The 5 biggest mistakes you can make on Black Friday

Black Friday 2018 could be the best yet, with fantastic deals to be had on everything from 4K TVs to smartphones, but if you get it wrong, at best you could miss out on huge discounts, and at worst, get ripped off really badly.

With a huge influx of deals coming in at every angle it can be tricky to know how to get the most out of Black Friday - that's where we come in.

We’ve put together this list of all the things you shouldn’t do on November - read on and you could have your best Black Friday and Cyber Monday ever.

1. Being underprepared

It’s well worth having an idea of what you’re looking to buy ahead of Black Friday - items can sell out very quickly so you don’t want to be browsing through hundreds of different products on the day.

If you’re looking for a specific kind of product like a soundbar, research some of the different models and their specifications - that way, if the exact model you wanted sells out, you’ll have lots of backups to choose from.

To make this easier, we have dedicated articles on different products, brands, and retailers with our predictions on what we think will be discounted this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Make sure you bookmark our Black Friday and Cyber Monday page where you can see all the deals going live in real time.

amazon prime day deals time running out

2. Waking up late

If you’re planning on doing you Black Friday shopping late in the evening of November 23 we have some bad news - you could well miss some of the biggest deals. Retailers typically start posting their discounts from the stroke of midnight, so you may stay up late - or even set your alarm for very early in the morning.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday is notorious for websites crashing under the huge amounts of traffic, so some retailers including Argos are advising that between 3 - 4 am is the quietest time to shop and bag the best deals.

That being said, Black Friday is increasingly becoming a week or even month-long event for some of the big shops like Amazon, so if you’re busy on the November 23 you may still be able to get yourself a fantastic deal on everything from smart speakers to TVs.

digital lock

3. Falling for scams

Unfortunately Black Friday and Cyber Monday can bring scammers and fraudsters out of the woodwork, so be sure to use your common sense when you’re doing your shopping.

Always try to buy from trusted retailers, and pay securely using a debit/credit card or PayPal so you can get your money back should anything go wrong or you end up having to return something.

Also be wary of ‘too good to be true’ offers and links on social media, as well as unsolicited emails - if you’re ever in doubt, it’s always best to give suspicious links a wide berth.

Tips to avoid scams on Black Friday

4. Unnecessary spending

It’s no secret that Black Friday is huge day for spending, and while that’s all well and good, there’s no need to break the bank this November.

That’s not to put you off bagging some brilliant deals - chances are you can get a lot for your money over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period, especially if you follow our tips and tricks.

Bear in mind that Black Friday comes at the end of the month, before most of us receive our paychecks, so if you’re planning on spending a significant amount it’s probably a good idea to start setting aside some money now.

10 tips for making the most of Black Friday

5. Being lured in by flashy deals

Occasionally retailers will artificially increase the prices of their products right before applying Black Friday discounts, making deals look better than they really are.

Of course, that’s not to say that these deals aren’t good value in their own right, but it’s worth researching current prices of the products you’re looking to buy ahead of time so you aren’t fooled by sneaky price hikes.

Stick with TechRadar to get the best deals

We'll be sifting through all the incoming deals in the lead up to Black Friday and on the day itself, giving you impartial advice on where to best spend your money.

If you want to keep an eye on the best deals, we'd heartily recommend following TRDeals on Twitter plus you can enter your email address below to join our mailing list so you'll get all of the information ahead of the Black Friday deals later in the year.