Christine Cyr-Clessette
Appearances
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
I kind of always thought that those sales periodicals were just meant to go directly into the recycling bin and not into my home. That's what they do at my house. Yeah. Or for the fire. But you might find some good deals in there. So worth a look. All right. We're going to take a quick break.
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
And when we come back, we're going to talk with Nathan all about the types of products you're likely to find most heavily discounted today on Black Friday and throughout the weekend, as well as some of the products you should probably avoid. You're listening to The Wirecutter Show. New episodes drop every Wednesday wherever you listen to podcasts. We'll be right back.
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
These days, Black Friday has come to refer to an almost entire week of deals, today through Cyber Monday. And while it's the single biggest shopping weekend of the year, it's also a day that's become increasingly confusing for shoppers. More days of advertised sales, bigger pile of things to sift through.
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
I love Black Friday for the regular stuff. I actually one year bought, I don't know, something like 240 pounds of kitty litter because it was six 40 pound bags of kitty litter and it was seven dollars off each. And I was like, I'm going to snap these up. So, yes, it's a great time to buy things like, you know, just batteries, kitty litter, you know, the normal stuff.
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
Are there any categories specifically to avoid, like categories that just never have a good deal?
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
Plus, retailers have gotten really good at the game, to the point where much of what looks like a deal that's too good to be true disappears. actually is too good to be true.
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
So, Nathan, another part of doing your homework as someone who's shopping for a deal is to understand the model that you're looking for, the model number specifically, and to try to find that model when you're doing your shopping, right?
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
I've heard that browser extensions can help you find a better deal. Can you tell us about browser extensions? What are they? Do they work? And if so, how and how well?
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
We're going to take a quick break. And on the other side, the number one thing to avoid when you're looking to score deals and savings on Black Friday and throughout the weekend. You're listening to The Wirecutter Show. We'll be right back. Welcome back to The Wirecutter Show. Our guest today is Wirecutter's Senior Deals Editor, Nathan Burrow.
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
We spent this episode discussing all the different ways to find deals on your own, not just today and through the weekend, but throughout the year. Nathan, if there was one thing you would caution folks to avoid this weekend, what would that be?
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
I'm Cara Blackwell. And I'm Christine Cyr-Closet.
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
Okay, so can you start by telling us exactly how many products you've reviewed this year?
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
Wow, that is so many products, Nathan. And of those, how many did we actually recommend?
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
That is so tricky. So you're actually, when you're looking for the deals that you're going to feature on our deals page, you're actually looking for deals that are significantly lower than the lowest prices you've seen all year, right?
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
Okay, so, Nathan, let's get into why it's gotten so hard to find an actually good deal.
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
From The New York Times, you're listening to The Wirecutter Show. I'm Christine Cyr-Clessette. I'm Kyra Blackwell.
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
Nathan, where do you see this kind of thing in its most nefarious form? Like, how can you, as a non-deals editor, spot these?
The Daily
From Wirecutter: Don't Get Swindled on Black Friday
So given that as a shopper, you might be seeing a page that has a photo of one model, but you might be actually buying something else. It's really important to do your homework and look for the features you want. Don't just trust the photo, right?