Top Tips For Shopping On Black Friday For Your Business
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It’s Black Friday this week and a lot of small business could benefit from getting all their big purchases like laptops, printers and tablets at a discounted price.
I use this time of year to do just that, so I thought I would share a few helpful tips of how I research and plan what I want to buy for the best price as well as some tips to ensure you are getting the best product and service from these retailers.
If you’re shopping for tech, know the life cycles
Most technology, including smartphones, TVs and tablets, is released on a one-year cycle, so you only need to wait 12 months before there’s a shiny new device to get excited about. Big tech companies will do their best to tempt you into buying their latest release, but the forgotten device celebrating its first birthday could still be more than adequate and it’s also far more likely to be on sale.
Research your favourite products’ price history
There are useful web tools you can use to check how much a product has been sold for previously so you can work out whether the ‘sale’ price really represents good value. CamelCamelCamel, for example, provides price history for products sold on Amazon, whereas PriceRunner has wider market coverage.
Make a list of different retailers selling the same product
The rush in activity on Black Friday can cause websites to crash and retailers to run out of stock. If this happens while you’re trying to buy a product, having a pre-prepared list of stockists will mean you can try others, so you don’t miss out.
Start your Black Friday shopping early
Many retailers have already launched deals a week before Black Friday and this year some retailers are running promotions through the whole of November. If you are waiting for Black Friday itself to search for bargains, remember the best deals are likely to be snapped up quickly – especially big-ticket items – and some products may already have sold out.
Check the returns policy
The one good thing that has come out of lockdown is that everyone will be shopping online which gives you more rights than shopping in store. You have 14 days from the date of delivery to cancel an order and a further 14 days to return it for a full refund. You should also get the original standard postal costs back. Many shops offer extended returns periods in the run up to Christmas – handy if you are buying a gift.
Ensure to check whether the policies entitle you to the actual money back or just a store credit/exchange!
Set up online accounts in advance
It is not unheard of for websites to slow to a crawl on Black Friday and for popular deals to sell out quickly, so you’ll want to get in and out as swiftly as possible. Open online accounts with your favourite retailers, pre-enter your payment and shipping details, and save them to your account so you can complete purchases quickly once deals are live.
It’s also worth signing up to your favourite retailers’ newsletters and following them on social media as this may give you early access to deals.
Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.
