Black Friday sales: the 10 best stores for 2015
Black Friday sales at Target, Walmart, and Kohl's are definitely worth checking out, but none of them can top the deals offered by a well-known electronics giant.
Customers ride the escalator at a JCPenney store in New York. JCPenney has one of the best Black Friday sales for 2015.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters/File
It's hard to believe, but Black Friday is now just nine short days away, and with听a few notable exceptions, most of the major 2015 Black Friday ad circulars have been released.
To prepare you听for the madness ahead, we put together a list of听the top 10 best sales in the business. We do this every year, but this year we decided to switch it up a bit by ranking them. To be fair, even the "worst" sale on this听list still packs a pretty decent punch, so think of this as a ranking from "OK, not too shabby" to "YAAAAS!!" Remember, we've听posted more than 100 Black Friday ads so far this year, so these 10听are all in the 90th percentile as far as quality sales are concerned.
To help听you plan听your shopping strategy,听we've also highlighted three top deals that we consider to be the best of the bunch at that particular store.听With that in mind, let's dive right in, starting at #10.
10.听
While #10 on our list, the Sears Black Friday sale has a lot of great options on tools and appliances.
听--听$279.99听(originally $599.99)听This is听$20 under the lowest price we've ever seen on this machine, and a steal when compared with other brands. If you're looking to get shape for a LOT less than a year's worth of gym membership charges will set you back, this is a good buy.
听-- $549.98 for the pair (originally $1,060)听A nearly 50 percent discount of a quality washer/dryer set. There's not much that beats this..
听-- $19.99 (originally $76.99)听They had this same deal last year, and right now these adorable lawn ornaments are selling for $50 on Amazon, so this price is a steal.
9.听
Toys "R" Us is always one of the most hotly-anticipated ads, but its prices rarely make it worth the wait. That being said, there definitely听are always听some steals to be had hidden in this year's circular.
LeapFrog LeapReader -- $19.99 (originally $34.99)听This听popular kids' reading and writing system is on sale for $10 less than it was last year!
Trivial Pursuit Hints and Taboo Buzz'd games听--听$3 each (originally $13.99)听Toys "R" Us has normal board games on sale for $3 last year, but this electronic selection is new.听
Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox 360 and Angry Birds: Star Wars NintendoDS -- $1 each (originally $12.99)听Yes these games are a little outdated, but if you missed the boat when they first came out, it's hard to beat $1 for a new game. Plus, Amazon is currently selling these for $10.
8.听
If you're shopping at Macy's on Black Friday, chances are you already have a deal in mind. If it's one of these, all I can say is that great minds thing alike!
听-- $49.99听(originally $200)听This is $10 less than the lowest price we've ever seen on this set outside of the holiday season. A really great deal for the family who travels together.
听-- $19.99 (originally $80)听This is a hot seller on Brad's Deals, and for $60 less than the asking price it's really hard to go wrong. Stock up and save on cute patterns and colors to brighten up all the bedrooms in your house.
Beauty steals!
- 听for $10 ($15 everywhere else)
- 听for $10 (mascara alone sells for $12 in small size elsewhere)
- 听for $15 ($32 at other department stores)
7.听
Kmart's deals are solid this season, with lots of holiday decor and appliance sales to boot.
6' Unlit Tree --听$15 (originally $49.99)听-- Deck the halls with this beautiful and realistic synthetic Christmas tree, which won't force you to haul a giant tree to the dumpster on Boxing Day.
Proctor Silex Small Electronics --听$3 each (originally $9.99)听Um, a $3 toaster, iron, hand mixer or electronic can opener? Yes. This is $2 less than last year's $5 deal, and for comparison, the lowest price on an iron we've ever seen on our site has been $7. So basically if you're in need of any of these things run, don't walk, for this deal.
Intex Inflatable Chair and Ottoman 听-- $17.99听(originally $29.99)听This is the lowest price on inflatable loungers that we've seen in a long time. Great for a teen's room or when you have guests in town.
6.听
Cuisinart 12-piece Advantage Knife Set -- $14.99 (originally $50)听This colorful knife set is both stylish and a kitchen essential. This is the lowest price we've ever seen for this particular set, and 听(page 2) matches lowest price we've ever seen for this set
Cooks 1.5 Quart Slow Cooker --听$4.99 (originally $20)听Yup, you read that right. A slow cooker for under $5. It's not big, but it gets the job done. Plus this is the lowest price we have EVER seen on a slow cooker, last year this same model听was $8.
16-piece Soleil or Quinto Dinnerware set -- $9.99 (originally 听$50)听This beautiful dinnerware set is simple and elegant, and at $9.99 the price really can't be beat, in fact it's $7 less than the lowest price we've ever seen on this set.
5.听
Staples' refusal to open on Thanksgiving Day has made it a fan favorite this year, and their deals aren't bad either!
16GB iPad Mini 4 -- $299.99 (originally $399.99)听This is the lowest I've seen the mini 4 on sale for this year, and while 16GB isn't a TON听of space, if you use your tablet for mostly web browsing that doesn't really matter.
