Hey,
This week we’re switching things up — because it’s officially Black Friday season.
Instead of blasting you with a giant list of “deals,” I wanted to do something more useful:
show you how to tell what’s actually a good Black Friday deal… and what’s just clever marketing.
Every year, companies stretch Black Friday earlier and earlier. Prices jump, discounts appear, banners flash “40% OFF!” — and most of it isn’t real.
So in this special issue, I’m sharing the exact tools and checks I use behind the scenes to figure out whether a Black Friday deal is legit, or if the price was quietly bumped up a few weeks ago.
If you’re planning to buy anything this season — big or small — this guide will save you time, money, and a lot of frustration.
Let’s dive in 👇
🕵️♂️ Black Friday: How to Tell What’s a Real Deal (and What’s Not)
Black Friday used to be a single day.
Now it’s a three-week marketing marathon where every banner screams “40% OFF!” — even when nothing’s actually cheaper.
So instead of giving you a giant list of “deals,” this week’s issue is your playbook for spotting real discounts before you spend a penny.
Because the truth is… most “sales” aren’t sales at all.
Let’s fix that 👇
❗The Problem: Most Black Friday Deals Are Fake
Here’s what brands don’t tell you:
Prices often get quietly increased 2–4 weeks before Black Friday, so the discount looks bigger
“Lowest price in 365 days!” isn’t always true
Amazon’s own deal spreadsheets don’t match reality (more on that below)
Black Friday no longer starts on Friday — companies stretch it for weeks to maximise hype
Bottom line:
You can’t trust the banner. You have to verify the price.
And thankfully, there are tools for that.
🧰 The Tools I Use to Check If a Deal Is Real
These are the only tools you need to see actual price history across Amazon — and instantly know if you’re saving money or getting played.
The gold standard of Amazon price tracking
Paste any Amazon link into CamelCamelCamel.com and it shows you:
The entire price history
The lowest price in the last 90 and 365 days
Whether the current “deal” is legitimate
Whether the price mysteriously spiked before Black Friday 👀
If today’s price isn’t lower than the last 3–12 months?
It’s not a real deal.
CamelCamelCamel, but built into Amazon product pages
This Chrome extension adds the price history graph directly onto Amazon, so you don’t have to copy/paste links.
Supports: US, Canada, Europe, Australia.
If you want the easiest “is this real or fake?” check — this is the one.
Alternative plug-ins if you want more detail
Both display charts right on the product page and work similarly:
Real-time price charts
Alerts when a product hits its historical low
Tracking for different sellers
They’re great, but Camelyser is the simplest if you want one-click checks.
⚡ How to Check a Black Friday Deal in Under 10 Seconds
Here’s the quick system:
✔️ Step 1: Look for a spike
If the price jumped 20–40% in the last few weeks → that discount is fake.
✔️ Step 2: Find the lowest price of the year
If today’s price doesn’t beat the 90-day or 365-day low → skip it.
✔️ Step 3: Ignore the banners
“Black Friday starts early!” is often just a marketing window — not an actual discount window.
✔️ Step 4: Only buy from your wishlist
(Not from Black Friday chaos suggestions.)
Do this for every product and you'll never fall for a fake deal again.
🎯 My Black Friday Game Plan
Before the deals hit:
Make a wishlist of the things I actually want
Run each of them through CamelCamelCamel or Camelyser
Bookmark the current price
Only buy if the Black Friday price beats the historical lows
Ignore everything else
If it’s not cheaper than it’s been all year → it’s not a real deal.
📱 Enjoying this newsletter? Share it with a friend who’s as obsessed with tech as you are:
🎙 Podcast: Did We Finally Confirm Creators Are Buying Views?🧱
This week’s episode of Aspiring Creator goes deep into the less-talked-about side of the creator world — from “legal” view-buying to the metrics brands truly care about before approving a deal.
Inside this episode:
How we mapped out an entire year of videos 🎬
What it really takes to make the most of CES as a creator 🚀
When a brand deal underperforms (and they still want more) 🧻
The editor update: our current capacity problem 🎞️
The exact metrics brands check before they say yes to a deal 💼
And yes… confirmation that some creators are getting away with buying views ⚠️
If you’re building a creator business and want the unfiltered version of what’s working (and what’s absolutely not), this episode is packed with lessons from the inside.
🧰 Next Issue: The Gear I Recommend Over and Over Again
Black Friday is coming — and before the internet tries to convince you that everything is a must-buy, I’m sharing the gear that’s actually earned its place in my life.
In the next issue you’ll get:
The everyday gadget that consistently tops our click-through charts
The under-$100 upgrade that makes a surprisingly big difference
My favorite piece of travel tech (still unbeaten after dozens of trips)
The accessory I recommend so often I should probably put it on a T-shirt
Direct links to everything — right in time for Black Friday deals
🗓️ See you Saturday.