Here are 5 reasons you shouldn’t wait for Black Friday deals to shop this year

It’s time for everyone to get excited because Black Friday is right around the corner. Should you really be that excited, though? Sure, what is often known as the most significant deal day of the year will be here before we know it.

Related: How I use my favorite price-history checker to find the best deals

Let’s be honest: Black Friday isn’t as special as it once was. Gone are the days of picking a specific retailer and spending the night camping in front, hoping to get a TV for a few hundred dollars off. It’s all online now, so waiting for Black Friday proper might not be the best strategy to get the products you want a discount. Here’s why waiting for Black Friday could cost you in the long run.

1. You might miss out on a deal you want

I firmly believe the best time to get a deal is when you see the discount. Is there a chance the price could go down later? There’s always a chance. More likely, though, is that the lower price causes the product to sell out, or the company sells enough to raise it back to full price, and you don’t get the item on sale.

Did you see a phone for $400 off? If it’s an all-time low price for that model, the odds are high that it won’t be cheaper if you wait until Black Friday, so you should snag it while you can. Sometimes, the products discounted are older models that aren’t made anymore. That means that once they sell out, the retailer won’t be able to get more, so waiting could mean you never see the product again, and you’re stuck paying more for the newer model.

2. Black Friday quality deals are available now

For many retailers, Black Friday isn’t a day anymore. Sure, in the literal sense, Black Friday is the day after US Thanksgiving, but for Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and the other big retailers, it’s basically a whole month of deals. The deals you can get right now are just as good as the ones available on actual Black Friday and, in some cases, even better.

Here are just a few Black Friday quality deals we’ve dug up already:

We’re still more than a week away from Black Friday proper, and those are some fantastic deals you can already get your hands on. As I said before, the best time to get a discount is when you see the deal, and there’s no shortage of good ones out there already.

3. Extended return policies if the price drops

Okay, so let’s say you heed my advice and buy a product before Black Friday, and the price drops on the actual day. It probably won’t happen, but anything is possible. Almost every retailer (online and in person) offers extended holiday return policies, so you can return the item and repurchase it at a lower price.

Amazon’s return policy:

Best Buy’s return policy:

If the item doesn’t drop to a lower price, you can rest easy knowing you already got it at a good deal and you didn’t take the risk of it selling out. If it does, you have a way to rectify the situation. Either way, it gives you some extra confidence, knowing that if you buy too soon, there’s a relatively painless solution. Just make sure to keep the product in like-new or new condition, depending on the retailer’s policy where you purchased it.

4. Shoppping ahead of time is less stressful

Quite often, the best deals on Black Friday require you to sign up for something or jump on a flash deal before it sells out. Some even require you to get up early and visit a store filled with giant crowds of people all vying for the same deals. Shopping in the days and weeks leading up to Black Friday is much less stressful. There aren’t as many people looking for deals. Products won’t sell out in a matter of minutes, saving you tons of stress.

If you could save on these gadgets without stress, wouldn’t you?

If you’re the type of shopper who likes to spend a few minutes mulling over their options before making large purchases, Black Friday can be incredibly stressful. With so many people competing for deals, you need to act fast. You can leave a discounted item in your cart for a couple of hours, and it’ll still be on sale (and, more than likely, in stock). Even if it ends up being a couple of dollars more to shop now (which it probably won’t), it’s worth the lack of headache.

5. Black Friday isn’t what it used to be

The sad (or maybe happy) fact is that Black Friday isn’t as exciting as it once was. Because every retailer offers deals for the month of November and Cyber Monday follows immediately after, the day has lost its luster. With Amazon and other retailers offering Prime Day and their own shopping holidays throughout the year, Black Friday blends in with the rest of the deal days. We literally just finished Prime Big Deal Days last month, and now we have to get excited for another one.

Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Many retailers are closing on Thanksgiving this year, substantially shortening the Black Friday shopping extravaganza. This is great for employees, allowing them to spend the holiday with their families, but it’s also a sign that Black Friday doesn’t carry the same weight that it used to.

When is Black Friday 2023?

The Friday after Thanksgiving, this year, Black Friday is November 24th, however, deals start earlier and last longer than simply the given day.