention to the sender before opening the messages, as they may be pages that collect personal and banking data.

I trust that this article on Black Friday has been useful for you to know a little better this date so marked by retailers in recent years. As always, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have on this subject.