Black Friday has become synonymous with epic deals, but be wary of some offerings – the discounts may not be as big as you think.

Black Friday has become synonymous with epic deals, but be wary of some offerings – the discounts may not be as big as you think.

The day is a vitally important one for retailers, and their merchandise choices and pricing are carefully orchestrated to ensure the once-a-year event isn’t squandered.

One popular way of offering cheap shirts without losing theirs is through careful price structuring.

Items are introduced at higher prices weeks ahead so when the time for deep discounts rolls around, customers are paying closer to normal retail rather than bargain basement rates.

Consumers, however, leave happy as their perception is that they got something that’s worth more than they paid for it.

Retailers have also been known to slowly escalate some selling prices in the weeks approaching the big day.

The Wall Street Journal recently hired a consulting firm to analyze those increases.

They reported that items most commonly earmarked for pre-Thanksgiving inflation and post-turkey day deep discounting are toys and tools. Each climbs as much as 23 percent before Black Friday sales.

Private label goods give retailers further advantage when it comes to staying ahead, as they’re tougher to comparison shop.