I Hate Discounts, Except on Black Friday: 15 US Online Store Offers

15 Black Friday offers from US online stores that did not just cut the price: the exact offer, the page or email behind it, and the rule behind it.

As a marketer, I always tell my clients to skip offering discounts. Discounts are the cheapest form of marketing, and I actually hate them. They erode the price perception by people. And when offered without regard, without consideration, they actually do more harm than good, especially in the long term.

But there is a big, big but. There is one exception. And that one exception is Black Friday.

If you are a business owner and you've been thinking about how to offer some discounts, deals or offers, Black Friday is the moment to make that decision, make that call. And if you are in doubt, I actually suggest trying it.

The reason is very simple. It's one of those events during the year where there is a lot of buying going on: people are buying like crazy. It's like a wave that you can either ignore and decide that it's not for you, which is fine. Or you can try riding it. Worst case scenario, the offer you thought would work will not be as compelling, and you learn something. Best case scenario, it can, in a very real sense, lead to probably one of the strongest sales days for your business.

So, yes, give it a try.

Below: 15 offers from US online stores, each with its source and the rule behind it.

An aside from 2024: Maker Wine sells an advent calendar, "12 Days of Canned Wine", that began to ship on 8 Nov 2024, before the discount weeks; the article mentions no discount on it. Its CEO told Modern Retail on 5 Nov 2024 that it "accounts for over 50% of our Q4 DTC sales" (press-reported, every holiday season, not tied to Black Friday).

How we picked

Nobody publishes Black Friday results, so we ranked the offers and the emails that sold them.

1. 181 online stores in the pool; 144 passed our gates.
2. 15 offers picked, after a second reader re-read 29 of them on the best source we could open.
3. 123 of 181 state no result, so we rank the offer, not the outcome.

How we picked, in full

In the pool

181US online stores

Past the gates

144

Re-read

29

In the post

15

Last Black Friday · US online stores

The 15 at a glance

1. 01RedthreadedColoradoStance2025We’re not having a sale. In fact, you can’t buy from us at all today.Rule If you opt out, write the reason yourself and give a date to come back.
2. 02Z SUPPLYCosta Mesa, CAGiving with a number2025Our goal is to raise $300K and help more students on their creative journey.Rule Pledge a number and publish the running total every year; the total becomes the ad.
3. 03The Flourish MarketRaleigh, NCA gift at a spend level2025 (recurring, told Nov 2025)40-60% of the customer’s purchase back…Rule When margin is thin, give a tiered gift instead of a percent, and send the last-call email on the last day.
4. 04Ironside ComputersRound Rock, TXThe email as the offer2025Psst…giveaway key hidden somewhere in this email.Rule If you cannot discount much, make the email itself the game.
5. 05Transparent LabsAmerican Fork, UTA gift at a spend level2025…Bundle on orders $149 after discountsRule Set the gift threshold a little above your average order.
6. 06The Bitter SouthernerAthens, GAGiving with a number2025Less Cyber. More Human.Rule Give the discount a point of view and a per-order donation; the message does the work.
7. 07Icebug USAUS campaign (Swedish brand)Giving with a number2025donate 100% of all proceeds from its website and storefrontsRule Name the cause per market, and say "proceeds" or "sales" exactly as you mean it.
8. 08Set ActiveCaliforniaOne store's own date2025We made our own Black Friday in December and we call it Set MissRule A discount that steps down through the day (25% for the first 30 minutes, 20% for the next 30, 15% for the rest of the day), so the first buyers get the most.
9. 09AcureFloridaA gift at a spend level2025Up to 40% off sitewide through December 17Rule Put a small gift on every order, then a bigger one at each spend level.
10. 10Petite PlumeCharleston, SCA smaller or split discount, with a reason2025offering 20% off almost everything, after offering 25% off last yearRule Test the smaller discount against last year, and measure the extra sales it brings, not total sales.
11. 11Marie VeroniqueBerkeley, CAA come-back code2025enjoy 20% off sitewide, exclusions applyRule Add a small come-back code at a high cart value to buy the second order.
12. 12immiSan Francisco, CAThe email as the offer2025Something special is cooking for Black Friday, but it's going out first by text.Rule Make the first Black Friday email ask for a sign-up, not a sale.
13. 13AMYOBrooklyn, NYA smaller or split discount, with a reason2025enjoy 15% off non-14K styles (orders $50+) and 10% off all 14K pieces. No code necessary.Rule Two discount levels, by cost or material, instead of one number for everything.
14. 14EverlywellAustin, TXThe email as the offer2025$100 OFF Everlywell 360—our best offer yetRule Lead with one hero offer; keep the catalog offer below it.
15. 15Revenge OfLos Angeles, CAStanceYear not stated, told Oct 2025We make all the pinball machines free for the whole day, and that’s all we doRule Pay for traffic with an experience instead of a margin cut.

