Even though the summer and autumn seasons have already been saturated with unprecedented waves of discounts from Amazon and other major retailers, the allure and cultural significance of Black Friday and Cyber Monday remain unparalleled. These two shopping events continue to dominate the retail calendar, standing as the definitive moments when both in-store and digital shelves experience their heaviest activity. Fortunately, as in prior years, we remain committed to serving as your comprehensive guide, curating and showcasing the most impressive bargains across an extensive range of technology categories—from smartphones and high-definition televisions to noise-canceling headphones, gaming consoles, and other sought-after electronics—throughout the entire week of deals. Whether your strategy involves braving the store aisles or effortlessly scrolling through online listings from the comfort of your home, you can rely on us to spotlight extraordinary offers that deserve your attention.
Our dedication to helping you identify exceptional discounts is consistent, regardless of the season. Yet, for those who wish to stand ahead of the crowd and be among the earliest to uncover meaningful price reductions on their favorite products, early preparation is key. Developing a strategic “Black Friday game plan” can turn a chaotic shopping frenzy into a well-organized pursuit of savings. This preparation might include monitoring preliminary sales launched ahead of the official event, familiarizing yourself with reliable price-tracking tools, and setting personalized alerts to ensure you receive timely updates whenever rare deals appear on platforms like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, or Target. To make this process easier, we have assembled a practical collection of time-tested tips and recommendations below—tools designed not only to streamline your search but also to ensure that you never miss an opportunity to secure exceptional value.
### Make Use of Price-Tracking Tools and Deal Aggregators
One of the most reliable strategies to uncover a genuine bargain is the intelligent use of price-tracking tools. We have highlighted a selection of our preferred tracking extensions and websites—reliable utilities that our editorial team at The Verge uses regularly. Each platform monitors a wide variety of retailers, including industry giants such as Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and Target. Despite sharing the same ultimate goal, these trackers differ in their methods, interface experiences, and additional features that may favor different user preferences. The most appealing aspect of these tools is that they are completely free to use. Once you have listed the products that interest you, you can simply set up monitoring, sit back, and await alerts when prices reach your predetermined threshold. Just ensure that your email or notification settings remain enabled so you never miss a timely alert.
CamelCamelCamel, along with its browser extension The Camelizer, provides a detailed and accessible method to monitor Amazon product prices. The tool allows you to view the entire pricing history of items sold on the platform and receive notification emails as soon as an item’s cost falls to your chosen level. The historical graphs offer valuable insight into patterns of price fluctuations, helping you decide when it might be most advantageous to make your purchase—even though market behavior always retains an element of unpredictability. However, CamelCamelCamel’s scope is limited exclusively to Amazon listings, so if your interest extends to other retailers, one of the alternative trackers we describe below would be a better complement.
Creating a free account on CamelCamelCamel grants full access to the platform’s alert system. Installing The Camelizer browser extension, compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Microsoft Edge, adds convenience by allowing you to establish price watches without leaving the Amazon page. This streamlined integration has made it an indispensable resource for price-conscious shoppers in numerous countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Australia. The moment a monitored product drops to your target price, an email notification arrives instantly—and if you already maintain a wish list on Amazon, you can effortlessly import it into the tool to start tracking automatically.
Similarly, Keepa offers another powerful Chrome extension dedicated to tracking the pricing history of Amazon products. It embeds insightful and interactive charts directly onto product listings, giving you visual access to historical fluctuations. Like CamelCamelCamel, Keepa can send notifications for discounted items and allows you to import wish lists for easy management. One key difference lies in its user experience: you can use Keepa’s features without creating an account, simply by installing its extension. The platform also broadens your notification options, allowing you to receive alerts via email, push notification, Telegram, or RSS feed.
Slickdeals stands apart as a community-based platform, aggregating deals from countless online retailers and crowdsourcing bargain discoveries from enthusiastic shoppers. Users can search for ongoing offers, browse coupons, or create personalized alerts linked to special keywords—such as a specific product or retailer name. This ensures that whenever a popular or highly rated deal meeting your criteria emerges, you receive a timely update. The community-driven voting system often propels the most attractive offers to the front page, so frequent browsing pays off, especially during major sale periods like Black Friday, when Slickdeals expands its coverage to include circular previews from key retailers like Best Buy and Target.
