Beware of Black Friday filler deal rip-offs

Our buddies at dealnews.com are looking out for Hoosier shoppers this weekend with some sound advice on how to avoid feeling ripped off 24 hours from now, when you add up your receipts.

So if you don’t know what filler deals are, keep reading before you learn the hard way.

It’s no secret some deals you see in the Black Friday circulars won’t excite you. Others are actually no good at all when compared to prices throughout the rest of the year. These categories are known as “filler deals” because they’re taking up space to pad the real discounts worth scrambling for. A little upselling, if you will, since you’re already in the store and all.

This is not to be confused with the star of Black Friday: the doorbuster deal, which is usually available at a phenomenally low price. Doorbusters typically break all previous price-lows and usually require luck and timing both to score one.

The secret, of course, is that the store is selling these brand-recognized names below cost to get you face-to-face with their shelves. The other items advertised with the doorbusters are generally not as greatly discounted. We’re  talking about those cute items strategically placed near the check out lines and so colorful you can’t miss them:  gift sets, holiday products, private label merchandise, and specially-created bundles that make it difficult to price check individual items.

The margins on these specific filler deals are so substantial, dealnews.com points out, that even when a retailer takes 50% off, it might still make as much as a 50% profit and that’s why stores are willing to let a few of those doorbusters go at below cost.

And always keep in mind that just because a store is advertising price cuts on items from a notable and highly-desirable brand, that doesn’t mean that its prices are any good. Across the board, luxury department stores are unlikely to offer meaningful Black Friday sales,  unless you’re shopping at an outlet store for inventory from seasons past.

For example, dealnews price-checked numerous KitchenAid and Keurig items while assessing the home goods Black Friday ads, and almost none of the offers were worth listing, regardless of which store was advertising them. Several were even beaten by current prices, while others were available at better discounts in recent months. So before you spring for, say, a North Face fleece, make sure to do your homework first and ensure that it’s not a filler deal.

Want more? Head over to dealnews.com and check out their shopping advice library.