Pattern 1 of 7

Two stores skipped the sale and said why.

Two stores skipped the discount on purpose. One closed its web store for the weekend. One opens its pinball machines at no charge for the day.

Seen at: a small sewing pattern store and a small comic and pinball shop.

01/15BF2025sewing patterns and corsetry · Colorado · small

RedthreadedClose the store for the weekend and say why

A small pattern store that had run Black Friday sales for more than a decade closed its web store instead and posted the reasons.

The offer, in their words

“We’re not having a sale. In fact, you can’t buy from us at all today.”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Closed the web store to purchases on Black Friday, after more than a decade of Black Friday sales.
• Gave the reasons in the founder's post: tariffs, cheap factory goods, overconsumption, and discounts that devalue handmade work.
• Gave a date to come back: the post ends with December.

The rule to copy

• If you opt out, write the reason yourself and give a date to come back.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

15/15BFYear not stated, told Oct 2025comics and pinball shop with a web store · Los Angeles, CA · small

Revenge OfYear not stated: trade the discount for a day people come in for

A comic and pinball shop runs no sale on Black Friday; it opens every pinball machine to play at no charge for the day.

The offer, in their words

“We make all the pinball machines free for the whole day, and that’s all we do”

No 2025 original found online; the quote above is from the source named.

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Gave up the day's pinball takings instead of a margin cut on stock.
• Kept prices as they are; the reason to visit is the day itself.

The rule to copy

• Pay for traffic with an experience instead of a margin cut.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

I actually know companies that are quite established and big, and are also in e-commerce, who deliberately skip Black Friday. And I would say those who can reliably do that are premium products. Premium products are not compatible with discounts. I would say it almost immediately removes the premium.

And then I would say complex, technical, difficult products, even if they're sold as e-commerce. Let's say it's like a technical industrial tool, or like an iPhone. When was the last time you saw Apple slapping a Black Friday discount on their phones or MacBooks? I've never seen one.

So if your product or service is a premium one, the one that is in a higher price bracket, discounts can actually do more harm than good.

Pattern 2 of 7

Three stores gave to a cause and named a number.

Three stores tied the sale to a cause with a number: a dollar goal, a sum per order, or all of the day's proceeds.

Seen at: a small publisher and two mid-size brands, one in apparel and one in outdoor footwear.

02/15BF2025apparel · Costa Mesa, CA · mid

Z SUPPLYA dollar goal, five years in a row, with a public total

An apparel brand ties its Black Friday season sales to a scholarship fund with a dollar goal, not a percent.

The offer, in their words

“Our goal is to raise $300K and help more students on their creative journey.”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Set one dollar goal for the season and wrote it on its own blog.
• Kept a running total since 2021 on the same page.
• In 2024 the brand's press release pledged $300,000 from online sales, from Black Friday through Giving Tuesday. The 2025 page sets the same $300K as a goal and does not say which sales count or when the season ends.

The rule to copy

• Pledge a number and publish the running total every year; the total becomes the ad.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

06/15BF2025publisher and goods · Athens, GA · small

The Bitter SouthernerA discount with a point of view, and $5 per order to charity

A Southern magazine and shop sold against Cyber Monday without skipping the sale.

The email headline, in their words

“Less Cyber. More Human.”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Kept a flat 20% discount and gave it a message: less screen, more people.
• Named the charity and the sum per order, so the buyer can count what one order gives.

The rule to copy

• Give the discount a point of view and a per-order donation; the message does the work.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

07/15BF2025outdoor footwear · US campaign (Swedish brand) · mid

Icebug USAAll Black Friday proceeds to a named cause, per market

A Swedish footwear brand gives its Black Friday proceeds away and names the charity in each market, the US included.

The offer, in their words

“donate 100% of all proceeds from its website and storefronts”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Gave all Black Friday proceeds for the seventh year.
• Named a different charity for each market, so US buyers see a US cause.

The rule to copy

• Name the cause per market, and say "proceeds" or "sales" exactly as you mean it.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

Giving as the offer: I think it's interesting and creative. People are actively buying. They are waiting for this day, they are collecting their funds to buy the things that they wanted to buy.

But if offering a discount is not part of the plan, which is a reasonable move for some businesses, as I've mentioned, offering an extra, offering participation in a cause, may be an interesting move that doesn't damage your brand. It actually even helps in some sense.

So I would call it a very smart move, and something that I would recommend considering if you consider participating in Black Friday at all.

Pattern 3 of 7

Three stores gave a gift at a spend level.

What separates an offer that builds the store from one that only burns the margin is preparation. It's easy to slap a discount on your product. It requires some consideration and some planning and strategy to invite people to buy more at a better price, but in a way that will actually help you grow your business.

And there are ways to do that. A few obvious ways are offering discounts on your best sellers that have a healthy margin. You are using the opportunity to lower the margin a little bit, but expecting to cover more ground with additional revenue that the product should deliver.

