Black Friday Sales: Savings or Scams?

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I donā€™t know how Black Friday plays out in France, but it can be both in the UK, although scam is a little harsh for just paying ā€˜normalā€™ price for things. There are usually key items that get discounted, and if one is aware of usual prices then it may be possible to get a good bargain.

Some international retailers - Thomann in Germany for example - use it as an opportunity to garner extra sales and have good offers. Iā€™m debating another guitar thanks to them.

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The Link gives advice on how to identify the ā€œbad guysā€ (scams) and ensure that one gets what one pays forā€¦ :+1:
and, as alwaysā€¦ if it seems too good to be trueā€¦ it probably isnā€™t trueā€¦ :roll_eyes:

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I wish you hadnā€™t said that!! Iā€™ve been looking at a lovely hollowbody with P90s which was just out of reach (and which I really donā€™t need).

Let us know what took your fancy if you bought it!

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The Fat junior with a single stacked P90. Iā€™m still playing the Ā£35 First Act I bought as an experimental slide guitar about 4 years ago, and an upgrade would be nice. Donā€™t want to convert any of the other instruments to slide duty, and a junior is just right.

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AAArrrgghh - G.A.S.! Iā€™m infected, as we speak!

What guitar? I have a brilliant wheeze to sell my 1996 Fender Strat + Deluxe [the one with silver/gold/red Lace pickups] and get a Sire Carlton S7 and a new Yamaha Revstar Standard series with P90ā€™s. Revstar [silly name - they could have revived ā€˜Roadstarā€™, a Strat-killer of which I have, a ā€˜stored under the bedā€™ 30 year old example] There may be some change left for a hardshell case for the Revstar.

I will be on the lookout for B Stock. Better than ā€˜discountā€™ deals. You just have to wait for the one you want to go ā€˜Bā€™ stock. Retailers turning over as much as Thomann and Andertons are bound to have the one you want, all in good time.

I know the problem. When I had to sell my Fender Strat Plus [and almost everything else not nailed down] due to lack of funds, I ā€˜Plusifiedā€™ my Ibanez Roadstar s/s/s with Lace Golds and that TBX tone control that Plusā€™s have.

Then funds were back and I got another Strat +. Now I had a Stat+ and an Ibby ā€˜Strat +ā€™

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Funnily enough, Thomann showed me that guitar. Itā€™s lovely-looking, and the build quality of my Sire MM basses makes me confident the guitar would be great (and being hollow bodies, wouldnā€™t have the slight weight problem the basses share with me :face_holding_back_tears:).

It is perfectly clear to me that the prices charged by Fender and FAR more so by Gibson are simply for the decal on the headstock. A Sire Larry Carlton H7/S7/T7 is not going to perform in any way inferior to the two great brand badges - esp Gibson whoes QC I understand has nosedived. G & L? PRS? Yamaha Pacifica? Ibanez?

I remember some old rocker saying ā€˜I could never afford a new Gibson but after our record charted they were sending them to me, freeā€™

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And thatā€™s before you get to the Custom Shop/whatever level.

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My favourite guitars are all made in Japan: 80s standard strat, Tokai Les Paul '59 replica, Washburn A20 and Eagle. Iā€™ve owned Gibson and Heritage, but prefer Japanese.

FWIW I keep my eyes open at other times looking for good deals. A few weeks back leading up to BF Vans had a 50% offer on for all their shoes, so I got a couple of pairs for around Ā£50 (reduced twice).

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We bought our daughterā€™s cellos from them many years ago.

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Itā€™s only a bargain if itā€™s something you really need or want.
Being conned into buying something because it is said to be a bargain is not really a good idea.7

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There is also the problem of stuff not actually being what is advertisedā€¦ or being ā€œnon-existentā€ā€¦ :roll_eyes:

:grin::grin::grin::grin::grin:

Which is why, joking apart, that sort of thing is generally illegal (though widely abused).

Iā€™m always suspicious about sales, and get annoyed by constant computer pop ups about Black Friday deals.

I needed new shoes and decided yesterday to go get two pairs, one laced, the other Velcro fastened. Iā€™m not diabetic but these are Spanish-made shoes for diabetic foot comfort, and they are very comfortable. As far as I was aware there was no sale on where I shop - until the young woman at the till told me it was Black Friday, although it was in fact Thursday!

Well pleased with the 20% discount!

I had been looking at their website a week earlier to see if they had these shoes in stock, and the prices on the website were the same as on the day I went, so I think the Black Friday deal was genuine. Though I canā€™t be absolutely sureā€¦

But might change my mind about Black Friday if thereā€™s something in particular I want or need in the future.

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There are always deals to be had (retailers need to keep their turnover going) - the trick is to know what the usual price is of the item you are considering so you can tell if its ā€œspecial sale priceā€ is a good deal or not.

One of the problems with the Black Friday frenzy is that the couriers get overloaded with work and things get delayed or go missing.

A few years ago I needed to buy a camera lens and it happened to be around the time of Black Friday - the delivery should have only taken a couple of days max but it took almost two weeks to actually reach me.

So I try not to buy anything urgent (and especially not high value and urgent) at this time of year!

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Idealo has price tracking discretely in the corner

A bargain cement mixer reduced to 250 was actually 200 euros a month ago - for 6 months. Sudden leap then new sale price. (Not Amazon)

Was unexpectedly able to replace my Raybans (always wrap-round Baloramas) at half price on their Black Friday site. Replacement needed as had inadvertently reversed the car over the previous pair. If you ever need to destroy a pair of sunglasses I can wholly recommend this method.

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