Are Black Friday TVs really a scam? | Tech Reddy

Televisions are always one of the hottest items when it comes to Black Friday sales. Many people wait until the holiday season to buy a TV. Deals sometimes sound too good to be true, but are they really?

“Black Friday Edition” TVs.

As the popularity of Black Friday has risen to stellar levels, retailers and manufacturers have had to go to extreme lengths to compete. One way they do this is by making certain models for Black Friday.

This strategy can be used in a variety of products, but TVs are ripe for it, and have been for years. The idea is to produce a television that looks like a certain model but is actually quite a bit different. It will have a different model number, which is important (more on that later).

The differences are things the average consumer probably won’t notice or care about. Examples include fewer HDMI ports, fewer local dark spots, slower refresh rates, and sometimes the “trusted brand” on the TV isn’t who makes the TV.

Since these TVs have their own model numbers, they are not eligible for price match guarantees. So even if the manufacturer hasn’t skimped on the details, you won’t be able to find a better deal anywhere.

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How to watch Black Friday TV

With all this in mind, you may be wondering how to spot these TV viewers. Unfortunately, you’ll have to do some digging to make sure you’re getting a legitimately good deal.

As mentioned, the model numbers are what identify these TVs, but you won’t get any information just by looking at the string of numbers. However, there are a few dead giveaways you can check out before you head to the store or click “Buy.”

First, are there any user reviews listed for the TV on the retailer’s website? No reviews can be a sign that a TV has just been added to a Black Friday website.

To dig deeper, find the model number on the seller’s website and do a web search on it. There are two things we can look at. First, are there any TV reviews in spite of the seller’s website? If it looks like the TV is nowhere to be found online, that could be a bad sign.

We can take it a step further by doing a more focused search. Do a web search for the model number and include “before: 2022-09-30” in your search. This will show results only before the month of November. If there’s no evidence of TV available before then, it’s probably made especially for Black Friday.

Does it matter?

Of course, this practice may not be a big deal for everyone. Getting a 65-inch TV for $250 can be worth more than getting one the better Television. If you just want a basic TV, the small details may not matter to you.

The point is to know what you’re getting. No one wants to feel cheated into buying a lower quality TV than they thought. People don’t buy TVs very often, so it’s important to make sure you get the right ones. Ideally, it will be with you for a while.

At the end of the day, a little skepticism and research will go a long way in finding the best deals.