Don't Buy the Discount: How to Tell if a Black Friday Deal Is Really a Deal

Black Friday can produce some genuinely good prices, especially if you already know what you want to buy. But the biggest discount on the screen is not always the biggest saving.

Black Friday shopper comparing prices and checking whether a 50% discount is a genuine deal before buying

We've all seen it: a TV suddenly has £300 crossed out above the sale price, an air fryer is labelled “50% off”, or a countdown clock tells you there are only a few minutes left to order. It is very easy to feel that you have found a bargain before you have checked what the product normally costs.

That is why one of the simplest Black Friday rules is also one of the most useful: don't buy the discount, buy the product.

Before ordering a laptop, pair of headphones, coffee machine, perfume gift set or anything else in the sales, these are five checks worth making.

1. Do shops put prices up before Black Friday?

This is one of the biggest questions shoppers have about Black Friday, and it is also where crossed-out prices can become misleading.

Imagine a coffee machine normally sells for around £160. Its price later rises to £220 and then appears during a sale for £160 with a claimed saving of £60.

You are still paying £160, but if that was close to its usual selling price before the promotion, the large advertised saving does not tell you very much about the real deal.

This does not mean that every retailer deliberately raises prices before Black Friday. Prices change for plenty of legitimate reasons, including supplier costs, stock levels and promotions ending.

The important point is that the highest crossed-out price should not automatically be treated as the price shoppers would normally have paid.

The Advertising Standards Authority says a reference price used to show a saving should represent a genuine established usual selling price. When assessing these claims, it can consider recent pricing history, how long the higher price was charged and whether customers actually bought the product at that price.

Its current guidance also specifically warns businesses not to artificially inflate prices to make a later saving look larger.

A big Black Friday saving can still be misleading

Which? has found several examples of this problem when looking at previous Black Friday sales.

In its analysis of 227 deals during the 2023 Black Friday period, 92% were available for the same price or less at another point during the year.

It also found 14 examples where the higher price used to demonstrate the saving had not been charged by that retailer at all during the previous 12 months.

One example was a Remington hair dryer at Boots. It was advertised for £18.99 with a claimed previous price of £49.99, but Which? found it had not actually been sold for £49.99 at Boots during the preceding year.

That does not mean £18.99 was necessarily a bad price. It does show why the size of the advertised percentage saving should not be the only thing you look at.

What I would check: search for the exact product model and look at its recent price history before deciding whether the crossed-out price represents a genuine saving.

2. Is Black Friday actually the cheapest time to buy?

Not necessarily.

Black Friday is now such a major shopping event that it is easy to assume prices hit their lowest point on the day itself. In reality, products move up and down in price throughout the year.

Which? compared 175 home, technology and health products sold during Black Friday 2024 with their prices during the six months before and six months afterwards.

Every one of the 175 products had been available for the same price or less at another point during that period.

Across the wider four-week Black Friday sales period, 83% were available for the same price or less at least once outside the sale period.

This is particularly relevant for products such as TVs, laptops, smartphones, headphones, vacuum cleaners and coffee machines, where prices can move regularly throughout the year.

For example, Which? found a Hisense 43-inch 4K TV selling for £249 on Black Friday. Just 15 days later, the same television had dropped further to £229.

It also found a Sage Creatista Pro coffee machine priced at £499.95 during Black Friday, despite having been available for £479.95 several months earlier.

That is why Black Friday should be treated as a shopping event, not a guarantee that a product has reached its lowest price.

Start checking prices before the sales begin

If you already know that you want a new games console, washing machine, air fryer or pair of trainers, it is worth checking the price before Black Friday promotions start appearing.

You do not need to track every price for months. Even knowing roughly what the product sells for during October and early November gives you a much better reference point when the Black Friday banners appear.

For products sold by several retailers, compare the exact model number rather than just the product name. A television or laptop that looks almost identical may have a different specification, storage capacity or model year.

3. Is an “up to 70% off” sale really 70% off?

Possibly for some products. Probably not for everything.

A huge “UP TO 70% OFF” banner is designed to catch your attention, but it does not mean that the trainers, perfume, LEGO set or winter coat you actually want will be reduced by anything close to 70%.

The maximum discount may apply to a relatively small number of clearance products, older colours or less popular sizes while the majority of the range receives much smaller reductions.

The ASA says “up to” savings claims should not exaggerate the level of saving consumers are realistically likely to achieve.

The useful question is therefore not:

“How big is the sale?”

It is:

“How much cheaper is the exact product I want?”

If a retailer advertises up to 70% off but the trainers in your basket have fallen from £90 to £81, your saving is 10%. The 70% headline is irrelevant to your purchase.

4. Should you trust Black Friday countdown timers and low-stock warnings?

Not without thinking about what they are actually telling you.

Messages such as:

“Sale ends in 01:42:17”
“Only two left”
“15 people are viewing this now”
“Order within 10 minutes”

can all create a sense that stopping to compare prices means losing the deal.

Sometimes these messages are completely genuine. A popular games console bundle really can sell out, and a genuine limited-time promotion really can end at midnight.

The problem comes when the urgency does not reflect reality.

The Competition and Markets Authority has warned that countdown timers can mislead shoppers if the sale simply continues once the clock reaches zero or if essentially the same promotion appears again shortly afterwards.

