MOAD Top Tips to navigate through Black Friday
Here we go, Black/Green Friday week! Keep an eye on my Daily Deals & Instagram Stories where I will keep you updated on all the Black Friday Offers & Discount codes.
We are now in the busiest shopping weeks of the year, Black Friday (24th), Cyber Monday (27th) of November! You will see lots of emails, ads & shops doing multiple shopping offers, just in time for Christmas.
Not only is it Black Friday, it’s also the Late Late Toy show night! The excitement is high here in the house for the Toy show & I will be on the look out for the most “wanted” toys on offer. Not only toys, but there will be loads of offers on clothes, beauty products, jewellery, electronics, homeware, groceries & more…
Green Friday:
Please keep in mind Green Friday, shop local & try your best to support local Irish shops. It is understandable that some small Irish businesses will not be taking part in Green Friday, but for the shops who are, I will help share as many as I can over the next few days. Every year I spend both online & in my local shops. I try to keep an eye out for bespoke thoughtful gifts at very reasonable prices.
MY TOP TIPS!
It’s too easy to get carried away with Christmas & buy unnecessary items. My advice would be make a list, stick to it & to a budget.
If you don’t need it now & can hold off for another few days, then I would say wait. Lets see if it comes down further in price… it’s a gamble, it might be worth the risk!
If you bought earlier & see that the price has dropped during Black Friday, contact customer service & in some stores, they might refund you the difference. You just have to save your receipts. Few times, I have bought an item (like clothes) & in few days after buying it, I saw it was reduced, I would return it (without wearing it obviously!) & buy it again at reduced price. Some stores will give you the price difference refund when you contact them without even returning the item (like H&M)! You just need to be proactive about it.
Be web-savvy. I’ve noticed when I add items to my cart & not finish the transaction, I might get an email with a discount code / free shipping later that day!!
Buyer Beware… Make sure your buying from a trusted website, check the website if you are unsure with https://ie.trustpilot.com/ . Only buy from sites you trust & know.
Be aware of scams, not only online but scam text messages from Banks / AnPost (delivery companies) / Amazon, to name a couple. I’ve received numerous Amazon phone calls over the past few days, which I know is a scam but can be easily persuaded to believe its real. Don’t click on any links they send through texts & always check the spelling of the email address is correct before clicking any links.
Research, research, research….Always compare prices against other stores. Just do a quick Google search.
If you spot something that you think is a good offer and you’re not quite sure about the product, I’d recommend searching for a review on YouTube, you’d be surprised at the info you’ll find.
Return policy, if you have to pay to return the item? Check if the store has extended returns over the Christmas period.
If buying electrical items, look at the warranty period. Sometimes paying that little bit extra, can get you longer warranty which might come as a benefit, especially when buying a big ticket item.
Earn as you spend….Revolut cash back… Its a great way to get a few euro back on your purchases & check your Vodafone / 3 Mobile app for discounts on shopping.
Log out of any website after purchasing to ensure there isn’t a risk of them being used by someone else.
Amazon Black Friday Sale use price browser add-ons like keepa.com or Camelcamelcamel to show price history and keep track of the prices. You can also setup an alert to let you know if a price drops below a desired amount.
Another great app I’ve used last few years is the ‘Christmas Gift List’ app (I’ve mentioned on my Instagram page). It is such handy way to keep track of what presents you already have and what you need to pick up, so you are not over buying or if your like me, put it away & forget what you have already bought!
Keep in mind the weeks before & weeks following Black Friday, prices in big multinational stores go up … some of you have already seen this happening. I use discount codes, to help navigate around this. Larger stores tend to do, is increase the price a couple weeks before Black Friday & have a “sale” on the items, which then looks like your getting an offer!
But also don’t forget to check out my Discount codes, to help you save on your Christmas shopping! Check out my Instagram stories here.
Hope these top tips help you navigate through Black /Green Friday weekend this year.
All the best & happy sale shopping,
Karen x