By Ahmed Abdelsalam
The Independent's consumer advice section, IndyBest, has outlined its methodology for selecting Black Friday deals, emphasizing expert testing, price verification, and editorial oversight to help shoppers find genuine value.
Genuine Deals Verified
IndyBest verifies each deal using price comparison sites, price history tools, and decades of experience covering the sales period. Research by YouGov shows nearly half of Black Friday shoppers struggle to identify genuine discounts, so the team ensures featured deals represent the best available prices and notes when the same price appears at multiple retailers.
Tested Products Only
The team mostly highlights products they have actually tested and recommend. Discounted items such as air fryers or dehumidifiers have been expertly reviewed, and if a specific model hasn't been tested but comes from a trusted brand, that context is clearly stated.
Industry Experts Lead Coverage
Tech editor Alex Lee brings over ten years of sale coverage and expertise across smartphones, laptops, TVs, and gaming. Beauty writer Lucy Smith has professionally covered Black Friday sales since 2023 and tests products daily. Deputy editor Sabrina Sahota, a consumer expert with years of experience on major sales events, double-checks all deals before publication.
Verified Sellers Only
Deals are sourced only from retailers and brands that have been tried and tested by IndyBest reviewers. For Amazon's Black Friday sale, the team checks that each product is sold by a verified seller before featuring it.
Round-the-Clock Price Updates
During the sales period, the IndyBest team updates many guides hourly. Prices displayed are always the lowest found; deals that no longer offer good value are removed, and new lower prices are highlighted immediately.