Another thing is strategically offering a price leader, a product that you are planning to sell at a loss, which I see a lot of companies do, and especially big enterprises. You probably also saw that when you go shopping in a shopping mall: fruit or another product is offered at a substantial discount, but it's positioned at the darkest and the farthest corner of the store. So any customer who is interested in this offer will actually have to pass through all of the sections of the store to get to the discounted product. And it usually happens that they also remember that they need this, they need that. And their cart then covers for the price leader.

Each gift came instead of a percent or on top of one. The buyer adds to the cart to reach the next step.

Seen at: a small gift boutique and two mid-size brands, in supplements and in body care.

03/15BF2025 (recurring, told Nov 2025)gift boutique with a web store · Raleigh, NC · small

The Flourish MarketA gift ladder from $40 to $500, and no discount

A gift boutique runs its own weekend before Black Friday and gives gifts by spend level instead of a percent.

The offer, in their words

“40-60% of the customer’s purchase back in free gifts”

No 2025 original found online; the quote above is from the source named.

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Gave gifts at five spend levels: $40, $75, $150, $250 and $500.
• Let the higher levels also get the gifts of the lower ones.
• Sent a last-call email on the Sunday.

The rule to copy

• When margin is thin, give a tiered gift instead of a percent, and send the last-call email on the last day.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

05/15BF2025supplements · American Fork, UT · mid

Transparent LabsA gift bundle at $149, on top of 25% off

A supplement brand kept a flat discount and added a gift bundle once the cart passed a set value.

The offer, in their words

“FREE Black Friday Bundle on orders $149 after discounts”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Put the threshold after the discount, so the gift counts on what the buyer really pays.
• Listed the bundle: a backpack, a water bottle, two creatine sticks, one Hydrate stick and two protein bars.

The rule to copy

• Set the gift threshold a little above your average order.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

09/15BF2025body care · Florida · mid

AcureA gift on every order, and a bigger one at $74 and $99

A body care brand paired up to 40% off with a three-step gift ladder that started with the smallest order.

The offer, in their words

“Up to 40% off sitewide through December 17”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Gave a gift with every order, a second at $74 and a third at $99, per the article text.
• Paired the gifts with up to 40% off sitewide.

The rule to copy

• Put a small gift on every order, then a bigger one at each spend level.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

Pattern 4 of 7

A smaller discount with a reason, or two discounts by material.

Petite Plume cut its discount from 25% to 20% and said why. AMYO ran two discount levels, with the smaller one on its 14K gold pieces.

Seen at: two small brands, in sleepwear and in jewelry.

10/15BF2025sleepwear · Charleston, SC · small

Petite PlumeA smaller discount than last year, with the reason stated

A sleepwear brand cut its Black Friday discount from 25% to 20% and its CMO said why in the trade press.

The offer, as Modern Retail wrote it

“offering 20% off almost everything, after offering 25% off last year”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Ran 20% off for years, switched to 25% in 2024, and went back to 20% in 2025, as Modern Retail reports.
• Compared last year's deeper discount with the extra sales it brought, and cut the number.
• Said so in public, with the reason.

The rule to copy

• Test the smaller discount against last year, and measure the extra sales it brings, not total sales.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

13/15BF2025jewelry · Brooklyn, NY · small

AMYOTwo discount levels, by material

A jewelry brand gave a smaller discount on its gold pieces than on the rest.

The offer, as the roundup wrote it

“enjoy 15% off non-14K styles (orders $50+) and 10% off all 14K pieces. No code necessary.”

No 2025 original found online; the quote above is from the source named.

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Wrote the margin rule into the offer in one line.
• Put a minimum order on the larger discount only.

The rule to copy

• Two discount levels, by cost or material, instead of one number for everything.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

The issue that Petite Plume experienced really goes back to the point I made: you actually have to be strategic and calculate.

Based on the comments that the marketing chief gave later to the trade press, it reads like they had to learn the lesson the hard way. They offered a big discount that didn't really pay off. Did they make the profit that they expected? Probably not, which is why they rolled back the discount. Again, this is my reading. This is the most obvious explanation an outsider can give.

Does a bigger number always sell more? I would say that it's not a discount that should sell more. The product itself should be in demand. It is a complex question, and patching it with discounts is usually a very short-term, short-sighted tactic that pays off painfully later, when the discount is dropped and with that the sales of the core products drop.

So if your product is not selling without a huge discount, it's not the discount's problem. The problem is something else.

Pattern 5 of 7

The email did more work than the discount.

Three emails: one hid a prize key inside, one asked for a text sign-up before the sale, one led with a single hero offer.

Seen at: two small stores (custom computers, ramen) and a mid-size at-home lab test brand.

04/15BF2025custom computers · Round Rock, TX · small

Ironside ComputersA 5% discount, and a hunt for a prize key in the email

A custom PC builder could not discount much, so it hid a prize key inside its Black Friday email.

