Beware (and prepare for) the Black Friday Sales
Black Friday is right around the corner. About 4 weeks away. There's a good possibility you've been holding off buying something until then to see what actually goes on offer. The problem is, not all that glitters is gold.
As usual, Amazon have started their sale early with their "Early Black Friday Deals". They are designed to lure you in, get you to buy early, and then be all shopped out ahead of the actual Black Friday, so your money doesn't go to any other retailer. Maybe that's cynical of me, maybe it's true. It's likely both!
I had a look earlier as I'm in the market this year for a new monitor and a new keyboard. On the keyboard front I found nothing of interest to me there, but there was a 27" 4k Samsung monitor down from £299.99 to £239.99. Great, bargain to be had. But being the resourceful type I am (and being highly untrusting of any Amazon "offer"), I had a quick look around online. The same monitor is priced at £239.00 on Samsung's website. Not the bargain from Amazon it first seemed, but it's done the job. They are back to full price on Amazon because they sold out.
That brings us to the simple lesson of these things. Know what you want, and how much it costs before the sale starts. Only then will you know whether the "offer" is a true bargain, or whether the discount is against the RRP, and around the same (or higher) than it has been at other times.
I know what the keyboards I am looking at cost currently. I know what price would make me happy to get one at. And I've picked out the retailer(s) I will be checking in with throughout the month to see if there's any early sales there.
Monitors, I've not done the same level of research on, as I'm not totally sure if the issue with one of mine is the monitor itself (it is around 11 years old, so it's likely) or if it's the cable. I kinda want a new monitor anyway, but it's something I can live without for now. I know roughly how much I would be looking to spend for different types of monitors (depending on whether I go 4K or just HD) so I can pick one up any time.
If you are in the market for some new tech or addition to your setup this Black Friday, don't be drawn in too early by the "deals" by those wanting you to spend early. If they are genuine deals, by all means buy (if you can afford it). If not, hold out until it's a price which is a deal, or you are happy to pay, but won't be disappointed if it gets cheaper on Black Friday.