BLACK FRIDAY’S BEST BARGAINS REMAIN IN ELECTRONICS GEAR
$200, down from the retail price of $300 for the console alone. In addition, Nintendo’s Switch console will cost about $300 together with a Super Mario Kart game — normally, the system costs that much without a game included.
Televisions
Black Friday tends to be one of the best times to buy a great television for a significant discount. But there are caveats.
For one, don’t be fooled by ads for so-called doorbusters — like jaw-droppingly cheap TVS — at retailers like Best Buy, Burakowski said. Those tend to be mediocre TV sets, or they sell out extremely quickly. For another, during Black Friday, manufacturers sometimes sell subpar televisions with model numbers that are nearly identical to popular, high-quality sets, he added.
The smartest way to buy a TV is to do research ahead of time and pick out a great set you want, then jot down the model number and periodically check retailers’ websites throughout the week to see if the price has dropped. (Price-tracking web tools like Camel Camel Camel can help automate this process.)
There are early signs that some great TVS will get good discounts in the coming week. As of this writing, Amazon is selling a premium 65-inch LG television set for about $2,700, down from its $3,200 retail price.
Smart Home Gadgets
This year, tech companies really want you to stuff your family’s stockings with a smart home product, like a smart speaker, a Wi-fi-connected light bulb or an internet security camera. The companies plan to aggressively slash prices for smart home products next week, Roth said.
Google, for one, plans to offer its miniature smart speaker, Google Home Mini, for $25, down from $49, and its Nest smart thermostat will drop to $179 from $249. Similarly, Target plans to sell Amazon’s compact smart speaker, Echo Dot, for $24, down from about $50.
Black Friday also tends to be the best time to buy smart kitchen appliances, like sous vide wands or the internet-famous Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Audio Gear
Wirecutter also anticipates that audio gear like headphones will drop to their lowest prices all year. During Black Friday last year, Bose’s premium noise-canceling headphones, Quietcomfort 25, were priced at $180, down from $280.
Burakowski said he expected similar deals for high-quality headphones next week. Be on the lookout for deals on Apple’s Airpods, which retail for about $160, and Bose’s Quietcomfort 35, which normally cost about $350.
WHAT’S SO-SO Smartphones
Throughout the week of Thanksgiving, retailers offer deals on phones, but these offers tend to be just OK, Burakowski said.
Retailers typically offer discounts or gift cards on smartphones only if you agree to activate a new phone line. Target plans to offer a $250 gift card if you buy an iphone XR and sign up for a line on Verizon, AT&T or Sprint, for instance. If you were already planning to switch to one of those carriers, this is a nice perk, but otherwise it is a hassle.
Retailers will also mark down tablets, though these are often older models. For example, Best Buy plans to sell Apple’s ipad Mini 4, which was introduced in 2015, for $250, down from about $400.
WHAT’S NOT A lot of items!
There are some types of products that you can ignore altogether during Black Friday, according to Wirecutter. These include: — Outdoor gear
— Laptops
— Large kitchen appliances — Office supplies
Here’s why: Outdoor gear usually goes on sale in the weeks before Black Friday, and well-reviewed laptops get better discounts during back-to-school season in the fall. Office supplies and large kitchen appliances like refrigerators sporadically go on sale throughout the year and are not tied to a particular season.
There’s one more thing you can skip altogether: lining up to stampede into stores at the crack of dawn.
The overwhelming majority of good Black Friday deals are obtainable online, Burakowski said. So after filling up on turkey, you can stick with your friends and family and occasionally peek at your phone to see if the item you wanted went on sale. No early-morning waking up required.