How to Tell If a Black Friday Deal Is Just Hype

Black Friday sales officially begin on Friday, November 28 and continue through Cyber ​​Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons and price trackers before they end.

• Follow our live blog to stay up to date with the best sellers we find.

• Browse our editors’ choices for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, home appliances and more.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletterAdd to cart, for best sellers delivered to your inbox.

• Sales are accurate at time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

Black Friday is almost here. Between November 28 and December 1, you’ll find product promotions from companies large and small, all vying for your clicks and the contents of your bank account. Many of these offers claim to be great deals, with the implication that not purchasing the item during Black Friday will mean you miss out on massive savings. But not all Black Friday deals are really great: just because a product is discounted on Black Friday doesn’t mean it wasn’t cheaper before and won’t be later. Fortunately, there are a few strategies you can use to quickly determine if this “incredible deal” is really all that.

How to tell a good Black Friday price from a bad one

One of the best things you can do to find out if a Black Friday deal is legitimate is to use a price tracker. These sites and tools monitor the prices of a given product at the many stores and sellers where it is sold, in order to give you the best possible price, and also show you if this current “deal” is really much lower than the original price or other available offers.

A common technique to make deals look good is to increase the price of the product: this way, when the company reduces the price for an event like Black Friday, it can claim a significant discount, even if the overall price is not much lower than the original price (if it is lower at all). If something initially costs $60, a company can increase the price to $75, then bring it back to $60, claiming to have reduced 20%. That’s accurate, but lousy, so be careful.

You can use a browser extension like CamelCamelCamel to view a product’s price history on Amazon. But other trackers, like Capital One Shopping, can help you find prices and price history of items across multiple stores. Their browser extensions are particularly useful: if there is another store selling the same product you are looking for on Amazon at a lower price, you will receive a pop-up notifying you, with a direct link to that store’s product page.

However, knowing if something is a good deal isn’t just about getting the best price. You may find that an item isn’t cheaper elsewhere on the web, but it’s not enough to consider the overall price.

Make sure you don’t unknowingly buy outdated technology

I’m a big believer in old technology: I think we should keep our devices longer than many of us. However, I don’t think companies should sell you old technologies as if they’re new, especially when new technologies are just around the corner.

Amazon in particular is sometimes helpful here: if you’re looking for an outdated version of a product, Amazon lets you know and gives you a link to the current version of that device. However, this is only true if Amazon offers this new version of the device or if there is a direct successor to this product. The lines are blurred these days: Last year’s device isn’t necessarily obsolete just because a new version is available, so Amazon isn’t always trying to sell you the newest product.

And that can be good! The latest generation of laptops, tablets, smartwatches, and phones are often great choices: technology advances so quickly that it can be economical and practical to purchase older technology that still works well. Just look at the AirPods Pro 2: They’re not Apple’s newest earbuds, but they’re still great and are currently $80 less than the AirPods Pro 3 on sale. That said, a store telling you to buy something that won’t be able to be updated to the latest software later this year is not correct. If you’re looking to buy a piece of tech on Black Friday, research is your friend. It’s perfectly acceptable to buy something that came out last year or the year before; what matters most is making sure the product will still work as it should in 2025, and whether it will last as long as you reasonably hope it will.

If a device is so cheaply priced because it’s outdated, it’s not a good deal.

Not everything “cheap” is good

Along the same lines, be wary of cheap tech that just isn’t very good. It may be affordable, but if it doesn’t work well, it’s not worth it.

Often this problem arises with the many brands you’ve never heard of that sell items for pennies compared to other companies. Sure, you could save money and go with these brands, but what about the long-term investment? If the return policy is in effect, you are left without a customer support channel, which many of these small businesses lack.

On the other hand, you may have heard of the brand, but the product itself just isn’t very good. It might seem like a good deal to get a giant 65-inch 4K TV for less than $300, but if the picture quality is truly poor, was it really worth it? (No.)

Read reviews

One way to make sure the TV is worth its big price drop, or if those cheap headphones will pass the listening test, is to read reviews of the products you’re considering buying. I’m not talking about Amazon reviews either: Amazon ratings can be useful, but they can also be compromised. Sometimes reviews don’t even match the product they’re supposed to be talking about, which doesn’t bode well for the integrity of the review. And in the age of AI, you can never really know who is writing that customer review in the first place.

When it comes to technology, the best approach is to listen to reviewers with technical experience who put these products through their paces before providing an opinion. A site like our sister site PCMag will help you determine pretty quickly whether this TV is really worth the hype, and they’ll show their work so you can understand how they arrived at their conclusions.

Ultimately, it’s about taking your time and doing your research, the opposite of the Black Friday “BUY NOW” strategy. Fight the urge to buy something impulsively and make sure your money is spent on the best possible product for your needs.

Which stores have the best sales on Black Friday?

These days, big retailers and small businesses are competing for Black Friday shoppers, so you can expect virtually every store to have sales through Monday, December 1, 2025. The “best” sales depend on your needs, but in general, the biggest discounts tend to come from big retailers that can afford lower prices: think places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. You can find all the best sales from major retailers on our live blog.

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Black Friday always offers discounts which can be rare during the rest of the year. If you want to buy something or are shopping for gifts, now is a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially technology sales, home improvement suppliesAnd fitness technology. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything.

Are Cyber ​​Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday was once reserved for big retailers and more expensive technology and appliances, while Cyber ​​Monday was for cheaper technology and gave small businesses a chance to compete online. But today, the distinction has almost no meaning. All major retailers will have sales every other day, and the best solution is to know what you want, use price tracking tools, or refer to guides like our live blog who use price tracking tools for you and don’t worry about finding the perfect timing.