If using third-party extensions is not your preference, modern browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome now integrate built-in price comparison and tracking tools. Edge can assess whether the price displayed for a given product ranks among the lowest across multiple sites, while Chrome’s features allow you to track price changes and receive sale notifications automatically. Both browsers are broadly accessible across desktop and mobile platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, enabling you to adopt a more effortless and passive approach to identifying competitive deals.
### Enable Deal Alerts via Alexa or the Amazon App
If your household already features Alexa-compatible devices—such as the Echo Dot Max or Echo Studio—you can transform your voice assistant into a real-time deal detector. Alexa can notify you of upcoming discounts either up to 24 hours in advance or as soon as it notices a reduction on products saved in your wish list or digital cart. After receiving an alert, you can simply instruct Alexa to complete the purchase when the deal becomes active. Setting this feature up requires only a few quick adjustments in your Alexa app under Settings > Notifications > Amazon Shopping, then enabling Deal Recommendations. Alexa will then provide vocal announcements of deals, and if a notification is missed, the device’s yellow indicator light signals a pending alert that can be replayed with a simple voice command.
If you prefer app-based alerts, the Amazon Shopping app on your smartphone offers similar functionalities. Under Settings > Notifications > Deals and Recommendations, enabling the “Savings” toggle ensures you’ll receive prompt updates about discounts relevant to your tracked items.
### Watch Retailer Schedules and Early Promotions
Staying informed about major retailers’ promotional schedules before Black Friday officially begins can drastically improve both your savings and efficiency. Companies like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Amazon publish detailed timelines that outline early shopping events, giving savvy consumers the chance to capitalize on deals before the broader rush. For instance, Walmart will host significant online events on November 14th and November 25th, with early access for Walmart Plus subscribers, alongside in-store opportunities between November 14th and 16th and again on Black Friday itself. Target, meanwhile, will launch a three-day early shopping event in early November, followed by an extended series of promotional weeks through Christmas, while Best Buy will stagger doorbusters every week through late November before transitioning into its Cyber Monday cycle. Monitoring these calendars and marking key dates can help you prioritize which sales to pursue and when.
### Keep an Eye on Lightning Deals and Doorbusters
Among the most recognizable elements of any Black Friday campaign are lightning deals and doorbuster specials—short-lived opportunities that generate immense hype due to their limited timeframes and deeply slashed prices. These deals often serve as headline attractions, encouraging shoppers to act swiftly before quantities run out. Always read the fine print accompanying such offers; some may require advance sign-ups or precise timing to claim. Knowing these parameters in advance ensures you do not miss a fleeting yet highly rewarding bargain.
### Know Retailers’ Price-Matching Policies
Although many retailers promise to match competitors’ pricing automatically, certain scenarios may require persistence. Familiarizing yourself with each store’s specific price-matching policies can be critical when items sell out or fluctuate rapidly in cost. Our comprehensive price-matching guide provides insight into how far different companies are willing to go to retain your business. Note, however, that some retailers suspend this policy during major sale events like Black Friday, but even then, inquiring politely never hurts your chances.
Finally, even if you find yourself entering the Black Friday and Cyber Monday season without an elaborate strategy, there is no need for concern. At The Verge, our expert editorial team continuously tracks and verifies the best technology deals, updating listings to remove expired promotions and spotlight fresh opportunities. While many assume the best deals arrive immediately after Thanksgiving, experience shows that significant discounts often begin earlier, giving proactive shoppers a valuable advantage. To stay updated, we recommend bookmarking our detailed coverage hub, subscribing to our triweekly Verge Deals newsletter, or following us on Bluesky—ensuring that every possible opportunity to save is delivered directly to you. Most importantly, consider setting aside a dedicated shopping budget well in advance so that when the right deal emerges, you’re fully prepared to seize it.
Sourse: https://www.theverge.com/21587765/black-friday-cyber-monday-best-deals-how-to-find
