Ten Things NOT to Buy on Black Friday
This is a guest post from my delightful friend Abigail Shaffer Fuller.
It’s almost that time of year—Black Friday. This infamous shopping day is known for drawing unprecedented crowds and encouraging even the most sleep-deprived people to crawl out of their warm beds to shop during the earliest morning hours (unless, of course, you are smart enough to shop on my website in your pajamas).
We all know that some of the best deals of the year come on Black Friday, and it’s a great time to shop for Christmas, birthdays—or even just for yourself! But, what you might not know is that there are certain items that you really should not buy on Black Friday.
To help you with your shopping, here are ten items that you will definitely get a better price on if you purchase them some other time of the year:
Ten Things NOT to Buy on Black Friday
- Furniture: If you haven’t noticed, furniture stores hardly ever advertise on Black Friday. If they do, the deals are mediocre at best. Furniture retailers just don’t find it worthwhile to deeply discount their goods when most people are shopping for gift items that they can take home in their cars immediately. Buying furniture takes planning, and retailers know that shoppers will buy such larger-ticket items when they’re more prepared.
- Gift Cards: The best time to buy gift cards is actually right before Christmas, when companies are pushing to make that last sale before the big day. And while some retailers may offer some discounts, it’ll be nothing compared to the deals in December. You might as well wait.
- High Performance Laptops: This one might come as a surprise. Every year, it seems like more and more places, like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and office stores, try to top each other with the better deal on electronics. While this is mostly true, take a look at the brand names. You won’t find some of the higher-priced, higher-performance laptops among the lineup. The discounted laptops will most likely be the ones with lower resolution, less memory, etc.
- Winter Clothing: This one seems pretty obvious. By the time Black Friday rolls around, winter has just begun. Coats, hats, scarves, and all the knitted-type things are already flying off the shelves. Retailers have no reason to discount cold-weather clothing. As with all seasonal wear, the best time to buy is at the end of the season. Wait until spring when the discounts are the best.
- Tools: You will definitely see advertisements this year, telling you to stock up on screwdrivers, circular saws (whatever those are), and a wide assortment of name brand tools. However, the best deals actually come around Father’s Day, when people tend to be more inclined to buy tools.
- Jewelry: Just like with tools, jewelry is better to buy around Mother’s Day—or Valentine’s Day, and even Christmas. Jewelry stores hardly ever offer doorbuster deals on jewelry, because people aren’t thinking about jewelry yet. Such sparkly gifts are in much higher demand the closer you get to the jewelry-giving holidays.
- Holiday Decorations: Decorations are a seasonal purchase. Wait until the holiday season is over to buy your decorations. Save them for the next year, and you’ll be prepared before anyone else—not to mention, you’ll also save a lot of money.
- Perishable Food/Gift Baskets: Gift baskets of food seem like a great idea, but remember, no matter how many preservatives are added to these prettily-packaged parcels, they will expire eventually. Don’t buy them on Black Friday. Instead, wait until much closer to Christmas, when retailers are getting a little nervous about expiration dates.
- Toys: Now this might seem like a strange one, because lots of people shop exclusively for toys on Black Friday. However, the very best toy deals come immediately before Christmas. It might feel like a smart idea to just have all your gifts ready to go, but you might be disappointed a week or so before Christmas when that action figure you got for little Tommy is now half off.
- Bedding: You will definitely see a few sales on linens and bedding this year, but don’t fall for it! The best time to buy is around January, when stores have “white sales” to get rid of winter colors and heavier weights. Again, take advantage of season-change sales!
Note from Laura: Fortunately you have me to help you figure out what TO buy in the coming weeks. Be sure to join the Frugal Chick Holiday Sales Facebook Room or Sign Up For A Frugal Chick’s Daily E-mail to see the latest deals!
