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Don’t buy winter gear during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
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Consumer-savings expert Andrea Woroch says not every Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal is worth it.
She warns against travel pacakge sales — wait until Travel Tuesday for the best deals.
She also says to avoid electronics deals and to wait until near Christmas to buy winter clothing.
Starting in the month of November, it feels like every brand and retailer is trying to dangle big saving opportunities in our faces and our inboxes. In recent years, Black Friday sales, which used to start at midnight on Thanksgiving for many stores, have started weeks earlier, and many retailers are offering the same deals online that they’re promoting in stores — making shopping that much easier.
So as you start thinking about what you may want to buy during the November sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, heed the warnings of consumer-savings expert Andrea Woroch and avoid these five purchases this season.
1. Travel packages
During the holiday season, you might be eager to book vacation and travel for 2023, hoping to snag the best possible deal. But Woroch says that to get those deals, wait just one more day after Cyber Monday ends.
“The best travel deals happen on Travel Tuesday, which will happen on November 29,” Woroch says.
Either way, to make sure you are getting the best prices for airfare, hotels, and car rentals, Woroch says to set alerts for desired destinations so you can get instant notifications when a deal becomes available.
2. Doorbuster electronics
While you might see a lot of price slashing happening on Black Friday for electronics, Woroch says that those sales are usually limited to off-brand gadgets, which means you might be sacrificing quality to save money.
Woroch says if you don’t mind getting an off-brand alternative, make sure you check the actual specs of the item, as you might not be getting exactly what you think you are.
“In many circumstances, a gadget promoted as the biggest deal on Black Friday may be a derivative, which means it was made specifically for the sales event but missing key components and features of similar models sold all year in order for the store to sell it for less,” says Woroch.
If you’re holding out for the gadget that you really want, Woroch recommends setting sales alerts using a browser extension, so you don’t miss a sale on the item you have your eye on.
3. Winter apparel
As the season changes and the holiday sales start, Woroch says that if you’re tempted to stock up on winter apparel, wait to do it until after Black Friday and Cyber Monday because you’ll find the best deals on these items toward the end of the season.
“Hold off a little longer until the last two weeks before Christmas,” says Woroch. “Not only will you find more sales on winter clothing items, but many retailers will offer coupons for even more additional savings.”
Woroch says that in order to prepare for these offerings, install a browser tool, like Cently, that searches for any coupons available so you never miss out on extra savings.