As we all know, November 11th every year (which is next month) is China's Double 11 Shopping Festival, but there is also a shopping carnival that sweeps North America and even the world. It falls on the last Friday of November each year and is called "Black Friday." This year - Black Friday 2022 is on November 25th, and it's coming soon. Every year during Black Friday, many netizens in China participate in this shopping spree, because North American merchants really dare to offer discounts, and the prices are truly cheap.
To this end, I have prepared a simple 2022 Black Friday overseas shopping guide in advance. You can pay attention and check it out early to get prepared. Without further ado, let's dive into the 2022 Black Friday overseas shopping guide.
1. Basic Preparations for Black Friday Overseas Shopping
1. Prepare a credit card for overseas order payment
Generally, a Visa or Master credit card is needed. You can apply at a bank branch or on the official credit card websites of various banks. Any adult with a stable salary income can apply. After a successful application, the card is usually issued within two weeks, so it's still not too late to apply now. If you wish, you can apply for several credit cards from different banks as backups.
2. Register with a shipping forwarder in advance
Because most US websites do not support direct shipping to China, you need a shipping forwarder to send items back. Therefore, register with a shipping forwarder in advance. There are many shipping forwarders, such as: Zhonghuan Forwarding, Kelesong, Donglai Forwarding, Jishi Forwarding, Forwarding International, QQEX, Huamei, Aotian, Yijie, Zhongyou Haiwai, Haidaibao, etc. You can choose based on user reviews. If you wish, you can register accounts with two shipping forwarders as backups.
3. Register for overseas shopping website accounts in advance
With a credit card and a shipping address ready, the next step is placing orders. You must have some idea of what you want to buy on Black Friday and which websites to use. You can register for accounts on those websites in advance, fill in and save the shipping forwarder address, and even bind your credit card early. This way, you won't be flustered on Black Friday, having to register accounts, add addresses, and bind credit cards all at once.
Note: Registering for accounts on North American websites usually requires an email address. Try to use Outlook, Google, or Yahoo email accounts. At the very least, use a NetEase email. If you don't know which websites to order from, there are recommendations for Black Friday overseas shopping websites below. Keep reading.
4. Add items to your cart early
You can add items you want to buy on Black Friday to your shopping cart in advance. Then, on Black Friday, you can just check out directly from the cart, avoiding the risk of popular products being out of stock.
Besides the four basic points mentioned above, what else should we prepare in advance?
2. Overview of Key Points for Black Friday 2022
1: Be sure to pay attention to Black Friday information early, do your homework with lists, and monitor price trends.
2: Rock-bottom promotions are usually very limited in quantity. Figure out what you want most and focus on that one item. Don't expect to grab everything.
3: You'll be competing with Americans online for deals, so you need to hone your skills and be very familiar with the shopping process. After all, you've trained by competing with 1.3 billion people!
4: Prepare a shopping list in advance: what you want to buy, which website, and when the flash sale starts! Then use Excel to sort and prioritize.
5: Spend wisely. Don't be fooled by merchants' discount information (like "up to 90% off"). Even bargains can make you poor!
6: Be sure to pay attention to price comparison information. For overseas shoppers, this isn't just about comparing prices between foreign e-commerce sites, but also comparing them with domestic prices.
7: Stay updated on the latest, occasionally small-scale, or special offers targeting specific groups. So, subscribe to those merchants' newsletters (promotional emails) in advance. Especially for sites like Amazon, they can recommend products based on your browsing behavior and inform you of the latest promotions. Also, many websites offer extra discounts for new customers and VIPs, so remember to collect them.
8: Get advance knowledge of deals. There are often promotions by category or for specific groups. Look out for additional coupons or promo codes to save more money.
9: Compare official website deals. Usually, official websites for 3C products may not have better deals than distributors. However, for high-margin items like daily necessities, cosmetics, and clothing, official websites often offer better deals, frequently including free gifts, samples, etc., making them more cost-effective overall.
10: If you want to buy luxury goods or designer brand apparel, collect information on the brands and websites you follow in advance. Subscribe to their promotional emails early to ensure you know about promotions the moment they are released, and be quick to act. Remember, overseas shopping means competing with people worldwide for inventory!