The email's top line, in their words

“Psst…giveaway key hidden somewhere in this email.”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Turned a small discount into a reason to read the whole email.
• Made the prize the product it sells.

The rule to copy

• If you cannot discount much, make the email itself the game.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

12/15BF2025ramen · San Francisco, CA · small

immiThe first Black Friday email asked for a text sign-up

A ramen brand used its first Black Friday email to grow its text list, before any sale.

The offer, in their words

“Something special is cooking for Black Friday, but it's going out first by text.”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Posted to the email gallery on 6 Nov 2025, three weeks before Black Friday.
• Asked for one action: join the text list.

The rule to copy

• Make the first Black Friday email ask for a sign-up, not a sale.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

14/15BF2025at-home lab tests · Austin, TX · mid

EverlywellOne hero offer on top, the catalog offer below

A lab test brand led its Black Friday email with one offer on its membership and kept the sitewide offer lower down.

The subject line, in their words

“$100 OFF Everlywell 360—our best offer yet”

The original

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Gave the flagship its own code and the top of the email.
• Kept a second code for the rest of the catalog, so a buyer who does not want the membership still gets an offer.

The rule to copy

• Lead with one hero offer; keep the catalog offer below it.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

What makes a Black Friday email work? I think the answer to that is knowing your audience and knowing what they care about, why they buy and what they buy: what kind of incentives they have, what kind of drives and motivations they have.

Knowing your audience, knowing what will resonate with them, is the easiest, most straightforward strategy to make your Black Friday campaign a success. Start with your audience and think from it.

Pattern 6 of 7

A code for the next order buys the second sale.

Marie Veronique kept its 20% off sitewide and added a $25 code for a future order, earned on orders of $275 or more.

Seen at: a small skincare brand.

11/15BF2025skincare · Berkeley, CA · small

Marie Veronique20% off now, plus a $25 code for the next order

A skincare brand paired its Black Friday discount with a reward code that only works on a later purchase.

The offer, as the roundup wrote it

“enjoy 20% off sitewide, exclusions apply”

No 2025 original found online; the quote above is from the source named.

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Kept the discount and added a reason to come back.
• Set the code at a high cart value, so only the larger orders earn it.

The rule to copy

• Add a small come-back code at a high cart value to buy the second order.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

Why does the second order matter? It's a great question, because for a lot of businesses the first purchase, most of the time, is either somewhere around a break-even or non-profitable. And it is very true for e-commerce businesses. And it is also true for some other organizations.

I also believe that offering a coupon code, if done correctly and smartly, can substantially reduce your cost of acquiring a customer. I don't know what the customer acquisition cost was for Marie Veronique, who gave the code there. But I would assume it was more than $25. If I were having a conversation with their marketing people, that would be probably one of the most obvious data that could be used to come up with this number.

And again, if done correctly, this is one of those things that can substantially move the needle and substantially improve the revenue and your business results.

Pattern 7 of 7 · one store's case

One store made its own Black Friday in December.

Set Active runs its own sale in December, after the Black Friday rush. Through each day the discount steps down, so the first buyers get the most.

Seen at: a mid-size activewear brand.

08/15BF2025activewear · California · mid

Set ActiveA second sale in December, where the discount drops after the first half hour

An activewear brand runs its own sale event in December and rewards the first buyers of each day.

The idea, in the CEO's words

“We made our own Black Friday in December and we call it Set Miss”

No 2025 original found online; the quote above is from the source named.

Our visualOpen larger

What they did

• Owned a second sale moment after the Black Friday rush.
• Used time, not depth, as the reason to buy now.

What Set Active did

• A discount that steps down through the day (25% for the first 30 minutes, 20% for the next 30, 15% for the rest of the day), so the first buyers get the most.

Proof and sources · Back to the list

When is it smarter to pick your own date? I personally believe that offering a discount is plausible during Black Friday.

Probably for some companies, let's call them the Amazons of the world, a whole marketplace who can set their own Black Friday dates regardless of everyone else's calendar, it may be a smart move: making their own waves, making their own small ecosystem. But it's a completely different league. It's like the top 1% of the top 1%, the enterprises of the world, who can create their own show.

For everyone else who is not Amazon or their next competitor, I would probably discourage them from trying to invent their own Black Friday. I'm not saying it will not work for anyone. I just genuinely believe that this is not the best strategy for most advertisers, for most businesses. So if you're interested in participating, consider participating in the normal scheduled event, Black Friday.

What the 15 share.

If a store owner reads only this part, what should they take away from these 15? My recommendation would be to think of this occasion as an opportunity to ride the wave: growing your business, selling more, making more profit, and creating a new milestone, a new landmark in what your business can deliver.

