Black Friday – the infamous, perennial dealfest – sounds intimidating. Menacing, even. In truth, its appellation is a bit ironic, and refers to the amount of cash retailers tend to take in on the year’s biggest shopping day – so much that it secures a profitable year and puts them effectively “in the black.” That’s all well and good for retailers, but the deals they throw out there in an effort to get you in the stores can be so enticing that they make your critical value-assessment systems malfunction. Before you pull the trigger on any Black Friday deals, we urge you to consider the following.
Some products, no matter how low they go in the game of limbo that is Black Friday, just don’t provide real value. The quick fix is almost always tempting, but if the purchase you waited in line for five hours to secure is destined for the scrap heap by Black Friday 2013, then it wasn’t worth it.
Remember, time is money. Think of it like this: If you had no intention to jump in the fray, how much would someone have to pay you to run the Black Friday gauntlet? You know: cold weather, lines, sleep deprivation, etc. Figure out what that work is worth to you and, whatever that number is, tack it on top of any purchase(s) you’re considering. Then, ask yourself, “is it still worth it?”
Take the 32-inch Apex SM3288M LCD TV that Target will offer for $147. No offense to Apex, but the idea of basically camping out to secure one of their TVs is distasteful to say the least. Here’s another one: A 24-inch Seiki 1080p HDTV for $88 at K-Mart. Braving the madness that is Black Friday for a 24-inch budget-brand television just seems a little nuts to us. It would be different if it were a product like the Furbys or Tickle me Elmos of years past, and you were freezing your butt off because you didn’t want to disappoint your son or daughter. But who has a 24-inch Seiki on their holiday shopping list?
Also, bear in mind that the failure rate of these off-brand TVs is significantly higher than that of big-name brands and the warranties are often terrible – like 90 days labor and 1-year parts. When these TVs take a dive outside of the 90-day warranty, it’s game over. The repair costs will far exceed the price you paid on the TV in the first place.
As another caveat, many of this year’s doorbuster deals will require you to venture out on Thanksgiving evening, as Black Friday is rapidly becoming black Thursday and encroaching on pumpkin pie time. We’re not commenting on the wisdom of leaving Turkey Day festivities prematurely, but the bargains that require you to do so should be even better, shouldn’t they?
Before we get too carried away with the buyer-beware stuff though, we should note that there are plenty of great Black Friday deals this year. For instance, the 40-inch Toshiba 40E220U TV that Sears and Best Buy are hawking for $180 is silly cheap, but most importantly, it’s actually a quality product. Walmart’s Samsung HW-E350 sound bar, down to $98 from $150, is a great buy as well. There are plenty of deals like that to balance out the shakier propositions. The key is to go through the offers with a fine-toothed comb and pick out a couple that are truly attractive. Don’t gorge yourself on pseudo-bargains after you’ve already gorged yourself on turkey. And keep in mind that, historically, we’ve seen that highly desirable items actually get cheaper the closer we get to the end-of-year holidays.
Now that Black Friday has truly become a national holiday, retailers are conceiving of clever ways to capitalize on it- many of which are detrimental to the deal enthusiasts out there. One strategy we’re seeing used is to create one-off models, specifically for Black Friday, designed to be devoid of some of the more expensive frills that drive up the price of similar products. This often involves a rather surreptitious process of stripping down a well-known model, then selling the partially gutted product for far less than the fully equipped model would fetch, but with its own special model number.
Take the Orion 24-inch 720p LCD TV (SLED2478w) Walmart is practically giving away on Black Friday at $78. The set is actually made by a once-reputable brand (eons ago) named Sansui. But you’ve never heard of this TV, have you? That’s because the model doesn’t exist outside of the sucking void that is the Black Friday vacuum. Sometimes one-offs can represent a bargain, but more often than not, if a product isn’t good enough for a retailer to sell year round – no matter how cheaply you can buy it – you’re probably getting ripped off.
Look, we’re not trying to belittle Black Friday devotees, or accuse retailers and manufacturers of swindling their customers. Our purpose is merely to offer advice. Nowadays, A/V devices are centerpieces in our homes, major purchases that we’ll likely use almost every day. Research, patience, and prudence should be applied when buying a speaker system, or an HDTV. Low prices are enticing, but you’re only really getting a bargain if you’re getting more than you paid for. Often, that’s not the case. Come Black Friday, don’t allow yourself to be seduced by bottom-dwelling price points. Instead, seek out real deals.
For further help sorting through Black Friday propositions, check out our list of this year’s best Black Friday deals. Happy hunting.
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