Why Black Friday Discounts Can Be a Trap for Small Brands

Every November, my inbox fills with emails from big-box retailers promising 40%, 50%, even 70% off. It’s tempting to think every brand can (and should) play that game. But for a small business like mine, those kinds of discounts aren’t just unsustainable — they’re a trap. And when you add tariffs into the mix, the picture gets even clearer.

The Myth of “Just Mark It Down”

Big brands can afford to slash prices because they build those markdowns into their margins from the start. They mass-produce in enormous volumes, negotiate rock-bottom factory costs, and hedge against tariffs with scale. When they run a 50% off sale, they’re often still profitable. For a small brand working with premium materials and smaller batches, it doesn’t work that way.

How Tariffs Change the Math

Every unit I sell is already carrying an extra cost thanks to tariffs. Those tariffs aren’t optional, and they’re due upfront the moment inventory hits U.S. soil. That means:

• My capital shrinks: Because I’m paying tariffs on arrival, I can afford fewer units overall. A holiday order that used to cover 500 units might now only cover 350.
• Margins are slimmer: I can’t always raise prices to fully cover tariffs — the market won’t always allow it — so I absorb some of that hit myself.
• Discounts bite harder: If I knock 30% off, it doesn’t come out of “marketing budget” or “overhead.” It comes straight out of what’s left of my already thinner margins.

The Holiday Pressure Cooker

Here’s where it gets tricky. The holidays are when I place my biggest orders of the year. That means my tariff bill is also at its highest. More cash tied up early, more risk on the table, and less flexibility to adjust if sales come in softer than expected. If I stacked a deep Black Friday discount on top of that, I’d be digging a hole I couldn’t climb out of.

Why “Sustainable Deals” Beat Deep Discounts

I’d rather offer thoughtful promotions that give you value without hollowing out my business. Maybe it’s a bundle that saves you money while keeping my per-unit margins intact. Maybe it’s a smaller percentage off across the board that rewards early shoppers. What I won’t do is run a loss just to flash a headline number. That’s a race to the bottom, and I’ve written before about why those races never end well.

What This Means for You

• Fair pricing year-round: I don’t inflate prices in October just to slash them in November. The number you see is the real number.
• Deals that make sense: My promotions are designed to reward loyalty and encourage gifting, not to gut the products I spent months perfecting.
• Quality without compromise: Tariffs squeeze margins, but I won’t cheapen materials or cut corners just to “afford” a 50% off sale.

The Bigger Picture

For me, Black Friday isn’t about racing Amazon or Walmart. It’s about reminding people why they shop small: authenticity, craftsmanship, and transparency. When you buy from me, you’re not just getting a product — you’re supporting a business that refuses to compromise on quality, even when tariffs and trends make it harder.

Related Reads

• The Holiday Rush: How Tariffs Reshape My Inventory
• The hidden cost of free shipping
• Why chasing the algorithm will kill your business

This Black Friday, I’ll run promos that feel good for both of us. They’ll respect your wallet without destroying the value of what I build. That’s the kind of “deal” worth making.