If you read between the lines of what other businesses are doing, you may notice that it's not always the discount that businesses use as the linchpin of the strategy. It's knowing their customers, it's having a vision, it's willingness to be creative, willingness to experiment. And when you have this kind of attitude, you literally can't lose.

The facts below say the same thing in numbers: these 15 stores used seven different rules, and nine of them are small stores.

This is an opportunity to grow your business, and I encourage you to take it.

None of the 15 reports a result from a deeper discount. None relied on discount depth alone. The one brand that talks about depth, Petite Plume, cut it.

Each case fits in one rule of one sentence. The rule is in the dark box on every card.

Nine of the 15 are small stores; six are mid-size. None is a large brand.

One of the 15 publishes a number for its sale weekend: The Flourish Market, and it is the owner's own figure. Five more give words or a running total, with no Black Friday number. Nine publish no result at all.

Four of the 15 show an email as the creative.

Five questions to ask about your own offer.

Before anything else, spend some time with your AI agent of choice, with a spreadsheet, and plan not only selling more, but actually getting more profit from that initiative. Start with these five questions.

1. What is the rule behind the number?
2. Who gets the deeper offer, and who never sees it?
3. What do you do with the quiet weeks before?
4. What does the buyer get that is not a percent?
5. What will you measure the Monday after (extra sales, not total sales)?

Before Black Friday: what to check in Google Ads and Meta.

The ad side of things is the one that most businesses intuitively look at when we talk marketing, but Black Friday doesn't start there. It starts first with the strategy and how you want to go about the special deal that you are planning to offer. That's ground zero: the non-negotiable and probably even most important step that I urge you to take before anything else.

Once you have the foundation, the second step, again before we touch the ads, is the offer itself. The offer itself is the landing page: how you explain the offer, how you position it, how you provide reasons for people to engage. And the reason for that is people don't buy from ads. They buy on your website. They buy on the landing page that you create.

Then there is an extra step, and we are still not touching the ads. If you decided to build a new landing page for that special offer, make sure that all of the tracking events that you want to optimize for, be it form signups, be it phone calls, be it direct purchases, work as well as on the other parts of your website, and there are no gaps. So when you launch ad campaigns, the bidding algorithm can learn and deliver more of what you want to optimize towards.

Once we cover all that, now it's time to think about the ads, and the ads become the simplest step. When you have a landing page, an offer built and a clear, compelling message that you want to deliver, then you decide on the formats. And I would use all of them: text, static images, carousels, and short, medium and longer videos.

The first five checks from our readiness checklist for online stores:

• Your offer fits in one sentence, with start and end dates, a time zone and any exclusions.
• You picked the smallest discount that still moves your buyers, and did the margin math as if every order uses it.
• Every “was” price is a price you really charged before the sale.
• Google Ads records a test purchase.
• Enhanced conversions is on in Google Ads.

The Black Friday readiness checklist is yours to keep: open it, print it, and run it between now and Black Friday. Take the checklist (30 checks, grouped by week).

Where to start.

If you take one thing from these 15 stores: what separates an offer that builds the store from one that only burns the margin is preparation. It's easy to slap a discount on your product.

I would lean on the stories that we collected in the article and invite you to learn more about them. Each case links to its source: open the one closest to your business.

And for your Black Friday ads, the most important direction that I want you to remember is: try to be clear. If there is a clear benefit in your offer, make it clear in the ads. Once you have a pack of assets that clearly says what it is, who it's for and what people need to do, then you can experiment with memes and trends. Make the ads clear, use all of the available formats, and make sure that you are being deliberate and strategic about that.

How we picked, in full

The whole funnel, from 181 stores to 15 offers.

1. 181 online stores in the pool.
2. 173 with a US base on record.
3. 144 past the gates: a US base, a source we opened, a Black Friday or Cyber Monday tie (Giving Tuesday and Small Business Saturday count), and 2025 or a stated standout from an earlier year.
4. 29 re-read by a second reader on the best source we could open: 10 confirmed, 15 corrected, 2 refuted, 2 we could not check.
5. 23 usable: confirmed or corrected, and still a US store with a real offer.
6. 15 shown in this post, plus 4 kept in reserve.
7. 123 of 181 records state no result at all. That is why we rank the offer and the creative, not the outcome.
8. Six scores per case: how unusual the offer is, the lesson, the evidence, the result, the media we can show, and the fit for a US store owner.
9. What we cannot see: sales, margins and ad results behind the offers. Nine of the 15 have no brand page or email of their own (The Flourish Market, Ironside, The Bitter Southerner, Icebug, Petite Plume, Set Active, Marie Veronique, AMYO, Revenge Of); each card names its source.
10. Brand creative appears as our own graphic plus the link, or a credited capture of the brand's own page or email.

No case is a client or lead of ours, and no case is a marketing agency. Results are labeled by who reported them. Quotes keep the source's own words and punctuation.

