Black Friday 2026 in Australia: how to spot a fake deal

Black Friday is on Friday 27 November 2026, but CHOICE expects discounts to run for about two weeks, with deals likely starting in mid-November and running through Cyber Monday on 30 November. Most of the deals will be fine. Some won't be. This guide covers the tricks to watch for, what Australian law says about "was/now" prices, and exactly how DealCheck AU checks a price before it calls it a deal.

1. The inflated "was" price

A crossed-out "was" price is only a real saving if the store genuinely sold the product at that price. The ACCC is clear about this:

• A "was/now" price is likely to be misleading if the product wasn't sold at the "was" price for a reasonable period immediately before the sale (Charles Tyrwhitt paid a penalty over a shirt shown at $160 "was" that no customer had ever bought at that price).
• The ACCC's price displays guidance lists ways a displayed price can mislead, including comparing it with a recommended retail price (RRP) that the product was never sold at, and calling a price a "sale" when it is actually the normal price.
• It may be misleading to call a price a sale for an extended period, because it has effectively become the new selling price.
• In its furniture chains case, the ACCC pointed to a "save $200" claim on a chair whose usual price over the previous six months was $100 cheaper than the sale price.

Read the fine print. Some retailers state their basis openly. For example, a JB Hi-Fi catalogue from September 2026 says discounts apply to the "previous ticketed/advertised price" and that products "will likely have been sold below" that price before the offer. That is not the same as "was the price for the last 30 days", so don't treat the crossed-out number as the baseline.

What to do: ignore the "was" price. Look at what the store has actually charged lately (next section).

2. Compare with the last 30 and 90 days, not the ticket

A price that is 40% off a ticket price can still be higher than what the same store charged last month. Two quick checks:

• 30-day price: has this store been at or near this price recently? If so, it's the normal price, not a Black Friday price.
• 90-day price: was the price quietly raised in October so that the "discount" looks bigger? Comparing against the 90-day median catches that.

You can check histories yourself with price trackers. CHOICE has compared the main price trackers and notes that none cover every retailer. DealCheck AU uses StaticICE and PriceHipster data plus its own daily records.

Is waiting for Black Friday even worth it? CHOICE tracked four espresso machines across 13 retailers for six months in 2021 and found Black Friday didn't offer the best deals overall: cheaper or similar prices appeared on other dates, up to 33% cheaper in some cases. It was up to 25% cheaper than the products' peak prices. That is one small study of one product type, but it's a good reminder that Black Friday is not automatically the lowest price of the year.

3. Compare retailers, same week

In that same CHOICE test, prices differed by as much as 33% between retailers in the same week. Check at least three Australian retailers before you buy, and ask whether a store will beat a competitor's price.

4. Model-number variants

The same product name doesn't always mean the same product. CHOICE reports that suppliers release "event models" for Black Friday, some made especially for the sales event and not available afterwards. That can be a good buy if it's what you want, but you need to know what you're getting.

• Match the model or part number, not the product name. Laptops often exist in several versions with different RAM, storage or processors under one name.
• Check the number against the manufacturer's Australian spec page.
• Check what is actually in the listing: colour, storage size, Wi-Fi vs cellular, "with heatsink" vs without (for SSDs).
• DealCheck AU matches listings by product name and excludes accessories, refurbished, open-box and ex-demo stock, because those aren't comparable prices. Variants still need your own check.

5. Bundles and "free" extras

A bundle can hide a normal price. Before you're impressed by a "$300 of free extras" claim:

• Work out the price of the main item on its own at other stores.
• Ask whether you actually want the extras. A free item you wouldn't buy isn't a saving.
• Check the headline price is the total you'll pay. Under ACCC rules, businesses must display the total price, including taxes and unavoidable or pre-selected extra fees.

6. Limited stock and countdown clocks

Real stock shortages do happen. CHOICE found over its test period that several stores stopped carrying the item altogether, typically because an older product was being replaced. If a price is low and you need the item, buying can be reasonable. But a countdown clock isn't evidence the price is good. Check the history first, then decide.

7. Your rights don't change on sale items

• "No refunds" and "no refunds or exchanges on sale items" signs are unlawful. If a product has a major fault you can choose a refund or replacement, even if it was on sale.
• For a minor fault, the seller must at least repair it free of charge. See the ACCC's page on repair, replace, refund, cancel.
• Stores don't have to accept change-of-mind returns, and may exclude sale items from their own change-of-mind policy. Decide before you buy.

How DealCheck AU checks a price

We don't use the "was" price. Every day we:

1. Record today's price for each product we track at each Australian retailer we can find (from StaticICE, PriceHipster and retailer pages).
2. Rebuild that retailer's own price history, using external price-change history and our own daily records.
3. Compare today's price with that same retailer's 30-day and 90-day medians. For a "real deal" the price must be at least 10% below both, within 3% of the lowest price on record, and backed by at least 60 days of history.
4. Where the retailer's own product page can be read, re-check the price there and drop the deal if it is more than 2% away from the tracker price.

If a product doesn't have enough history yet, we say so. In that case we may publish a clearly labelled "Good price - history still building" post. It says how many days of history we have and the lowest price seen so far, and it is never called a real deal. Our history only covers the periods the trackers were watching, so no verdict is a promise that a price has never been lower. Read the full method on How we check deals.

Black Friday checklist

• Pick the exact model or part number you want now, before the sales start.
• Note today's price at three or four retailers, so you can see what changes.
• Ignore "was" prices and "save $X" badges. Compare with the last 30 and 90 days.
• Check the total price, and the price of the main item without the bundle.
• Check the listing matches the model you researched.
• Keep your receipt. Consumer guarantee rights apply to sale items too.
• If it isn't on your list, it isn't a deal.

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