What to buy (and skip) in November
November brings forth a cornucopia of sales: Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. But that鈥檚 just the beginning of what this deal-driven month will produce.
Customers shop at Walmart's Black Friday event in 2015 in Rogers, Ark.
Gunnar Rathbun/Invision for Walmart/AP Images/File
November brings forth a cornucopia of sales: Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But that鈥檚 just the beginning of what this deal-driven month will produce. Here are the categories from which聽shoppers should be buying 鈥� and a couple they should skip 鈥� over the next few weeks to get the most for their money.
Buy: Electronics
Of all the products that will be on sale in November, electronics take center stage. Stores stuff the pages of their Black Friday ads with markdowns on tablets, gaming systems, smartwatches, smartphones and more.
Accordingly, shoppers should be patient and wait until Black Friday (Nov. 25) to make an electronics purchase. Some major retailers will kick off their Black Friday deals a day early, on Thanksgiving. If you don鈥檛 want to brave the crowds to get a deal, many stores will also give shoppers an opportunity to do their discount shopping online.
Skip: Bedding and linens
It鈥檚 a little too early to put a fresh set of sheets on the bed. January is your best bet for a deal on bedding and linens. Dating to the 1800s, stores have promoted聽bedding discounts called 鈥渨hite sales鈥� at the beginning of each year as a way to bring shoppers into their home departments. In January 2016, bedding basics were slashed by 60% to 70% at stores like Wayfair and聽. We expect聽similar levels of savings again in 2017.
Buy: Vacuums
Aside from spring cleaning season, November is a solid opportunity to add a new vacuum cleaner to your closet. Last year, Wal-Mart had a Dyson DC33 bagless upright vacuum on sale for $197 (regularly $269) as part of its Black Friday sale. Dyson, too, had a Thanksgiving weekend sale on its聽website, with select models marked down by hundreds of dollars. Expect聽these sweeping sales to land at the end of the month.
Skip: Winter products
The first day of winter is fast approaching. Dec. 21 will mark a change in seasons, but retailers are already gearing up for the cold months by releasing winter apparel and sporting equipment early 鈥� usually at full price. Similarly, Christmas decorations now adorning store displays are more expensive when they first hit shelves than when they鈥檙e on their way out the door. Consider reserving your seasonal purchases until closer to Christmas.
Buy: Wedding dresses
Dress shops have been known to clear out racks of existing merchandise in the fall聽as they make way for brides to shop new styles. In fact, we spotted discounts on wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses happening right now at聽. Another insider tip: If you really want to save big, buy a dress that isn鈥檛 a wedding dress at all. Many stores sell white dresses in styles similar to wedding gowns, but if the dress isn鈥檛 labeled as such, it鈥檒l generally cost you less.
Shop: Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales
We alluded to it earlier, but November is perhaps best known, at least in a shopping sense, for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two of the biggest shopping days of the year. This year, Black Friday is on Nov. 25, and Cyber Monday is on Nov. 28.
If you鈥檙e planning a major purchase such as a refrigerator or computer, hold off until the end of the month. Major retailers like聽,听听补苍诲听聽usually release聽聽in the days or weeks before Black Friday to announce their upcoming deals and doorbusters. In 2015, Best Buy delivered a 49-inch Toshiba 1080p HDTV for $149.99. Among other deals, Target took 25% off all Beats wireless headphones for Black Friday and gave a coupon code for 15% off its entire website on Cyber Monday.
Bonus: Veterans Day
Veterans Day traditionally delivers military-specific discounts at retailers and restaurants to salute members of the armed forces, but savings extend to everyday shoppers as well. Last year, a variety of popular stores hosted patriotic promotions, including J.C. Penney, which reduced select home collection styles by 30% to 50%, and Sleepy鈥檚, which took up to 65% off select mattresses. This year, Veterans Day is on Friday, Nov. 11, but sales will likely last throughout the weekend.
Courtney Jespersen is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽courtney@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽.
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