Check Black Friday shopping deals with AI

Who is this for?

This page is for a Black Friday list you want finished before the cart. In 2026, Black Friday is Friday, November 27. You already know what you might buy, who it is for, and what you can spend. You want help comparing models and spotting a price that is not a deal. You will open the retailer page yourself. You will pay there, or you will walk away.

It is not shopping advice, and it is not a promise that a sale is the lowest price of the year. This site does not publish a spending figure, a percent off, or a "typical" discount. If a number is not on a page you opened, it does not go in the list.

The Federal Trade Commission has written the checks this page uses. How to avoid an online shopping scam this holiday season (BCP Staff, November 25, 2025) says scammers are online all year, especially on social media. They impersonate real companies and advertise brand-name products at unusually low prices. The link in the ad can go to a site that takes your money and sends a counterfeit, something that does not match the picture, or nothing. The FTC's steps are: research the seller's name and the site address plus words like "review," "complaint," or "scam"; pay by credit card when you can; and keep the receipt and the order number. Sellers have to ship by the time they or their ads say they will, or give you a chance to get your money back. If the only payment is a gift card, a wire transfer, a payment app, or cryptocurrency, the FTC says it is probably a scam. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

That social media ad with super low prices on well-known brands could be a scam (FTC, August 26, 2025) says not to assume the seller is the brand named in the ad. Look up that seller before you click. Compare the price with what the product sells for in other places. If the ad is much, much lower, the FTC says it is probably a scam.

The FTC's Online shopping page is the longer checklist. It says an FTC rule requires sellers to ship as promised in their ads. If the seller does not promise a time, it has to ship within 30 days after it gets your name, address, and payment, or permission to charge you. Before you buy, read whether you can return the item, who pays return shipping, how many days you have, and whether there is a restocking fee. Sale items can have a different return policy. Search the product or company name plus "complaint" or "scam." Pay by credit card when you can. A site that starts with https is encrypted, and the FTC says scammers can encrypt a site too. Encryption is not proof the store is real.

A gift list with one note per person is Plan holiday gift shopping with AI. Two finalists, once the pages are open, are Compare two products before you buy either one. The cap for the whole season is Make a holiday budget with AI. A voice, a text, or a video that pressures you to pay is Spot AI scams and deepfakes. Hang up and use a number you already know. This page is the shopping list and the deal check.

What do you need before you start?

Write this down before you open a chat. The note is the brief.

• The items you might buy, with the model name if you already know it. "A laptop" is not a model. "A winter coat, size you know" is enough to start
• A budget you set. One number for the list, or one number per item. The chat does not get to raise it
• The last day the item still has to arrive. If you need it before November 27, use that earlier date
• Two or three pages you already have open: the retailer, and the maker's page if it lists a price
• Nothing else. No card number, no password, no home address

You do not need a paid plan. Any free chat can sort notes you paste. If the chat offers to pay, close that offer. You pay on the retailer page after the checks below.

How do you write the list and the budget first?

A pile of "deals" is not a list. Name the item, the must-have, and the ceiling. If you do not know a model yet, say so. Do not let the chat invent one and then call it a deal.

Work, for a supply or a team gift your office allows. Do not paste a company card number or a coworker's home address.

Do not invent prices, discounts, ratings, or return rules.
Do not tell me to buy. Do not open a checkout.

I am shopping for work, and I am allowed to look at this:
- Item: [what]. Must-have: [feature or size]. Model if I already know it: [or UNKNOWN].
Ceiling I set: [amount]. Do not go over it.
Must arrive by: [date].

Give me back the list as a clean block. Flag any line that is too thin to compare (no must-have).
Do not suggest a store yet. Then stop.

School. This is practice in checking a claim. It is not the paper.

This is for learning. Do not write anything I will turn in. Follow my teacher's rules.
Do not invent a price, a percent off, or a source.

