Here is a bit of insider information from someone who runs a small brand. Black Friday deals do not show up all at once. They come in on a ladder. The first rungs appear one to two weeks before the big day, and the deepest discounts usually land on Black Friday itself. Once you know how the ladder works, you know exactly when to shop.
How does the Black Friday discount ladder work?
A couple of weeks out, small brands start with solid deals while their shelves are still full. Every size, every colour, plenty of stock. Then on Black Friday the discounts go deeper, and that is when everybody shows up at once. A bigger discount plus a lot more shoppers means whatever is left moves fast. By the weekend, a good chunk of it is gone.
So you get a choice. Shop early and get a great price with everything still on the shelf. Or wait for the deepest price and take your chances on what is left.
Why do small brands start their deals early?
Advertising on Black Friday is brutally expensive. You are bidding on the same ad space as Nike, Lululemon, and every other massive retailer on the planet. That competition drives your cost per click through the roof. At the same time, your margins are already thinner than theirs and your order volume does not give you the same buffer. Putting all of your discount into one weekend while paying peak ad rates is a losing equation for a small brand. So most of us start early and spread the sale out.
What is on sale at Vacation Darts right now?
Our early sale is live today: 20% off apparel, 30% off accessories, and three hats for the price of two through the hat pack. Quantities are plentiful right now. On Black Friday the discount gets deeper, stock gets thin, and it will go a lot faster. I would rather tell you that now than have you find out the hard way. You deserve to know the mechanics.
Obviously we would love for you to spend some of that energy here. Vacation Darts started as an inside joke in Santorini and somehow turned into a brand with over 42,000 Instagram followers and features in Business Insider and INC. Magazine. The whole thing is built on the idea that indulgence is a valid life choice, especially on vacation. Shopping early and saving money on something you actually want? That tracks perfectly with the philosophy.
A few things worth having on your radar. The Santiago Trucker Hat is our most complimented hat, with the original Vacation Darts logo on a cotton front and a breathable mesh back. If you are shopping for a golfer, the St. John's Golf Hat is our bestseller, made from performance polyester with a perforated back, and it pairs well with the Aloha Polo. For the friend who needs the joke spelled out, the Malibu Snapback says it right on the front: they don't count. And for anyone shopping for themselves heading into a cooler season, the Zermatt Q-Zip is the one.
Should you only shop Vacation Darts this Black Friday season?
Honestly? No. And I mean that.
Part of running a small brand is understanding the ecosystem. There are other small brands you probably follow, maybe ones whose price point has felt hard to justify, or ones you keep bookmarking and then closing out of. This is the time of year when those brands need you the most and when they are most likely to make it worth your while.
Keep your eyes on your inbox. Watch your favourite brand's Instagram. If a small brand you genuinely like runs an early Black Friday sale in the next couple of weeks, that is not a gimmick. That is them being strategic in the only way that actually makes sense at their scale. Support them. The big retailers will survive without your dollars this year. The small ones remember every order.
How do you hear about the Black Friday drop?
Everything on sale right now lives on our Black Friday Deals page. For the deeper discounts on the day itself, follow us on Instagram, where we have built most of our community anyway, or sign up for the email list. We are not going to bury the announcement. We are not in the business of being subtle about a good deal.
The short version is this: shop early for the best selection, shop Black Friday for the deepest price, and know that the deepest price comes with the thinnest stock. Either way, shop the brands you actually care about. We are telling you now so you are not standing on the outside of a sold out run wondering what happened.
Vacation is a mindset. Spending your money on things that actually bring you joy, on your terms, on your timeline, fits right into that. Go get yours.
