The best Black Friday 2018 hacks and tips

Black Friday is almost here and we are suitably excited to snag the best deals on the latest tech.

There will, of course, be many, many price cuts and discounts for you to wrap your head around, which can be quite overwhelming if you aren’t prepared. Battle plans are essential, and you will need a strategy if you plan on getting the best deals on the latest 4K TVs, smart sticks and games consoles.

Black Friday has evolved from a single day of sales to an entire weekend, including Cyber Monday, and companies are now even opening up deals and offers in the week running up to it. Honestly, it’s exhausting, but soldier on we must – and soldier on we will, as we are finding the best deals to help you save cash.

Don’t worry, we are Black Friday experts here at Digital Spy, and have come up with a few hacks and tricks to help you make the most out of the weekend.

Most importantly, the best advice we can give you is to make sure you check out our deals across the week of Black Friday, as well as bookmark our Black Friday and Cyber Monday pages, which we will be updating hourly with all the best discounts.

Now you know where to find the greatest Black Friday deals, prepare to save yourself some money with our top hacks to help you make the most of the weekend.

Bookmark your favourite retailers

Online shopping is great, because you don’t have to go outside or interact with the outside world in any way. The downside, though, is there are a lot of retailers who will be pushing their deals online.

The best way to filter out the noise and focus on what you want is to bookmark your favourite retailers early. Every retailer will have an online hub announcing all their deals.

Here are some of the major shops taking part this year:

Amazon, John Lewis, Sky, eBay, Argos, Tesco, Currys PC World, Boots, Debenhams, GAME, Firebox, ASOS, Proporta, Carphone Warehouse, M&S, Very, ThinkGeek and House of Fraser.

It is worth noting that phone network companies like EE, Vodafone, Three and Sky Mobile will all likely be taking part as well, helping you buy that snazzy new phone you always wanted.

Given that Cyber Monday is all about technology, you can also expect to see discounts on gaming (Sony, Microsoft), TVs (Samsung, LG, Hisense), laptops (Dell, Acer, Apple, HP) and cameras (Nikon, Canon) specifically, so it is worth bookmarking these too.

Turn on notifications

The less glamorous and fun aspect of Black Friday is that you are going to be bombarded with discounts and offers, and you won’t know what you want thanks to all the shiny deals distracting you.

Think of a child in a sweet shop… all of a sudden they are presented with too much choice – they will be having a blast, but they won’t be efficient, and efficiency is the key. It sounds boring, but stay with us here.

Spend some time thinking about what you want and/or need to buy and if they are going to be on sale. In the market for a new TV? Need to buy some sports earphones for a fitness buddy for Christmas? Does your significant other need a phone upgrade? Thinking ahead on what you specifically want will help you avoid distractions.

Once you have found what you want, have a look at the prices they are now and keep a tab on any shifts in deals. Prices will drop in the run-up to Black Friday, but having an idea of how much you are actually saving is crucial.

A deal might look spectacular on the day, but you might not be saving as much as you think compared to another brand.

Set yourself a budget now

Again, not a sexy task, we know. The last thing you want to be doing is organising a spreadsheet of what you can afford, but having an idea of what you ideally want to spend can really help to maximise your bargain hunting.

For example, knowing that you are unwilling to spend any more than £350 on a new smart watch will help you target the better deals when it comes down to it.

Don’t be impulsive, be patient

Yes, yes… we know. You REAAAAALLLLY want a new tablet. And that tablet you want has just had a price reduction on the morning of Black Friday. And you weren’t planning on buying that tablet, but hey, why not?

DO NOT DO IT. We know you can get easily swayed by the wide array of discounts, but not every offer is worth your time and not every product is worth you buying.

Don’t be influenced on the fantastic deals on a waffle toaster – focus on the products you want.

Be flexible

You may have a specific product in mind, or even a specific brand, but being tied too closely to some deals may mean you miss out on a better one.

You want a new TV, and you spotted a gorgeous LG 4K TV that has everything you want, but isn’t in the Black Friday Sales.

However, you spot a Samsung TV that also has the same features, resolution and screen size, but is in the deal. Let go of brand loyalty and pick the best deals for you.

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