Black Friday bargains

Shopping Hack: Finding The Best Black Friday Deals

Even before holiday bazaars for the Christmas season in December rolls in, America’s Thanksgiving Day ushers in one of the biggest shopping days every end of November – Black Friday! It is a day eagerly awaited by almost every shopaholic due to the ridiculous discounts that retailers in the US offer to the public.

This is basically an annual occasion in the US only, which is comparable to a holiday shopping bazaar, or even better. Tough luck for us Pinoys, right? Well, not really!

In the Philippines, many merchants are slowly adapting to the hype around the Black Friday Sale. A study about Black Friday in the Philippines done by Picodi in 2018 showed that 59% of the consumers who participated said they already have an idea what they’ll add in their baskets, and 91% of them saved money just for this occasion.  In turn, this becomes a great precedent for us to shop in advance for Christmas or simply to shop and save on some items which you have been eyeing!

In the US, Black Friday sale falls on the last Friday of November – this year it would be on November 29, 2019. Since the US is almost half a day behind, the sale might begin on November 29, 1 pm (Philippines Time), that’s 12mn Eastern Standard Time.

What time does Black Friday start in the Philippines?

It can be a little tricky due to international time zones. Philippine stores will likely start their sales at the beginning of the day on the last Friday of November. If you’re looking to purchase from an international retailer, you might have to pay attention to the different time zone in their country since it’s likely that’s when the sale will start too.

Shop and ship from the US

Shopping in US-based e-commerce sites used to be impossible for people living outside the US, as shipping is mostly limited domestically. There were some merchants that would ship to the Philippines, but they were pretty limited, and you might end up settling for the next best thing rather than what you were actually intending to buy.

Back then, although shopping directly in the US was a lot cheaper, as the prices had not been subjected to transfer pricing, you might find yourself spending more on shipping and even customs taxes.

Fortunately, with Philippine MyUS.com postal service, your shopping experience this upcoming Black Friday will no longer be bound to those limitation. This package consolidation company based in the US can provide you a US postal address to ship items to and have them delivered to you in the Philippines. Customs duty will also be lesser as your item will be consolidated with their other packages prior to getting shipped to you.

Where to find Black Friday deals

Black Friday in the Philippines isn’t as massive of a phenomenon as it is in the US. That’s why you may not be able to find great discounts associated to Black Friday in retail stores or in shopping malls.

While many local online merchants may throw in some Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, they’re probably less promising compared to the 11-11 or 12-12 occasions. But just in case you’re still looking forward to find some Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals locally, keep an eye for deals from these merchants.

  • Shopee
  • Lazada
  • Zalora

Alternatively, you can scour e-commerce aggregate sites for some deals from all the local merchants. They can keep you in the loop for all those seasonal deals every now and then. Plus, they make it easier to find items that are suitable for your budget. 

  • Iprice
  • Shopback 

US-based merchants

Admit it, nothing beats actual Black Friday sale in the US (not even Lazada). So, if you are planning to go straight to the source of Black Friday sale, here are some pretty good options for Pinoys to have their online shopping spree on. 

Claim FREE ₱4,000 Voucher For A Limited Time Only!

Claim FREE ₱4,000 Voucher For A Limited Time Only!

5% Cashback for all dining spends.

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Amazon

Unlike Philippine-based shopping, Amazon has already kicked off their Black Friday deals as early as November 1, as part of their countdown to the actual Black Friday which is on November 29. However, the deals are limited to a few customers only on a daily basis.

According to their website, their Black Friday sale will cover electronics DVDs, kitchen appliances and accessories, toys, and gadgets.

While Amazon is pretty competitive when it comes to pricing on a lot of items, the prices of their own devices is pretty hard to beat. So be sure to look for items similar to the ones you’re looking for under the Amazon-branded umbrella of products.

Ebay

This is an online auction site, where you can find unique items being sold by individual sellers. Unlike Amazon, not everything on Ebay is brand new. If you’re looking to stretch your money further, perhaps this is the best place online to do that.

On this popular shopping day, you can also find great deals on clothing, toys, accessories, shoes, and kitchen gear such as appliances, cookware, and gadgets on Ebay as they are widely known to throw in bizarre discounts on those items on Black Friday. You’ll find a mixed bunch of brand new and secondhand items.

One awesome hack you should use when shopping through eBay is the use of coupons that you can use across the website. Some deals even offer no minimum purchase the use coupon codes. General outlet offers are also good to look out for. Last year alone, there were deals for apparel, tools, computer products that had up to 80% off including watches from the likes of Rolex, Cartier and even Louis Vuitton. 

Nordstrom

This is pretty much a western counterpart of Zalora,  where you can find fashion brands for clothing and apparels. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a doorbuster deal from some of the famous luxury brands in the US!

BEST BUY

If you’re looking to purchase brand new electronics on Black Friday, then you should definitely consider looking through Best Buy’s deals. They are mostly known for deals on electronic products, especially ones from Apple which we all know is not really known for giving discounts for their products.  

Other products you can check out from Best Buy are TV’s which can be as low as $140 for a 39-incher. 

KOHL’s

During Thanksgiving weekend, Kohl’s offers awesome deals for a wide array of products such as clothing, home decorations, smart home gadgets and accessories, small appliances and even toys. 

One unique thing when shopping at Kohl’s is the Kohl’s Cash feature which allows you to get $10 of Kohl’s Cash for every $50 you spend which you can use to buy more products, giving you more value for your money.

