Black Friday is complete and utter mayhem. It's a total sensory experience, filled with shouting, pushing, grabbing, and rooms packed to the brim with sweaty people. Some people love to do Black Friday shopping for the discounts; other people love it for the drama. But regardless of how you feel about the most insane shopping day of the year, you should stay away from the worst things to buy on Black Friday.
Just because something's discounted does not mean that it's the cheapest it will ever be. In fact, tons of products (especially seasonal ones) tend to have their own designated phase of the year in which you can be confident you're getting them for a good, low price. For example, products specifically used in winter months aren't going to be discounted on Black Friday, a day that basically signifies the beginning of winter.
There's nothing wrong with shopping for deals, or with joining in on the mayhem of Black Friday. But if you're going to fight through all that tryptophan and make it to your local mall by 4 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, you might as well make it worth it, and direct your attention away from things that, plain and simple, aren't good deals. Here are 10 of the worst things you could possibly buy on Black Friday.
There will be plenty of advertisements for massive furniture sales on Black Friday, but don't buy the hype. Indoor furniture is least expensive from July to August, according to RetailMeNot. Patio furniture, in contrast, is at its lowest price around August and September.
For the high-end laptops and computers that you're looking to invest in, Black Friday isn't your day.
September and July tend to offer deals that can average out to $50 less than whatever you'd see on Black Friday, so try to plan your next big tech purchase until those warmer months roll back around.
Toys are discounted the highest around two weeks prior to Christmas, so hold off on throwing all of the stuffed animals into your shopping cart, if possible — unless those toys are poised to sell out, in which case, it might be time to stop worrying about haggling and just press the purchase button.
The best winter clothing discounts are, as you'd expect, right at the end of winter, when stores are looking to get rid of their inventory. Unless you're looking to buy clothes before it gets super cold, it might be worth it to wait a season to invest in more expensive, high-quality winter clothing (like jackets or ski apparel) in March.
Instead of on Black Friday, consider shopping for tools you might need for a home project around Memorial Day or Father's Day instead. According to MarketWatch, Father's Day is the absolute best time to buy tools, and you'll find way, way better deals if you have the patience to wait.
It makes sense that holiday decorations aren't going to be heavily discounted in the month before multiple massive holiday events. The best time to buy holiday decorations is right after Christmas, when all those cute little string lights go on sale, and you can decorate your entire apartment with them.
You might see markdowns as high as 70 percent on holiday decorations after Dec. 25, according to NerdWallet.
The best time to buy bed linen is in January, when bedding brands typically participate in the "white sales," which is a mass clearance of bed linen. This means it's definitely worth it to hold off on splurging for that thread count you've been holding out for.
As a rule of thumb, any Black Friday deal for flights or vacation packages isn't actually going to be a great deal. Companies know that November is a time when people tend to make holiday plans, so you're not going to see any mind-blowing discounts.
Instead, consider waiting to buy vacation packages or flights until January, when most people tend to lay low.
The best time to find discounted jewelry is closer to Valentine's Day in February. What's more, most luxury jewelry and accessory brands, like Bloomingdales or Tiffany & Co., don't join in on the Black Friday hype whatsoever. In that case, you might as well buy the pretty shiny thing whenever you want it.
Expect to see tons of discounted gift cards up for grabs in the weeks leading up to Christmas, primarily in December. Trust me, there's no need to stock up just because it's Black Friday.
