Millennial Money: What makes a Black Friday deal worth it?

Black Friday sales are everywhere. Judging by retailers’ advertisements stuffed with language like “must-have deals” and “can’t-miss epic finds,” you’d be led to believe that every deal is too good to pass up.

But what actually makes a Black Friday deal worth pursuing? An item’s reduced price, availability and affordability are key elements.

Here’s what to consider before you buy.

THE ITEM IS SELLING AT THE BEST PRICE

Prices fluctuate throughout the year, making it difficult to recognize whether the deal being offered is actually the best of the best. Most people couldn’t say exactly how much a particular air fryer sold for two weeks ago or two months ago, and whether that differs from the price today.

“Things that you buy every week, you notice the price going up. Where if it’s something you buy maybe once a year or not very often, like a pair of shoes, you don’t know what price is normal or what it was the last time,” says Martin Block , professor emeritus in Medill’s integrated marketing communications program at Northwestern University.

What can you do to become a better judge? Start tracking prices now, says John Boyd , co-founder of ShopSavvy, a price comparison app. Using an app to explore a product’s price history can help you see through retailers’ marketing tactics.

“Sometimes a good sale is really hard to detect because you’re just being bombarded with ‘Oh, we’ve got this great sale and it’s X percent off or Y percent off,’ and there’s no context at all,” Boyd says.

Get familiar with prices in the days leading up to Black Friday, Nov. 25 this year. ShopSavvy and other shopping tools, like PayPal Honey, can also alert you to price drops for specific items and compare prices across retailers so you can find...