4 Mistakes Shoppers Always Make on Black Friday

This post may contain affiliate links which may compensate us based on your interaction. Please read the disclosures for more information.

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. If you plan to participate, be sure to avoid these four errors that could end up costing you. 

Black Friday is one of the most popular shopping days of the year. But if you’re planning on breaking out your credit cards to buy items on the day after Thanksgiving, you could be setting yourself up for regret.

Unfortunately, many people end up making Black Friday mistakes that leave them with less money in their checking accounts. Here are four of those common errors that you should try to avoid if you’re participating in this shopping extravaganza.

1. Getting caught up in a search for the unattainable

One big mistake people make is focusing so much on getting one or two “amazing” deals that they end up missing out on many other bargains.

See, many companies offer loss leaders, which are very deeply discounted items — but there are very limited quantities of them available. This is why you see stories on the news of people fighting over flat-screen TVs or other electronic devices.

You could end up wasting your day waiting for these hard-to-get products. In fact, about 10% of Black Friday shoppers report waiting two or more hours to enter a store on the big day, according to data from Drive Research. And in the end, you may not get the item you’re hoping for at all — or you may have to give up tons of time with your family or tons of time shopping elsewhere just for one big-ticket item.

Rather than going overboard to try to get these types of deals, you may be better off taking advantage of bargains that are open to everyone and getting a lot of your time back.

2. Not checking product details before buying

Another big mistake people make is assuming that something is a deal just because it’s advertised that way. In reality, the item might be an older model or a model made specifically for Black Friday that doesn’t have as many features as a higher-priced alternative.

To avoid this mistake, be sure to carefully read the specs on everything you buy. Compare the “specially priced” item with others available on the manufacturer website to see what a fair price really is for a full-featured version — and how that compares to the Black Friday offer.

3. Giving into FOMO

Because Black Friday deals are limited-time offers, many people feel pressure to jump on them when they can. And they may end up buying something because of fear of missing out (FOMO) on the special price, even if the item isn’t something they need or would have bought if it wasn’t on sale.

As many as 42% of shoppers said they regret at least one of the purchases made on Black

Friday, in a survey by Self Financial. You can avoid becoming one of them by making a list and sticking to it.

4. Overspending

Finally, spending too much is another big personal finance error. Over half (51%) of consumers surveyed by OppLoans report that they’ve ended up stressed as a result of overspending on Black Friday, with 30% indicating they even lost sleep over how much they spent.

Just because something is discounted doesn’t automatically mean you can afford it. Set your budget first based on how much you can comfortably pay, and don’t buy anything that exceeds it — even if it seems like a great deal.

Fortunately, avoiding these Black Friday mistakes is definitely doable. If you go into the day after doing careful research and with a solid plan, you should be able to capture some great bargains and not be left with regrets.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until nearly 2025

If you’re using the wrong credit or debit card, it could be costing you serious money. Our experts love this top pick, which features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, an insane cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee.

In fact, this card is so good that our experts even use it personally. Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

Read our free review

We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 Read More