Apple
Black Friday 2014 Ads: Watch Out for Inflated Savings
The Black Friday 2014 ads are leaking and early Black Friday 2014 deals are here — but buyers need to watch out for inflated savings.
Retailers love to use the reputation of Black Friday, the rush to get a deal before it sells out and the hype surrounding the shopping holiday to push shoppers into spending more money.
We always see bad Black Friday deals that everyone should avoid from big name retailers, but we also see Black Friday deals that seem better than they actually are because retailers use an inflated retail price, or an old retail price.
Read: Apple Black Friday 2014 Predictions
When it comes to Black Friday 2014, we’re already seeing deals claim inflated savings and there are sure to be more uses of this common Black Friday trick.
Black Friday 2014 deals include inflated savings.
The early Walmart Black Friday 2014 ad shows an iPad mini for $199, which was an amazing deal in 2013, offering $100 off, but now it’s only $50 in savings on an old iPad. Instead of showing the savings compared to the iPad mini at Apple which is $50, Walmart uses the old list price to show an extra $50 in savings.
To be clear this is the same iPad mini that you can go to Apple or Best Buy today and buy for $250. Saving $50 is a great deal and even on this older iPad it is one that many shoppers should jump on, but by inflating the savings Walmart can convince users that they are getting a better deal which can lead to more spending on accessories and other items.
We expect to see $50 off the iPad mini through Black Friday 2014 in a number of deals that drop the price to $199 — but the savings only adds up to $50.
This is not the only time we will see this happen and as more Black Friday 2014 ads leak we’ll see more examples. Three categories where this happens most are tablets, HDTVs and laptops. Retailers love to sell special models of laptops, tablets and HDTVs that are only available for Black Friday.
Watch out for inflated Black Friday 2014 savings.
You’ll find nearly identical versions of these devices, but the model numbers will be slightly different from anything you can buy throughout the year. With a new model number retailers often choose a very high starting price, one that you would be hard pressed to find that tablet ever selling for — save two days before Black Friday.
This makes comparison shopping on Black Friday difficult and it can make it seem like shoppers are getting an incredible deal instead of a standard discount.
Savvy shoppers will research the model and look at reviews and prices for items before committing to a Black Friday 2014 deal. If you cannot find the exact model, search the beginning part, which will help you make a good comparison. Traditionally laptops and tablets include the same starting model numbers, with one small change at the end to signify that it is for a specific retailer.
Black Friday 2014 is on November 28th, the day after Thanksgiving. Retailers are already starting early Black Friday 2014 sales and many are open on Thanksgiving Day or planning a full week of deals to capitalize on the frenzy around Black Friday.
Check out what you can expect from top stores on Black Friday in the slides below.
[slides postid=274390]
