How to spot a fake Black Friday deal

Black Friday 2026 is on Friday, November 27, and Cyber Monday follows on November 30. Many stores start “early Black Friday” sales weeks before. That is plenty of time to check a deal before you buy it.

The trick behind most fake deals is simple. The sale price can be fine. The discount is the problem, because it is measured from a number that was never a real price.

What makes a deal fake?

Short answer: a deal is fake when the “was” price is inflated. If a headset never sold for the crossed-out price, the “40% off” badge is decoration.

The FTC’s Guides Against Deceptive Pricing (16 CFR 233.1) cover this exact case. They say a former price should be one the item was openly offered at, in good faith, for a reasonable period of time. The guides date from 1967, but the idea still holds: a discount needs a real starting point.

Other common tricks:

• Bundles with filler. A console “deal” that adds a game you didn’t want.
• Lookalike models. A special model number made for the sale, with a weaker spec than the one you researched.
• Open-box or refurbished units listed next to new ones without a clear label.

The five checks

Short answer: confirm the model, the list price and the store, then compare. Each check takes about a minute.

Check	What to look for	Where to look
1. Model number	The exact model, not just the product name	The maker’s spec page
2. List price	The maker’s own price for that model	The maker’s store
3. “Was” price	Is it higher than the maker’s list price?	The deal page
4. Other stores	Same model number at two or three stores	Each store’s site
5. Return window	Holiday returns, restocking fees, who pays shipping	The store’s return policy

Our product pages link the maker’s official spec page for every product, so check 1 is one click. For laptops, start on our laptops hub, where each model lists the exact configuration its specs belong to.

A worked example

Short answer: compute the discount from the list price, not the “was” price. The two can tell very different stories.

Say a monitor’s maker lists it at $300. A store shows “was $400, now $270”.

• The badge math: ($400 minus $270) divided by $400 = 33% off.
• The real math: ($300 minus $270) divided by $300 = 10% off.

Same price, very different deal. A 10% drop can still be worth it. But you should buy it because $270 is a good price for that monitor, not because of a 33% badge.

Judge the price, not the badge.

When we post deals, each one shows the store’s list price next to the sale price. We call a deal verified only when it is at least 10% under that list price. We never claim a price is the best it has ever been, because we don’t keep past prices. Our methodology page explains why.

How to compare stores fast

Short answer: compare by model number, and only after you have picked the product. Price first, product second is how fake deals win.

Pick the product before the sale starts. Our compare tool puts up to four products side by side, with specs from each maker. Then, on the day, you only have to check one thing: the price of that exact model.

The FTC’s online shopping advice adds two points worth repeating. Check the return policy, including who pays return shipping. And pay by credit card where you can, so you can dispute a charge if something goes wrong.

Red flags that mean “walk away”

Short answer: walk away from deals that pressure you or hide the seller. A real deal survives a five-minute check.

• The seller only takes gift cards, wire transfers or crypto. The FTC calls this a likely scam.
• The price is far below every other store for a brand-name product.
• The listing has no model number, or the model number has no page on the maker’s site.
• A countdown timer resets when you reload the page.

Plan before November 27

Make a short list now, while prices are calm. Our Black Friday plan has a watchlist of products with sourced specs, and our sales calendar lists every big sale through 2027. Pick, compare, then wait for the price.

Facts and dates in this article are current as of November 2026.