I am learning how to check a sale ad. Here is the ad, with the link removed:
[paste the words of the ad]

Ask me what pages I have opened: the store, the maker, and one other seller.
If I have not opened them, write PAGE NOT OPENED. Do not fill in a price.
Then give me a checklist of what to look up, using only the FTC steps I will read myself: seller research, price comparison, return policy, shipping, and how to pay.
Do not write my assignment. Then stop.

The FTC pages to read are the three linked above. You read them. The chat does not get to summarize them into the work you submit.

Life. The real list.

Do not invent prices, discounts, "was" prices, ratings, ship dates, or return rules.
Do not tell me what I deserve. Do not open a checkout.

Black Friday list. The date I am planning around is Friday, November 27, 2026.
Items:
- [item]: for [person or "me"]. Must-have: [feature, size, or none]. Model if I know it: [or UNKNOWN]. Ceiling: [amount]. Must arrive by: [date].
- [item]: for [person or "me"]. Must-have: [feature, size, or none]. Model if I know it: [or UNKNOWN]. Ceiling: [amount]. Must arrive by: [date].

Hard total for this list: [amount]. Do not go over it.
If a line is too thin to shop, say so. Do not suggest products yet. Then stop.

If the total collides with rent, food, or travel, stop and set the season's number on Make a holiday budget with AI. A deal that breaks the total is not a deal. Set the limits before you ask is that habit.

How do you compare models from pages you paste?

Paste lines from the pages. Do not ask the chat to recall a spec. A missing spec stays missing.

Compare these only with the lines I paste. Do not invent a spec, a review score, or a price.
If a line is not in my paste, write NOT LISTED.

What I need it to do: [one sentence].
Must-haves: [list].
Ceiling: [amount].

Product A, from [retailer page I have open], copied today [date]:
[paste the model name, the specs you care about, and the price on the screen]

Product B, from [page], copied today [date]:
[paste]

Make a table: must-have, product A, product B.
Do not say which one I should buy.
Do not say "people love it."
Then stop. I will check one row on each page.

Open both pages and check the row you care about. If the chat smoothed a phrase into a number, put the page's words back. The longer version of this table is Compare two products before you buy either one.

A student doing this for class pastes sources they opened and writes the comparison themselves. The table can be notes. It is not the submission.

How do you check whether the deal is real?

A deal has four parts you can point at. The chat may only use the parts you paste. You collect them.

1. The price on the retailer page, while that page is open. That is the price. A price in the chat is unchecked. OpenAI's shopping research help says the result can be wrong and that you confirm the price, taxes, fees, shipping, and the return policy on the retailer's site before you buy. This page does not use in-chat checkout. The gift-list version of that habit is Plan holiday gift shopping with AI.
2. The price the maker lists, if the maker's page shows one. If the page says MSRP, you may call it that. If the page shows no price, write NOT LISTED. Do not ask the chat for a typical MSRP.
3. What it sells for in at least one other place you open. The FTC says to compare. If you cannot find the item at anything like the ad's price, treat the ad as the thing to doubt. A "was" price on the ad is not that comparison. It is a claim until you see the earlier price on a page you opened. That set of pages is the only price history this guide trusts.
4. The return policy, who pays return shipping, any restocking fee, the ship-by date, and a way to contact the seller. The FTC's online shopping page says to read those before you buy, and that sale items can use a different return policy. If you cannot find them, do not buy.

Do not tell me the deal is real. Do not invent a past price or an MSRP.

Today is [date]. I have these pages open:
- Retailer: [name and the price on the screen]. Ship-by date on the page: [or NOT LISTED]. Return policy, in the page's words: [paste or NOT LISTED]. Who pays return shipping: [or NOT LISTED]. Restocking fee: [or NOT LISTED].
- Maker's page: [price the page shows, or NOT LISTED]. The page uses the word MSRP: [yes or no].
- Another seller I opened: [name and price, or I HAVE NOT OPENED ONE].

Ad claim I am checking: [paste the "was" price or the percent off, or "none"].

