ŁowcaIs Black Friday a Scam? How to Find a Real Bargain in 2026
Black Friday 2026 falls on November 27, and Cyber Monday falls on November 30; promotions often start as early as mid-October, but not every price reduction means real savings.
Zdjęcie: https://kaboompics.com/ / Pexels
Black Friday 2026: when is it and how long do promotions last
Black Friday 2026 falls on November 27, and Cyber Monday falls on November 30. Stores may run promotional campaigns for several weeks before the actual date, and the first offers in the Black Weeks cycle may appear as early as mid-October.
The date on the label alone does not determine whether a purchase is attractive. The price may change before Black Friday, during the event and after it ends. It is therefore worth comparing the reduction with the previous price and with the prices of similar products.
Is Black Friday in Poland a scam?
Black Friday in Poland is not always a scam, but some promotions look better on the label than they do when compared with the previous price. The reduction may be genuine but smaller than the crossed-out price or the claim of an exceptional bargain suggests.
According to a UCE Research and Shopfully study from November 2025, 71.9% of Poles believe that stores raise prices before Black Friday. Santander data from 2025, in turn, shows that 35% of respondents abandoned a purchase because they suspected a false price reduction.
Such suspicions do not mean that every promotion is fake. They mainly mean that it is worth checking the price in several sources instead of judging an offer by the size of the percentage discount. The comment “After Black Friday, everything suddenly gets cheaper” captures the distrust of some buyers, but it does not replace checking a specific product.
Four steps to check whether a promotion is genuine
- Check the price history. See how much the product cost before the campaign began. A sudden price increase just before a reduction makes the stated discount less credible.
- Compare the price from the last 30 days. For promotions, check the lowest price of the product during the 30 days preceding the reduction. The starting price should make it possible to assess whether the discount actually lowers the purchase cost.
- Compare the typical market price. The same item may have different prices in stores and listings. Checking several similar offers helps assess whether the current amount is typical, inflated or genuinely attractive.
- Assess the risk when buying second-hand. A low price is not in itself proof of fraud. It is still worth checking the description, photos, seller details, payment method and the possibility of personal collection.
It is best to go through all four steps. The price history alone will not show whether a used product includes all accessories, and comparing offers does not replace assessing the seller.
How to check the typical market price of a product
The typical market price can be estimated by comparing offers for similar items. The model, condition, version, equipment, age and place of sale should be taken into account. Comparing a new product with a used item without considering these differences can lead to incorrect conclusions.
Łowca searches several Polish classified-ad services at once: OLX, Otomoto, Otomoto (parts), Allegro Lokalnie, Vinted, Otodom and Sprzedajemy. Based on this, it calculates the typical market price for a specific item. This tool is particularly useful when the price of a used product is difficult to assess or similar listings are spread across several services.
Łowca does not monitor the main Allegro service. It monitors Allegro Lokalnie.
You can first perform a single search without creating an account. For a longer search, you can set up monitoring for new listings. Łowca combines duplicates of the same listing posted on several services and sends an email alert only when the offer is clearly below the typical price. Details about how it works and its costs are provided in the pricing.
What to watch out for when buying a used item
When buying second-hand, it is worth separating the low price from the transaction risk. A cheap offer may result from a quick sale, poorer condition, missing accessories or a location that makes collection difficult. It may also require more thorough verification.
Warning signs mainly concern several elements:
- Seller: unclear details, pressure to make an immediate payment, avoiding questions about the item's origin or refusing a reasonable collection method.
- Description: no information about the condition, model number, defects, usage history or included accessories.
- Photos: only catalogue photographs, repeated photos from other listings or no pictures of the items that were requested.
- Payment: a request for a transfer outside the agreed platform, an unusual payment intermediary or pressure to pay before obtaining basic information.
- Collection: no possibility of inspecting the item when buying in person or reluctance to demonstrate that equipment works when this is possible.
None of these signs necessarily means fraud. Several at the same time should, however, prompt additional questions, data checks and avoiding haste. For a more expensive purchase, it is worth comparing the model number, proof of purchase, technical condition and contents of the set.
When Łowca is not needed
Łowca is not necessary for every purchase. For a single decision, manually comparing prices is enough if the offer is easy to check and available in one place.
The tool may also be unnecessary when the product has a well-documented price history and the promotion can be verified within a few minutes. Monitoring new listings makes more sense for used, hard-to-find items or products sought across several services at the same time.
Łowca does not replace checking the product's condition, the seller or the transaction terms. Monitoring and market scanning do not cost points, but a sent alert has a cost specified in the pricing.
How to hunt for bargains after Black Friday
It is still worth comparing prices after the main campaign ends. Sellers may publish new listings after Black Friday, and some buyers may list items they received or bought earlier. The classified-ad market does not end with the last day of store campaigns.
When buying a used item, it is worth monitoring new offers for a set period and comparing them with the typical price of similar items. This helps limit decisions made under the influence of the phrase “today only”.
Łowca allows up to 10 simultaneous monitoring searches and searches matching monitored services at once. An alert concerns listings that appeared after the monitoring search was created. It does not guarantee finding the lowest price or that an offer meeting all requirements will appear.
The safest procedure remains simple: check the price history, compare the typical market price, assess the item's condition and only then decide whether to buy. Black Friday may bring a good bargain, but the discount should be confirmed rather than simply read from the label.
Frequently asked questions
When is Black Friday 2026?
Black Friday 2026 falls on November 27. Stores may start promotions several weeks earlier, even in mid-October.
When is Cyber Monday 2026?
Cyber Monday 2026 falls on November 30, the Monday after Black Friday.
Is Black Friday in Poland a scam?
Black Friday in Poland is not always a scam, but some reductions look better on the label than they do when compared with the previous price. Before buying, it is worth checking the price history, the price from the last 30 days and the typical market price.
How can I check whether a Black Friday reduction is genuine?
Compare the current amount with the price history, the lowest price from the last 30 days and the prices of similar products. When buying a used item, also check the description, photos, seller, payment and collection arrangements.
Do prices fall after Black Friday?
Prices may change after Black Friday, but there is no rule that they always fall after the campaign ends. It is worth comparing offers after November 27 as well and checking new listings.
How can I check the typical price of a used product?
Compare offers for similar items, taking the model, condition, version, equipment and age into account. Łowca helps estimate the typical price based on offers from OLX, Otomoto, Otomoto (parts), Allegro Lokalnie, Vinted, Otodom and Sprzedajemy.
Does Łowca monitor Allegro and Allegro Lokalnie?
Łowca does not monitor the main Allegro service, but it does monitor Allegro Lokalnie. The monitored services are OLX, Otomoto, Otomoto (parts), Allegro Lokalnie, Vinted, Otodom and Sprzedajemy.
Want deals like these by e-mail? An account is free and gets a one-time gift of 20 points on sign-up. Create an account.
Updated: 2026-10-28