Amazon Fire,听Case and 32GB microSD card bundle听-- $54.99 (originally $79.99)听This isn't the lowest price we've ever seen on a Fire (it's on sale for $49.99 at Best Buy right now), but the case and the SD card make this deal听worthwhile.
HP 14" Laptop with Intel Core i3 Processor -- $299.99 (originally $599.99)听When it comes to 14" laptops, this is $50 cheaper than any comparable model we've posted听this year.
4.听
Target has very similar deals year to year, and they're always pretty darn good. You can check out our full breakdown of the Target ad here, but here are our top three favorite deals:
听-- $299 + $60 gift card (originally $349)听Both Walmart and Best Buy have this for the same price, but the $60 gift card, which brings down the net cost to $239, makes Target the place to go to snatch up this console bundle.
听-- $349 +100 gift card (originally听$349)听OK so no immediate discounts here, but that's to be expected with first gen. Apple products. The $100 gift card brings the effective cost of this wearable tech down to $249, however, which is actually a great price.
听-- $49.99 (originally $89.99)听As Rebecca wrote in our analysis of this ad: "We saw a 15-pc set from this brand selling for $49.99 in August, and听that听was a good deal.听Target ups the ante on Black Friday by offering an extra 5 pieces of this durable non-stick set for the same price."
3.听
Walmart's Black Friday sale is not quite as good as it's been in previous years, but it's still good enough to earn it the #3 spot on our list. In my opinion, some of the best deals in this ad are items under the the 1-Hour Guarantee, which you can find on the back page of the ad.
听-- $169 (originally $229.95)听This is a great price on a sought-after holiday gift, and it comes with the 1-Hour Guarantee, so even if they sell out at the store you're at, as long as you pay for them within an hour of when the sale starts, you're guaranteed to get them in time for听Christmas.
听-- $59 (originally $99)听This is the lowest price we've ever seen on this fitness tracking wristband, and although it's not under the 1-Hour Guarantee, it's available online and will be good buy for either a holiday gift for someone else or a way to jump-start your own New Years resolutions.
听-- $9.72 (originally ~$30)听If I didn't jump the gun and purchase this EXACT slow cooker last summer I'd be buying it for $20 less on Black Friday.听Let's all take a moment of silence for the money I could have saved if I'd just waited
2.听
If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll know how听. Year after year, they prove themselves to be one of the strongest contenders in the Black Friday sale game, and yet they rarely get the credit they deserve. between the Kohl's Cash, the Yes2You Rewards, the mail-in rebates and the coupon stacking, things are always cheaper than they appear at Kohl's, which听earns it the silver medal on our list.
听-- $115.50 after coupon stacking (originally $299.99)听We've covered this Black Friday hack before, and听this is by far the best deal you're going to see on a KitchenAid mixer. Here's how we got to this number from the $199.99 listed in the ad:
$199.99 is the post-rebate price, so when you buy it, you'll put it in your cart at $229.99. If this year is like last year (and the year before, and the year before that), Kohl's will offer a site-wide 15 percent off discount on Black Friday. That means you'll get $34.49 taken off at checkout, so you'll pay $195.50 upfront. Not at all a bad price for this machine, but it gets a lot better once you make the purchase. Mail in the $30 rebate and you've pushed it down to $165.50, then factor in the $45 Kohl's Cash and the $5 in Yes2You rewards and you're looking at an effective cost of $115.50 on what's听normally a $300 mixer. Magic, right?
听-- $39.99 (originally $99.99)听I'm forever guilty of buying crappy $20 speakers that break immediately, so this deal caught my eye as a price actually I'd be willing to pay for speakers that听I won't have to replace next week.
Dress and casual boots for women and juniors听--听$29.99 (originally $84.99-$99.99)听Boots are my favorite kind of shoe and I have a pair for every occasion. This deal is great and I will definitely be shopping it from the comfort of my couch on Black Friday.
1.听
This is hands-down the best Black Friday sale of the year. With all the hottest electronics on sale for insane prices,听it was really hard for us to narrow it down to just three top deal picks. If you want to see more,听we wrote听, so check that out if these top deals don't fit your fancy:
听-- $99.99 (originally $199.99听This is actually the lowest we've EVER seen these headphones priced, and they've been a hot Christmas item for a while now. Rebecca noted in her ad analysis that even refurbs usually go for more than this, so if you've been waiting for a good time to buy 'em new, this is your chance.
听--听$149.99 (originally $429.99)听I online shop for a living, so it's very rare that a in-store only doorbuster deal gets my attention. While I don't think I'll be waiting outside in the cold for this TV, I totally would if I didn't have, you know, a family and Thanksgiving dinner plans. 4K might be the future, but this is an amazing price on a relatively large HDTV.
听--听$399.99-$499.99 (originally $499.99-$599.99)听We were VERY surprised by this deal, as any discount on the iPad mini 4 is extremely rare. It's so rare, in fact, that we have actually never posted one on the site before. Both the 64GB and the 128GB will be $100 off this year and that's nothing to sniff at when it comes to Apple discounts.
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