Black Friday shopping hack: Guide to creating an Amazon wishlist

Black Friday is back, babes.

This year, Amazon is hosting a "Black Friday Week" savings event that kicks off on Thursday, Nov. 21, and runs through Friday, Nov. 29 — aka Black Friday proper. Later that day, the mega-retailer will shift into Cyber Monday mode, which will run through Monday, Dec. 2. Expect to see "millions of deals across more than 35 categories" throughout the event, including all-time low prices on brands like Yeti, Beats, and Ninja.

Of course, it's Amazon, so plenty of early deals are already live. And there's a chance that thing you've been eyeing is already on sale. If you want to ensure you score the best deals on your must-have items this Black Friday season, we've got a shopping hack for you: Create a wishlist.

Curating your personal list of must-have items and setting price alerts can help you stay on track and avoid adding things to your cart justbecause they were on sale.

Get your scroll on and find out how to create an Amazon wishlist for Black Friday.

SEE ALSO: Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday: Which day is better for shopping?

Tip No. 1: Organize your Amazon wishlist

If it’s news to you that Amazon even offers such a feature, here’s how it works:

Every product page on the retail giant’s website has a little “Add to List” button right near “Add to Cart.” Click on the list button and you can add said product to your personal Amazon wishlist, or any other saved list that you’ve created on your profile.

Do this with all of those items that you've been eyeing, but can't seem to make a move on unless they're on sale. Then, you can view your definitive list at a glance, or even rank each item based on how badly you want it.

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Then — and here's the important part — be sure to check back on your wishlist when Black Friday 2024 kicks into high gear. You’ll be able to see which products have gone on sale and snatch them up before they’re gone.

WARNING:Only add the necessities to your wishlist or risk critical failure and end up with mass shipments of stuff you don’t need, never needed, and will never need.

Tip No. 2: Turn on wishlist alerts

That’s not where the perks of "wishlisting" cap out. If you download Amazon’s mobile companion app, you’ll be granted the added benefit of "wishlist alerts."

These alerts notify you when an item on your wishlist becomes a “lightning deal,” as well as when a sold-out item on your wishlist goes back in stock.

This isn’t a notification setting that's turned on by default, so you’ll have to go in and check it off yourself. All you have to do is open up the Amazon app, go into your settings, then to your notifications, and click on “your watched and waitlisted deals.”

It's this one. Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Tip No. 3: Turn on Alexa's advanced deal alerts

As it turns out, newer Echo smart speakers are good for more than just bumping out your playlists. They can also notify you of a sale on an item in your wishlist, shopping cart, or "saved for later" queue up to 24 hours beforeit even goes live.

• Open up the Alexa mobile app to turn on the advanced deal alerts feature. You'll find it under More > Settings > Notifications > Amazon Shopping

• Once you're there, click Shopping Recommendations and then Deal Recommendations. Since you already have your wishlist organized and ready to go, that's all there is to it.

• You'll see a pop-up alert or a yellow ring light on your Echo device whenever Alexa finds out about an upcoming deal on products in your wishlist. Ask, "Alexa, what are my notifications?" to get the scoop.

You can either have Alexa let you know once the deal is live or even give her the go-ahead to order it for you ("Alexa, buy it for me"). Your default payment and delivery address on file will be used automatically.

Voilà— now you’ll never miss a deal for something you want. Your Amazon wishlist is one of the most useful tools that you have at your disposal to ensure a successful shopping experience.

When you're done curating your list, you can even share it with your friends. You can also view wishlists created by other Prime members. Just click the "Invite" button in your wishlist or click over to the "Your Friends" tab in your profile.

Bonus tip: Get ready for Black Friday 2024 with Mashable

We like to think we're just as on top of tracking deals on the stuff you care about as a wishlist is. Follow along with our Black Friday and Cyber Monday coverage (which has already started!), where we'll be highlighting all of the most important intel from the sale, from record-low price alerts to any invite-only deals for Prime members that may pop up to giant lists of the best deals in categories like TVs, Apple stuff, robot vacuums, headphones, and kitchen gear.