Buying Guide

Black Friday / Cyber Monday: don’t get ripped off

A practical checklist for real deals, solid tech, and avoiding the weekend’s most common scams.

Every year, the same two things spike at once:

1. “Deals” that aren’t really deals, and
2. Parcel-text / fake-website scams that catch people when they’re in a hurry.

Use this guide to buy smarter and avoid the stress.

1) Deal reality check: ignore the crossed-out price

Retailers love a big “Was £999, now £599” banner. It doesn’t guarantee it’s cheaper than normal.

What to do instead

• Check the item’s price history (you’re looking for a genuine dip, not a fake “was” price).
• Compare across multiple retailers (sometimes the “deal” is just the usual market price).

Tools that help

• CamelCamelCamel for Amazon UK price history
• PriceSpy for UK price comparisons and price history

Quick rule: If the “discount” looks huge but the product has vague specs, a brand you’ve never heard of, or a site you’ve never used, slow down and verify.

2) Buying a laptop: avoid the ultra-budget traps

Ultra-budget laptops can feel slow almost immediately, and that’s usually down to one of two things: too little memory, or slow storage.

Avoid

• 4GB RAM (especially for Windows)
• HDD / “hard drive” / “spinning drive”
• Listings that don’t name the exact CPU model (e.g., “Intel Processor” with no number)

Aim for (sweet spot)

• 16GB RAM
• SSD storage (256GB minimum; 512GB is more comfortable)
• Clear CPU naming (e.g., Intel Core / Core Ultra, or AMD Ryzen with model numbers)

Good-enough budget baseline

If you’re genuinely keeping spend low: 8GB RAM + SSD (still miles better than 4GB + HDD).

3) Wi-Fi problems (thick walls, loft rooms, extensions)

If someone’s house has dead zones, cheap plug-in boosters often disappoint because they’re trying to amplify a weak signal.

What usually works

A mesh Wi-Fi system, with nodes placed between the router and the dead zone (not inside the no-signal room).

Placement rule

Router → node → node → dead zone
If the first node is already struggling, everything downstream struggles too.

4) TVs: screen tech matters more than size

Big cheap 4K TVs can be sluggish (menus, apps, lag) and the built-in “smart” platform can be the weak point.

• QLED: generally good
• OLED: best (especially for contrast and movie nights)

Be careful with unknown brands. App support and updates can be poor (and smart TV software ages badly).

5) Scams: the weekend’s biggest money drain

The most common one: a text saying your parcel has a problem and you need to pay a small fee via a link.

Treat these as scams

• “Pay £1.45 to reschedule delivery”
• “Customs fee due”
• “Address incomplete, click to confirm”

NCSC guidance is clear: don’t click links in missed-parcel texts; report them instead.

The three reporting shortcuts worth knowing

• Forward scam texts to 7726 (free)
• Forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk
• If “the bank” calls: hang up and dial 159

6) Returns & refunds: don’t get stitched up

Two practical rules that save pain:

1. Keep the box and packaging until you’re sure you’re keeping the item.
2. Sales don’t reduce your rights if something is faulty — refund rights are the same in a sale as full price.

7) A quick “is this website dodgy?” test

Walk away if you see:

• Prices wildly below every other retailer
• Strange domain names / lookalike branding
• Checkout pushing bank transfer or “pay by link” pressure
• Poor spelling, no real contact details, or no returns info

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