List which of the four checks are still NOT LISTED or not opened.
Do not fill them in. Do not say "this is a good deal."
Then stop.

Any NOT LISTED line is your next click, not the chat's guess. Catch facts the AI made up is the same rule. Ask for options and tradeoffs before you decide is how you choose after the rows are real.

How do you walk away from a fake site?

Run this before you pay, including on a site that looks familiar. The FTC's holiday alert says the dangerous link is often the one in the ad.

Do not tell me a site is safe. Your verdict is not proof.
Do not invent a review, a complaint, or a statistic.

Seller name: [name].
Website I reached, typed by me, not from the ad's short link: [address].
How I got here: [search, or an ad on a social app, or the store I already use].
What the page wants as payment: [credit card, or gift card, wire, payment app, crypto, or UNKNOWN].
Contact, return policy, and ship-by date: [what I found, or MISSING].

List which FTC warnings are present in what I typed: an unusually low brand-name price, an ad on social media, a seller I have not researched outside the app, a missing return or contact line, or a payment method the FTC says to refuse.
If I did not type a fact, write UNKNOWN. Do not look up a scandal.
Then tell me the next thing I should open myself. Then stop.

If the only way to pay is a gift card, a wire, a payment app, or cryptocurrency, stop. The FTC says that pattern is a sign of a scam. Pay by credit card when you can, on a site you reached yourself, not through the ad's link. Keep the receipt and the order number. If the order does not ship by the date the seller or the ad stated, the FTC says the seller has to give you a chance to get your money back.

If you already paid a scam, contact the company you paid through, then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. A chatbot's "this store is fine" is not a refund and not proof. The same limit is on Spot AI scams and deepfakes.

You still decide. Write one sentence before you pay: "I am buying [model] from [retailer] at [price on the screen] because it meets [must-have], and I read the return line." If you cannot finish the sentence, you are not done with Step 3.

What mistakes should you avoid?

These are the misses that waste the result. Skip them before you send anything.

Common mistakes

• Asking "what's the best Black Friday deal?" with no item, no ceiling, and no page.
• Treating a "was" price in an ad as a price history.
• Calling a number MSRP when the maker's page does not show it.
• Clicking the social ad, then pasting that site's claims back into the chat as if they were the retailer's.
• Letting the chat raise the budget because the sale "ends tonight."
• Paying with a gift card because the page said the discount required it.
• Using a school prompt to get the consumerism essay written. The checklist is the lesson. You write the paper.

What should you keep private?

A shopping chat does not need your card number, your home address, a password, or a child's school. A model name and a size are enough. Do not connect a bank so the chat can "see what you can spend." You type the ceiling. More is on Keep your data private with AI.

Privacy: what not to paste

If a product offers to pay inside the chat, this guide does not use that. You pay on the retailer page after the checks. The holiday gift guide says the same thing about Instant Checkout.

What should you check before you use it?

Answer each line below. If one is still a no, do not use the result yet.

Director check: look before you use it

• Is the price the one on the retailer page right now? If you only saw it in the chat or in an ad, it is not checked.
• Did you open a second price? The maker's page, or another seller. A single ad is not a comparison.
• Did any "was" price come from a page you opened? If it came from the ad alone, it is still a claim.
• Can you find the return policy, return shipping, and a way to contact the seller? The FTC says if you cannot, walk away.
• Is the payment a credit card on a site you reached yourself? Gift card, wire, payment app, or crypto as the only option is a stop.
• Did the chat add a percent off, a rating, or a review? Delete it. This page does not invent those.
• Is this for class? You can show the checks. You write anything you turn in.

What is one extra tip?

When two models survive, finish on Compare two products before you buy either one. When the list is gifts, go back to one note per person on Plan holiday gift shopping with AI. When gifts, travel, and food share one number, set it on Make a holiday budget with AI. When the pressure is a call or a deepfake video instead of a product page, use Spot AI scams and deepfakes.

One extra tip

Shopping guides sit on Shopping. The wider money set is Money and bills. More home guides are on Life.