Sources

1. 01 Redthreaded
   • How it worked: The store took no orders on Black Friday and stayed offline until Tuesday.
   • How the post ends: “See you in December.” (Redthreaded blog, 28 Nov 2025)
   • Year: 2025
   • US base: Colorado; current city unverified CU Boulder article, 5 Jul 2016 (third-party), on her Louisville, Colorado studio: Her work is available online and sold through her Louisville studio
   • Evidence: Founder's own blog post the post is the creative; no ad or email
   • Result: No public result
   • Note: Current city unverified: the base comes from a 2016 university article.
   • Original: Redthreaded, founder post on its own blog (posted 28 Nov 2025 (page as read on 10 Nov 2026); date from the post's own byline date, November 28, 2025, shown on the page)
   • Sources: Redthreaded blog, founder post (28 Nov 2025) · CU Boulder article (US base) (5 Jul 2016)
2. 02 Z SUPPLY
   • How it worked: Black Friday season sales fund the Z SUPPLY Foundation, which gives scholarships. The page states the goal and the total so far.
   • Year: 2025 the fifth year in a row
   • US base: Costa Mesa, CA the brand's own press release dateline, 21 Nov 2024: COSTA MESA, Calif., Nov. 21, 2024
   • Evidence: Brand's own blog post
   • Result: Running total: "more than $1.2 million" Brand-reported: donated since 2021, "78 scholarships", as of 25 Nov 2025; no 2025 outcome published
   • Note: The 2025 page states a goal, not a result. The total of more than $1.2 million covers every year since 2021, not 2025 alone.
   • Original: Z SUPPLY, Foundation post on its own blog (posted 25 Nov 2025 (page as read on 10 Nov 2026; it names the 2025 Black Friday season); date from the date line on the post, 11. 25. 25 (visible in the desktop layout, not in the crop); the post also says Scholarships from the 2025 Black Friday season)
   • Sources: Z SUPPLY blog (25 Nov 2025 (the page reads 11.25.25)) · Z SUPPLY press release on PR Newswire (US base; the 2024 wording) (21 Nov 2024)
3. 03 The Flourish Market
   • How it worked: The owner calls it Grey Friday: a weekend in the week before Black Friday, with no discount.
   • Year: 2025 a recurring event, described in Nov 2025
   • US base: Raleigh, NC the store's own site: Raleigh Iron Works, 2201 Iron Works Drive, Suite 101, Raleigh, NC 27604
   • Evidence: Source: an owner's article no brand page or email for the event found
   • Result: Weekend revenue up "40-50%" every year Self-reported (owner): "every year, even during COVID, we’ve grown our total revenue that weekend by 40-50%". The Sunday last-call email "now drives about 20% of our sales for the weekend"
   • Note: Mostly an in-store play at a boutique that also sells online; the 2025 edition is not dated on a brand page.
   • Sources: Buffer article written by the owner (25 Nov 2025) · The Flourish Market store site (US base) (read 9 Nov 2026)
4. 04 Ironside Computers
   • How it worked: 5% off, plus a prize key hidden somewhere in the Black Friday email; the prize is a high-end custom build.
   • The roundup's note: “5% off wouldn’t mean much at other consumer brands.” (Inbox Monster, 4 Dec 2025)
   • Year: 2025 send date unknown
   • US base: Round Rock, TX the company's own contact page: 3101 Eagles Nest St Suite 440 Round Rock, TX 78665
   • Evidence: Source: email gallery
   • Result: No public result
   • Note: The email is shown in a roundup; no direct link to the email was found.
   • Original: Ironside Computers, Black Friday email (4 Dec 2025 (roundup date; send date not stated); date from Inbox Monster article date (4 Dec 2025); image file name carries 12032025; the send date itself is not stated; via Inbox Monster) · live page
   • Sources: Inbox Monster email roundup (4 Dec 2025) · Ironside Computers contact page (US base) (read 9 Nov 2026)
5. 05 Transparent Labs
   • How it worked: 25% off every supplement, and a gift bundle added to the cart on its own once the cart reaches $149 after discounts.
   • The discount, on the same page: “Every single product. No exceptions, no excuses.” (Transparent Labs, last updated 27 Nov 2025)
   • Year: 2025
   • US base: American Fork, UT the brand's own terms page: 1551 S 400 E #2, American Fork, Utah 84003, United States
   • Evidence: Brand's own page
   • Result: No public result
   • Note: The page gives no start or end date.
   • Original: Transparent Labs, Black Friday 2025 page (page as read on 10 Nov 2026; it names Black Friday 2025 (last updated 27 Nov 2025); date from the page itself: title 'Transparent Labs Black Friday 2025' and 'Last updated on November 27, 2025')
   • Sources: Transparent Labs Black Friday 2025 page (last updated 27 Nov 2025) · Transparent Labs terms page (US base) (read 9 Nov 2026)
6. 06 The Bitter Southerner
   • How it worked: An anti-Cyber Monday email: 20% off sitewide, and $5 donated to Feeding America for every order.
