It is that time of year again! Thanksgiving is just hours away, which means it’s time to plan out what you want to buy on Black Friday if anything at all. Should you make a Black Friday purchase? It is debatable. Some folks can turn it into a game and save a ton of money on items; they were going to buy anyway. Others are duped by sales that are not actually sales or end-of-life televisions repackaged under new model numbers. Of course, there are bargains to have – you just have to know where to look. Here are a few things to bear in mind:
Getting a deal on something you already wanted, good, buying things, you do not need just because they are cheaper. It is not looking good.
Make sure the item you are buying is genuinely on sale, and that the price was not merely raised briefly yesterday for the sake of today’s “discounts.” Camelcamelcamel, a historical price tracker, can assist with this.
Check the model number on any item you are considering purchasing, something odd could going on if you not uncover any sign of it older than a few weeks.
With that in mind, here are some of the generally nice offers we have found online – stuff that is strong, battle-tested, and that we would definitely suggest at full price. We will be adding more as we locate them throughout the week.
Discounts on Apple products were formerly uncommon; now, however, it is not difficult to save a few bucks. For example, Amazon has dropped the price of the current non-professional AirPods to $155 (from $179), the AirPod Pros to $159 (from $190+), and the over-ear AirPods Max to $429 (from $549).
Amazon also has the best iPad Pro bargain we have seen so far, with discounts ranging from $100 to $150 off the 2021 12.9-inch model — for example, $999 for the 128-GB base model instead of $1099.
The 40 mm Apple Watch SE is on sale at Best Buy for $219, down from $279. If you want the latest and greatest Apple Watch, your best choice is definitely Amazon, where the Series 7 costs $379 instead of $399 — but keep in mind that inventory appears to be limited, and you might not get the color/band you desire.
Big discounts on M1 Macs are hard to get by right now, which makes sense given how new they are. When they do appear, supply appears to be limited, and distribution postponed until next year.
Apple will be giving out $100 gift cards with the purchase of certain Macs (which, however, looks to exclude the 14′′ and 16′′ M1 MacBook Pros), although the sale does not appear to begin until Black Friday morning.
Amazon routinely offers huge discounts on its own products on Black Friday, and this year is no exception. For example, the four Fire TV stick is only $25 (regularly $50). Meanwhile, their latest-generation Kindle is on sale for $70 (down from $110) provided you get the one without advertisements all over the screen, it’s $50 (usually $90) if you do not mind the advertisements.
Do you have a smart home with many Echo devices and wish to expand it? The most recent (fourth-gen) model is on sale for $60 (regularly $80-$100). The 2021 Echo Show, with its camera and 5.5-inch display, is now $45 (typically around $80), and the teeny-tiny (albeit likely near-end-of-life) Echo Dot puck is now $20 (normally $30).