Doorbuster deal

An item or selection of items which is given a special discount price for a limited amount of time. A term commonly used on Black Friday.

Best bought on Black Friday

While almost everything will be on sale on Black Friday or during the sale (especially if you’re shopping directly from the US), not everything is worth buying.

Here are some items that can see a significant savings if you shop on Black Friday:

1) LED TV

This item pretty much depicts what a black friday sale looks like. It’s already given that TVs will go on sale during this season, and the deals in this category comes in many shapes and sizes. Not all deals are equal and apparently, so make sure to do your research and make sure you’re buying from trusted brands like Samsung or LG.  

If there’s one thing that’s constant in this category every year during Black Friday, it’s door buster deals. So expect those TVs to drop as low as $80 for 32-inches or $80 for smart TVs.

2) Smartphones

Smartphones are one of the most sought-after products during Black Friday sales. This year we are looking at awesome deals that will be available throughout the month of November. 

While looking to purchase the latest and flashiest might be tempting, buying last year’s flagship is not a bad idea. Most of these smartphones still pack the punch of this year’s new iteration of the same product.

Products such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold 3 will be less $800 on Best Buy from its original price of $1799.99 so you will be able to purchase it for $999.99. Its little brother the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will be on sale from $999.99 to $849.99 giving you a $150 discount. 

3) Toys

Since Black Friday is a precedent to Christmas, shopping for gifts couldn’t be timelier. Even though toys usually get a mark down a few weeks before Christmas in almost all stores, their prices go back up a week before Christmas, and discounts during Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) are usually better than in any other days of the year.

4) Luxury apparels

According to a market expert, luxury brands such as Prada, Ray-Ban, The Sak, Oakley, Christian Dior, Tumi, Ferragamo, and a lot more rarely hold clearance sales on other days of the year. However, on Black Friday, many of these labels mark down their prices to 30% to 35% less and they can be found directly from these brand’s official stores or website. These items are a great bargain if you’ve been saving up for them or if you plan on giving it as a gift this Christmas season.

5) Air Fryers

Source: sciencemeetsfood.org

If you still haven’t given into the air fryer craze, then perhaps browsing for one during Black Friday would be your chance. Different brands will surely be giving out awesome deals so you will be able to choose from a wide variety of products that would suit your needs as these products come in different shape and sizes.

Tips and tricks for Filipinos for Black Friday shopping

Before getting carried away by the Black Friday fever, it pays to be cautious before you go ahead and jump the gun on your wallets.

1) Do your research

There are many retailers that publish their Black Friday deals even before November 24. This will give you the time to consider your options and fully ponder on the items that you want to purchase. Check the prices on other sites to make sure you’re really paying for a marked down item.
You can use websites like iprice.ph to compare and find out the average price of the item. If you are lucky, you may even find a better deal on their website as you shop for a cheaper price.

2) Check if the retailer ships to the Philippines

If you decide to shop around from US-based e-commerce merchants such as Amazon, some of their sellers may not ship to the Philippines. To work around that, you can sign up for MyUS.com postal service and get a temporary shipping address in the US. MyUS will receive your parcel, and then they’ll ship it to you in the Philippines. To manage the cost, add up the door-to-door shipping fees and ensure the total cost is still worth your money, despite the discount.

3) 40% off rule on clothing and accessories

When shopping for clothes online on Black Friday, strictly adhere to a 40% rule when it comes to discounts. If it’s less than that, that isn’t a good Black Friday deal for this category according to an expert.

4) Unknown electronic brands – proceed with caution

Stay away from gadgets and electronic products that are not from a reputable brand name. You might come across a tablet that’s just a fraction of a price of well-known brands, but many of them may have poor specs or short life-span. Before even considering these products, scrutinize their performance first and see if they’re worth your money.

However this sometimes may not be the case. TV’s for example,  it is worth noting that some lesser known brands use OLED or LCD panels from trusted manufacturers, so you can buy their products instead at a lower price compared to known brands but still get the same video quality. A good example would be Skyworth and Vizio which uses OLED panels from LG Display that also provides the same panels to LG Electronics and Sony.

5) Consider out-of-pocket expenses

Shipping expenses and customs duties are just some of the extra spending that you should expect when shopping online, especially from overseas. Will it make sense to buy an item that’s on sale and pay for its shipping? Or will you save more if you just buy from an online local site like Lazada or Zalora? Weigh your overall expenses before hitting that “pay” button on your shopping cart.

6.) Check your warranty

This is mostly applicable to electronics and gadgets. Before purchasing an item online, make sure that after sales support is available in your area, or at least in the Philippines. That’s why you’re better off shopping for reputable brands as many of them provides global warranty.

For apparel, one good example is Nike’s return policy. You can return the item you bought for any reason within a 60 day period with a few exceptions. This gives you the flexibility to try out any products and return it in exchange for another product or a refund of payment if somehow you decide the item you bought is not worth it.

Without a doubt, Black Friday is definitely a timely occasion to do your Christmas shopping while saving a few hundred or thousands of pesos. However, it isn’t an excuse to spend beyond your budget and splurge on things that you don’t really need. Black Friday or not, it pays to be cautious with your spending and see to it that you don’t end up paying more than what you could afford or buying something that you will only end up hoarding instead of using. Spend wisely!

This article was first published in November 2017 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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