From Thu 22 Nov until Mon 24 Dec, buy a £25 real Christmas tree from Ikea and you'll be given a £20 voucher to spend at any participating store between 14 Jan and 3 Mar 2019. This deal has proven popular the past five years so go quick.

Last year, from 23 Nov till 29 Nov, you could get a Sanctuary Spa 'The Best of Everything' set for £22.50 (norm £45). The contents were normally £50ish individually, including a £10 eau de toilette. In 2016 it offered a similarly priced £23 set (norm £45) and in 2015 an £18 set (norm £45).

In the last few years eBay has released daily deals at 8am each morning, every day up until Black Friday. Strong deals we’ve spotted in the past include a £700 Macbook (2015), £15 kids’ Converse (2016) and a £50 Amazon Fire 8 (2017).

Last year, Selfridges offered up to 20% off via an online code or in-store voucher over the Black Friday weekend until 11.59pm on Sun 26 Nov 2017. The full 20% off was valid on selected lines including fashion, homeware and accessories, but beauty and fragrance were capped at 10% off. Based on previous years, we reckon this year's offer will begin Thu 22 Nov.

Amazon will begin pumping out Black Friday deals, with daily deals, and new offers appearing at regular intervals, between Fri 16 Nov and Sun 25 Nov. We then expect its Cyber Monday deals, like last year, to largely be an extension of its Black Friday offerings. We expect to see big discounts on its latest generation of Amazon smart products.

In previous years, AO.com has discounted a number of products in the run up to Black Friday, through into Cyber Monday. Last year, it had 600ish deals online and was the cheapest place to buy some items, while other products could be found for the same price elsewhere. AO promised to price match other retailers.

For the fourth year in a row, Asos offered 20% off almost everything as part of its Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotion. Last year, the deal ran from 23 Nov until 8am on 28 Nov 2017, and it worked on all items, both full-price and those in the 'up to 70% off' outlet.

Last year, you could get 20% off make-up and skincare brand Benefit until Cyber Monday (27 Nov 2017), as part of its Black Friday promotion – just like the year before (in 2015 it offered 15% off). The code excluded custom make-up kits.

Last year, Game offered a number of discounts on consoles and software over Black Friday weekend. However, many other retailers including Amazon, Argos, Microsoft, Sony, Currys, and Smyths also offered similarly priced console bundles, and Game wasn't always cheapest, showing it's always worth doing your own research before buying.

Last year, Gap offered 40% off all full-price items online and 'up to' 50% off all full-price items in stores as part of its Black Friday promotions. These offers ended at 11.59pm on Sat 25 Nov 2017, then Gap launched a bigger discount – 50% off full-price items online for Cyber Monday.

For the past three years, Italian coffee company Illy has brewed up a Black Friday offer on its posh coffee machines. In both 2017 and 2016 the offer was 55% off. In 2015, it was 50% off. Last year, the deal ran from 24 Nov until Cyber Monday and of the 10 machines included, all were cheaper here than anywhere else, when we compared prices.

Always one of the strong performers on Black Friday, last year John Lewis discounted a number of high-end products and also proactively matched the prices of its high-street competitors. We spotted a £34 Echo Dot, £79 Kindle Paperwhite and £279 KitchenAid mixer among the popular deals in 2017, while it also offered decent discounts on other electricals.

For Black Friday last year, Laura Ashley had at least 40% off online and in stores. Virtually everything was included except for gift cards, design service fees, delivery and its furniture protection plan. Most items had 40% off, but you could get 50% off wallpaper and fabric in 2017.

Last year, M&S told us it wouldn't be taking part in Black Friday and it didn't promote any offers as Black Friday deals. However, it had at least 50% off a selected range of its exclusive gift sets online, including skincare products and men’s fragrances.

For the last two years, Railcard has offered a 'Black Friday' discount on the 16-25 Railcard and Family & Friends Railcard. Last year we saw it offer a £5 off code on one-year cards, taking them down to £25 each, from 25 Nov 2017 to 30 Nov 2017. In 2016, the discount was twice as good – £10 off each card.

Posh clothing brand Ralph Lauren really cut back on promotions last year, but it still took part in Black Friday 2017. It offered 20% off selected items, or 30% off selected items when you spent £350, until Cyber Monday.

Last year, Topshop had up to 50% off selected items online and in stores for its Black Friday sale, until 11.59pm on Mon 27 Nov 2017. Plus, online shoppers also got free delivery. As the sale was 'up to' 50% off, not all items were reduced by the full amount, but we found a decent number were.

Last year, hip fashion retailer Urban Outfitters offered up to 50% off online and in stores for Black Friday weekend. As in previous year's sales, it didn't include everything, but we saw a broad range of discounts across men's and women's fashion, homeware and gifts, with many items at around 50% off.

From Sat 1 Dec to Sun 16 Dec, American Express cardholders (some exclusions), can get £5 cashback when spending £10+ at selected local businesses including restaurants, clothes shops, hotels, hairdressers and galleries after registering their Amex with the Shop Small website.

Santa and his elves at the RNIB send Braille, audio or large print replies for free (you'll need to post it with a stamp, but that's the only cost involved). This year, the closing date for letters is Sat 1 Dec, the same date as last year, or Fri 14 Dec for email replies.

Beauty advent calendars can be great value for money as they're often priced less than their individual contents. They usually start being discounted at the beginning of December, making them even better value if you're just after the products inside. The first discount we've seen in 2018 is up to 50% off beauty advent calendars at Superdrug.

Last year, Boots offer a Ted Baker 'Porcelain Rose Garden' toiletries set for £25 (norm £50) as part of its 'Star Gift' promotion. We totted up the value of items based on the cost of full-sized and similar items and the rough total came to £56.50.