If you do an Internet search for "Black November", what appears is some low-rated 2012 movie, but soon the term Black November is going to become synonymous with the whirlwind of holiday shopping that will take place during the month before the actual month of the holidays. Yes, Black Friday is starting to become a month-long event, and consumers need to be aware that a lot of these so-called Black November deals are not necessarily deals at all. Here is how to get actual good deals at Amazon, Wal-Mart, NewEgg, and more.
A recent podcast from CNET has stated that once Halloween is over, stores are "ready to push out Christmas in full force". Even on the first of the month, stores are already doing Black Friday sales, and the day is more than three weeks away.
Some shops have embraced this, such as the online tech retailer NewEgg has just called the entire month "Black November" with discounts on over 900 products during the month. According to Polygon, NewEgg's November sales will consist of a gaming event on November 4-9, followed by an early-bird preview sale from the 10-26th, then Black Friday on the official day (November 27th), and then Cyber Monday on the 30th.
Since this year has a November starting on a Sunday, Amazon also took advantage of the November 1st date and is offering its own share of deals. Tech Times reports that Amazon has launched its Black Friday Deals store and Electronics Holiday Gift Guide. Their Black Friday Deals gives Amazon Prime members access to up to 30,000 Lightning Deals 30 minutes earlier than non-members. These "Deals of the Day" are prominently placed on Amazon's homepage.
If there is a deal to be hyped, Wal-Mart is on it, and the world's biggest retailer has launched its pre-Black Friday/holiday deals on Sunday as well. Sites like blackfriday.com will no doubt get a lot of traffic this month as consumers want to see the best deals, and they often have the holiday catalogs ready to be viewed.
Of course, the shopper is supposed to do the research when it comes to getting the best "deals" on Black Friday. You may have noticed that the word deals in the last sentence was in quotes, and this is because some deals are just not legitimate.
Just because it has a Black Friday label doesn't meant it is a deal, as a recent Nikon camera was seen on Black Friday Amazon sale for about $400, marked down from $600. That would be a good deal, if the Amazon user didn't see that the same camera is available at the same $400 price on Nikon's website.
In short, we all know that Black Friday is a "holiday" made up by retail stores to get more money. Even though we rely on stores for our gifts, it doesn't mean that we need to give them more than they deserve. Therefore, avoid the headline deal and look to how much you would actually be saving before purchase.