   • Year: 2025
   • US base: Athens, GA the company's own about page: an Athens, Ga.-based independent media company, founded in 2013
   • Evidence: Source: email gallery the email is not linked anywhere we could open
   • Result: No public result
   • Note: The headline is the email's headline; the subject line is not confirmed.
   • Original: The Bitter Southerner, Cyber Week email (4 Dec 2025 (roundup date; send date not stated); date from Inbox Monster roundup page date (4 Dec 2025); the send date of the email is not stated; via Inbox Monster)
   • Sources: Inbox Monster email roundup (4 Dec 2025) · The Bitter Southerner about page (US base) (read 9 Nov 2026)
7. 07 Icebug USA
   • How it worked: The brand calls it Green Friday. US proceeds go to the Conservation Lands Foundation, Canadian proceeds to CPAWS.
   • The US charity's page: “100% of their U.S. sales on Black Friday will benefit the Conservation Lands Foundation.” (Conservation Lands Foundation, 25 Nov 2025)
   • Year: 2025 the seventh year in a row
   • US base: Swedish brand; US campaign the US campaign is the case: Conservation Lands Foundation page, 25 Nov 2025 (third-party): 100% of their U.S. sales on Black Friday will benefit the Conservation Lands Foundation
   • Evidence: Source: press release plus the charity's page; no ad or email found
   • Result: No Black Friday total Brand press release: over $1.4 million donated through 1% for the Planet, which covers all giving
   • Note: The release says proceeds; the charity's page says sales. Each is quoted in its own words.
   • Original: Icebug, press release (posted 24 Nov 2025; date from date line on the Outdoor Sportswire page, November 24, 2025 (the dateline inside the text says 2024, an error); via Outdoor Sportswire)
   • Sources: Outdoor Sportswire press release (24 Nov 2025 (the dateline says 2024 by error)) · Conservation Lands Foundation (25 Nov 2025)
8. 08 Set Active
   • How it worked: Five days in December, a new mini drop each morning at 10 am PT, and a discount that steps down from 25% to 20% to 15% through the day.
   • The 2025 event, as reported: “the first 30 minutes offer 25 percent off” (Athletech News, 10 Dec 2025)
   • Then: “the next 30 minutes drop to 20 percent off” (Athletech News, 10 Dec 2025)
   • Then: “the remainder of the day settles at 15 percent off” (Athletech News, 10 Dec 2025)
   • Year: 2025 the event ran 8 to 12 Dec 2025
   • US base: California, state only the brand's own terms page, state only: SET Active, LLC, a California limited liability company
   • Evidence: Source: trade press plus a founder interview; no brand page or email found
   • Result: Self-reported, no number CEO: it "almost performs [the same] if not better than our Black Friday" (about past Decembers, not 2025)
   • Note: Name mismatch: the CEO says Set Miss; the trade press reports the 2025 event as Setmas. That they are the same event is our inference.
   • Sources: Ecommerce Fastlane, a repost of a Shopify piece (CEO Lindsey Carter) (30 Oct 2025) · Athletech News (10 Dec 2025) · Set Active terms page (US base) (read 9 Nov 2026)
9. 09 Acure
   • How it worked: A sale from 1 Nov to 17 Dec, with the Black Friday and Cyber Monday event dated 28 Nov to 1 Dec, and a gift at three spend levels.
   • The gift ladder, in the article text: “All orders: Free Under Eye Hydrogel” (Acure, no publish date)
   • Then: “Spend $74+: Free Cosmetic Bag” (Acure, no publish date)
   • Then: “Spend $99+: Free Tote Bag” (Acure, no publish date)
   • Year: 2025 the page title says 2025
   • US base: Florida, state only the brand's own terms page, state only: the laws of the state of Florida, U.S.A.
   • Evidence: Brand's own page
   • Result: No public result
   • Note: The page has no publish date; we quote the article text only, not the site banner.
   • Original: Acure, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 article (published 3 Nov 2025 (page data; updated 18 Sep 2026, still the 2025 offer); date from page data datePublished 2025-11-03 (dateModified 2026-09-18); the title says Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2025 and the text says savings run from November 1 through December 17)
   • Sources: Acure Black Friday 2025 page (no publish date on the page) · Acure terms page (US base) (read 9 Nov 2026)
10. 10 Petite Plume
    • How it worked: A sale from 17 Nov to 1 Dec at 20% off, plus a donation pledge and 10% off for Giving Tuesday.
    • The CMO, in Modern Retail: “The demand curve simply didn’t move enough to justify the additional discount” (Modern Retail, 24 Nov 2025)
    • Year: 2025
    • US base: Charleston, SC the brand's own privacy policy page: 455 Fleming Rd. Unit J Charleston, SC 29412
    • Evidence: Source: trade press Modern Retail, with the CMO's quotes; the 2025 email was not found
