True, although if you're in the EU, there should be a 30 days reference period.

"In all EU countries traders are obliged, when offering a discount, to indicate the lowest price applied to the item at least 30 days before the announcement of the price reduction."

Of course, enforcement of such rules is the problem here. But if you notice such discrepancies, you are more than encouraged to file a complaint to the shop and then to your national agency responsible for the protection of consumers if the seller doesn't act in good faith. I was fairly surprised to see how well the latter has worked against a large company in my Balkan country.

Source: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/unfair-treat...

Or worse the same SKU but “for black friday”. It was common for things like TVs to be marketed in such a way as to think it was the same product as previously, but instead was a lesser product like a tv with fewer ports and a shorter warranty (which would imply cheaper life limited components like capacitors).

Add the current price to that list too, and compare it before buying.

If the discount is fake, delay buying into March or something like that. Prices tend to fall in January/February.

I personally don't do that. But I see people doing it with a good amount of success.

In my experience, retailers will do this to make their “special” Black Friday sale similar to regular sales that roll around every few months, but I have never seen or heard of a company pulling this to the point where they’re selling stuff for higher than the normal full price.

So you’re right that Black Friday might not be the best time to buy something, but it’s fine if you want to get something at a good price and don’t feel like putting any effort into tracking prices throughout the year.

If you're using Amazon, always use camelcamelcamel.com to check first.

or it's just garbage that was made for the sale