Martin Lewis Warns UK Shoppers Of Black Friday 'Duds'

Don’t get me wrong; I love a bargain. And even though I recently wrote about how to stay wary during Black Friday sales, even I have to admit that some of the offers look pretty good right now. 

Still, money-saving expert Martin Lewis recently spoke out about some Black Friday “duds” you should avoid while trying to save online.

In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, the penny-pinching pro pointed out that some supposed “deals” are far from the cheapest price brands are offering on their products this year. 

The X post led to a list on his site, taking a deep-dive look at certain Amazon deals on offer this Black Friday.

The site pointed out certain “duds” Lewis recommends avoiding during the supposed saving spree, saying that items like a SodaStream have proven themselves to be cheaper than their current Black Friday price on Bezos’ site multiple other times throughout the year.

Some in the TV presenter’s comments have suggested that companies artificially inflated their prices soon before listing their “deals” in order to make the offer seem more impressive than it really is ― “Noticed they put prices up by 50% a week ago and reduced them again for black Friday so they can claim to have reduced prices by 50%,” one X user said. 

It’s not all bad

As well as listing the less-than-great deals on his site, Lewis’ list also includes products that he and his team think are “decent (for example, [the] cheapest [they’ve] been)”. 

These include items like an Amazon Echo pop, an Amazon Echo dot, and an Oral-B i05 toothbrush. Having worked as a shopping writer covering Black Friday before myself, I tend to agree that now’s a pretty amazing time to buy Amazon’s own tech products.

Deals that made the “OK” category for the money guru included some Fairy Platinum dishwasher tablets and some Sony noise-cancelling headphones. Of course, all of these offers might change so are liable to move category any time.

Ultimately, though, the most important money-saving hack is sticking to a budget: “Remember only buy what you planned to, don’t let it tempt you just because its cheaper,” Martin Lewis warned shoppers on his X post.