It has also highlighted misleading scarcity claims where shoppers are told stock is almost gone when there is no genuine reason to rush.

This is not just theoretical guidance. In May 2026, the CMA secured a court-confirmed settlement with Emma Sleep after the company admitted breaching consumer law through misleading countdown timers, false high-demand messages and discount claims that created false pressure on shoppers.

Citizens Advice has also found that online selling tactics can push people into purchases they later regret. Its research estimated that 8.5 million people had bought something they did not want, need or later regretted because of online shopping traps.

If a ticking clock is making the decision for you, that is usually the moment to stop rather than speed up.

5. Are you comparing the discount or the final price?

This is one of the easiest Black Friday mistakes to make.

A retailer offering 30% off does not automatically beat a retailer offering 20% off.

Imagine you are buying a pair of wireless headphones.

Retailer A advertises them as:

£120 reduced to £84 + £4.99 delivery

Your final cost is £88.99.

Retailer B simply sells the same headphones for:

£86 including delivery

Retailer A has the bigger-looking promotion. Retailer B has the cheaper price.

The same thing can happen with TVs, perfume, toys, laptops, kitchen appliances and clothing.

You should also check whether other savings still apply. Some retailers allow voucher codes to be used on top of sale prices, while others exclude Black Friday products, sale items, particular brands or new releases.

A newsletter discount, student saving, loyalty reward, free delivery offer or cashback deal can sometimes change which retailer is cheapest.

The number that ultimately matters is the one you pay at the checkout.

Sometimes a heavily discounted product really is a good deal

There is another side to all of this.

A big discount does not automatically mean something suspicious is happening.

Technology in particular has a natural product cycle. When a new television, smartphone, smartwatch or laptop replaces an older model, retailers may genuinely want to clear the previous version.

Last year's model can sometimes be excellent value if you do not need the newest features.

The same applies to seasonal stock. Previous-season trainers, coats, garden equipment and beauty gift sets may receive genuine reductions because retailers want to make room for new ranges.

The important thing is to understand why the price has fallen.

If a £900 television is now £599 because a newer model has replaced it, that could be a very good deal.

But check the exact model number and specification. A cheaper TV with a similar product name may have a different screen technology, processor, refresh rate or year of manufacture.

How can you tell if a Black Friday deal is real?

You do not need to spend hours researching every purchase. A quick five-minute check is often enough.

Search the exact product. Compare the same model at several retailers.
Look at recent prices. Check whether today's sale price is genuinely unusual.
Ignore the headline percentage. Work out the saving on the product you actually want.
Check the final basket price. Include delivery and any available vouchers or other discounts.
Give yourself permission to walk away. A countdown timer is not a reason to buy something you do not need.

Price comparison and price-history tools can be particularly useful for electronics and appliances where the same model is stocked by several retailers.

Don't buy the discount - buy the product

This is probably the Black Friday rule I come back to most often.

If you did not want a £200 coffee machine yesterday, seeing it advertised for £100 today does not automatically mean you have saved £100.

You have spent £100.

The discount only matters if it brings something you already wanted down to a price that represents good value.

Black Friday marketing is very good at making the saving itself feel valuable. A large red percentage, crossed-out price and ticking clock can make walking away feel like losing money.

You are not losing money by leaving a deal behind.

Sometimes the smartest Black Friday decision is buying early because the price is already good. Sometimes it is waiting because the product regularly falls lower. And sometimes it is simply closing the tab.

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

Yes, some absolutely are.

Black Friday can be a useful time to buy televisions, laptops, phones, headphones, toys, home appliances, beauty products and clothing, particularly when you already know roughly what you want and what it normally costs.

What Black Friday does not provide is an automatic guarantee of the year's lowest price.

A good deal should still look good once you have ignored the red banner, checked the recent selling price, compared the exact product elsewhere and calculated what you will actually pay.

That is ultimately the difference between buying a Black Friday bargain and simply buying something because it has the word “sale” next to it.

Black Friday deal FAQs

Do retailers increase prices before Black Friday?

Prices can rise and fall before Black Friday for many reasons, so a price increase on its own does not prove that a retailer is trying to create an artificial discount. However, the ASA says reference prices should reflect a genuine usual selling price and specifically warns against artificially inflating prices before making a savings claim. Checking recent price history is therefore one of the best ways to judge the real saving.

Are Black Friday prices always the lowest of the year?

No. Which? has repeatedly found products that were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year. Black Friday can still produce good deals, but shoppers should compare prices rather than assuming the sale price must be the lowest.

How do I check whether a Black Friday deal is genuine?

Search for the exact model at several retailers, check its recent price history, compare the final price including delivery and look at whether any voucher codes, cashback or other discounts can be used.

Should I wait until Black Friday to buy something?

Not automatically. If you know what you want and the current price is already genuinely good, waiting can mean missing the offer or the product going out of stock. The important thing is knowing the normal price rather than relying on the Black Friday label.

Are Black Friday discounts fake?

Not as a general rule. Many Black Friday reductions are genuine. The problem is that a genuine reduction does not always mean the product is at its lowest price, and a large advertised percentage may not reflect the saving compared with its normal recent selling price.