    • Result: 25% did not give "a substantial enough lift" Press-reported (Modern Retail), CMO Fanny Quehe on last year. A correction note at the end of the article says the business doubled year over year.
    • Note: No brand creative found; the case rests on the article's quotes. The article's correction note also says the cut was not directly caused by tariffs.
    • Original: Petite Plume, home page in the Cyber Monday event (page as archived on 2 Dec 2025, the day after Cyber Monday; date from Wayback Machine snapshot timestamp 20251202113236; via Wayback Machine) · live page
    • Sources: Modern Retail (24 Nov 2025) · Petite Plume privacy policy page (US base) (read 9 Nov 2026)
11. 11 Marie Veronique
    • How it worked: 20% off sitewide, plus a $25 reward code for a future purchase on orders of $275 or more. No code needed for the sale.
    • Year: 2025 24 Nov to 1 Dec
    • US base: Berkeley, CA the brand's own terms page: 1799 University Ave Berkeley, CA 94703
    • Evidence: Source: a roundup, no brand page found
    • Result: No public result
    • Note: Roundup-only evidence: no 2025 brand page was found.
    • Sources: The Quality Edit roundup (published 13 Nov 2025, updated 26 Dec 2025) · Marie Veronique terms page (US base) (read 9 Nov 2026)
12. 12 immi
    • How it worked: A pre-sale email that trades first access to the sale for an SMS sign-up. It names no discount.
    • Subject line: “Be the first to know when our sale hits!” (Really Good Emails, posted 6 Nov 2025)
    • The button: “SUBSCRIBE TO SMS” (Really Good Emails, posted 6 Nov 2025)
    • Year: 2025
    • US base: San Francisco, CA the brand's own email footer: 58 West Portal Ave, #623 San Francisco CA 94127
    • Evidence: Source: email gallery
    • Result: No public result
    • Note: The follow-up sale email was not found. The quote is read from the email image; check it by eye before publishing.
    • Original: immi, pre-sale email (posted 6 Nov 2025; date from Really Good Emails post date; via Really Good Emails)
    • Sources: Really Good Emails, the brand's email (posted 6 Nov 2025; read from the email image)
13. 13 AMYO
    • How it worked: 15% off most styles on orders of $50 or more, and 10% off every 14K gold piece.
    • The window: “From November 15th to December 1st” (The Quality Edit, no date on the page)
    • Year: 2025 other codes on the page read BFCM2025
    • US base: Brooklyn, NY the brand's own terms page; the address sits in the governing-law clause: 240 kent ave Brooklyn New York US 11249
    • Evidence: Source: a roundup, no brand page found
    • Result: No public result
    • Note: Roundup-only evidence: no AMYO page or email for 2025 was found.
    • Sources: The Quality Edit roundup (no date on the page) · AMYO terms page (US base) (read 9 Nov 2026)
14. 14 Everlywell
    • How it worked: $100 off the first year of the Everlywell 360 membership at the top, and 30% off at-home lab tests lower in the same email.
    • The hero offer: “Save $100 with code 360HEALTH” (Really Good Emails, posted 26 Nov 2025)
    • Lower in the same email: “Shop our Black Friday sale to get 30% off at-home lab tests with code WELLNESS.” (Really Good Emails, posted 26 Nov 2025)
    • Year: 2025 both codes expired 1 Dec 2025
    • US base: Austin, TX the brand's own email footer: 5209 Burnet Road, Suite 300, Austin, TX 78756
    • Evidence: Source: email gallery
    • Result: No public result
    • Note: The two quotes from the email body are read from the email image; check them by eye before publishing. Only the subject line is in the gallery page's text.
    • Original: Everlywell, Black Friday email (posted 26 Nov 2025; date from Really Good Emails post date; the terms in the email say both codes expire 12/01/2025; via Really Good Emails)
    • Sources: Really Good Emails, the brand's email (posted 26 Nov 2025)
15. 15 Revenge Of
    • How it worked: The shop calls it Anti-Black Friday: no discount, and the pinball machines cost nothing to play all day.
    • Why, in the cofounder's words: “We don’t have sales, but what that does is it brings a ton of people to the store.” (Shopify blog, 30 Oct 2025)
    • Year: Not stated a standing practice, told in Oct 2025
    • US base: Los Angeles, CA Shopify blog, 30 Oct 2025 (third-party): Los Angeles–based comic book store and pinball room
    • Evidence: Source: Shopify blog the shop's own site shows no Black Friday text
    • Result: Self-reported, no number Cofounder: "We end up having crazy high sales for the day."
    • Note: No edition is dated: the cofounder described a standing practice before Black Friday 2025, so it sits last in this section.
    • Note: Mostly an in-store play at a shop that also sells online.
    • Sources: Shopify blog, cofounder Jeff Eyser (30 Oct 2025)