Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still a few weeks away, but that hasn't stopped some of the biggest online retailers already going into full holiday shopping mode. You may have spotted a great deal already, but what happens if the same item comes up even cheaper during the actual events? Well, here's what you need to know.
Let's start with Newegg, as that site is already plastered with a wealth of Black Friday monikered deals on PCs, laptops, accessories, and other tech gadgets. Let's say you buy a new gaming monitor this weekend but it ends up being offered at a lower price during the Black Friday weekend.
- We're curating all the best Black Friday PC gaming deals right here.
This is where Newegg's Black Friday Price Protection scheme might come to save you. Essentially, if you buy goods marked with the protection logo, any time between now and November 16, then Newegg will automatically refund the difference in price, if the item is cheaper during the sale on or before November 25.
Newegg claims that you won't need to do anything, as it will track everything for you and issue the funds straight to the original payment method.
Now it's important to note this only applies to items and prices on Newegg's site, so if you spot the same product at Amazon and it's quite a bit cheaper there, then you're out of luck. Newegg is only protecting its own prices and purchases, and only until November 16. Buy a new monitor the very next day and it won't be eligible for the protection service.
It's a common practice for retailers to bump prices just ahead of key sales events so they can claim big discounts even though prices have historically been around the same level. That's probably what's going to happen between November 16th and Black Friday itself. These kinds of shenanigans are one of the reasons we regularly use trackers, such as CamelCamelCamel, to get an idea of historic pricing before pulling the trigger on any purchase.
The Newegg protection doesn't cover anything like a rebate, combination offers, buy now-pay later deal, or third-party offers. Fortunately, Newegg will be plastering a clear price protection logo over anything that's eligible for the scheme.
It's worth noting that you might not get a refund immediately, even if everything complies with the terms and conditions of the scheme. Newegg states that refunds will be processed by December 5, though this is only one week after Black Friday.
If you're looking at Black Friday deals from Best Buy, then you might be disappointed to learn that it doesn't offer a scheme like Newegg's. However, there is one way around it all, though there are some stringent caveats. If you purchase an item between now and December 30, and then Best Buy sells it cheaper later on (but before January 13), then its Holiday Price Match Guarantee will mean you can return the product, and then get the same item again, as new but at the lower price.
If your purchase was via the website, you can't request a price match in-store or via email, only through an online chat service or by phone. But if you pop into one of its retail stores, you can still go through the process at the customer service desk.
That's obviously a lot more hassle than Newegg's system, but it does mean you shouldn't get stung on picking up an early deal and then seeing it hundreds of dollars cheaper a few weeks later. The onus is on you, though, to contact Best Buy and make the claim, so on the whole, Newegg's protection scheme is the better of the two.
Best Buy does also offer a general Price Match Guarantee. If you spot an eligible product on its site and a so-called qualified competitor is offering it at a lower price, then you can contact Best Buy to match that price. However, the list of exclusions to this is pretty comprehensive, and you certainly won't get a price match on anything that's in a competitor's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.
Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.
Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.
Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
Newegg has something very similar, with almost identical exclusions and conditions, but the time period is pretty brief, just 14 days after purchase. And then, if the price match claim is accepted, all you'll get in return is a Newegg gift card equivalent to the difference in price.
Amazon and Walmart don't offer anything like Newegg's or Best Buy's price guarantee or matching services, but in general, you should be able to return an item and get a refund, if you spot it being sold even cheaper after the purchase. Naturally, there are restrictions to this, in that the item mustn't be used in any way and the window of return is usually very narrow, typically five working days.
So, it would seem that Newegg is the best place to shop for all your Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, yes? Ah, if only it was that simple! Its price protection scheme is nice but it's not available in every country, and it absolutely does not mean that Newegg will have all of the best deals.
This is precisely why we'll be curating all the best ones throughout the events, and we'll only be highlighting deals that we know are good products and worth the indicated price tag. So make sure you save our Black Friday gaming PC deals page, and check it regularly through the holiday sales to find the right bargain, just for you.
