Refresh
To buy now or to wait? That’s the question.
You may be looking at these early Black Friday deals and thinking whether it’s definitely worth buying now or waiting for a couple of weeks to see if there are any further discounts. Here’s my view.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen that Black Friday takes place over weeks rather than a single day. Long gone is the wild rush to pick up a very limited bargain on the day itself as the shopping event is now more staggered and spread out. That means prices you see at the start of the month are likely to remain the same all the way through to Black Friday.
Of course, new deals will launch all the time, but data from Adobe shows that deals and discounts will escalate from November 1 – that’s today – and the peak is expected from November 17 through to Cyber Monday. So, we’re being very selective when it comes to offers at the minute, picking ones we’re confident won’t be cheaper or offer fantastic value for money today.
Also, it’s worth keeping an eye on retailers as many such as Best Buy and Target offer a price match guarantee from today. That means, if any product you buy right now is actually cheaper later in the Black Friday period, they will refund you the difference. Use that to buy with confidence and have some extra assurance should there be any unexpected further price cuts on your chosen products.
A top OLED TV for a record-low price
Speaking of big screen TVs… The LG C2 OLED has been one of our best-rated TVs for a long time now and Walmart has the 65-inch model on sale for $1,399. That’s a new record-low price and makes it one of the best early Black Friday deals I’ve spotted so far.
The stunning display is praised for its intense brightness and vivid colors in our LG C2 OLED review. The 65-inch TV also packs an a9 Gen5 AI Processor, Dolby Atmos, and voice control – all for under $1,400, which is an incredible value for this highly-rated OLED TV.
LG C2 65-inch 4K OLED TV: was $2,099.99 now $1,399 at Walmart
What to avoid when buying a big screen TV
I’m going to share some buying advice from the TechRadar team throughout the day, too. To start, here’s TV hardware staff writer, James Davidson, with some tips to follow if you’re buying a large TV this year.
We’ve all dreamed of having a big screen TV at some point in our lives. We’ve all wanted to feel like we’re in the cinema in the comfort of our own homes and now with TVs becoming more affordable, big screen TVs (thinking 75-inch plus) are easy to get hold of at budget-friendly prices and are always one of the most popular Black Friday deals.
But wait! As tempting as these big screens can be, there are some giant screens out there you should definitely avoid. The main offender is edge-lit TVs. Using LEDs around the edge of the screen to light the picture, edge-lit TVs often struggle to accurately process large, black and shadowed areas on the screen and darker areas often end up with a cloudy grey effect. On big screens, this looks even worse as the LEDs around the edge have to work harder to try and light the wider surface area.
So, as tempting as a big screen may be, avoid edge-lit. We recently tested two cheap 4K sets, one of which was edge-lit, and found out the importance of what type of panel you can have!
A popular sales season classic
There’s definitely no need to wait around if you plan to pick up one of Amazon’s popular streaming devices this Black Friday as the Fire TV Stick is still slashed to its cheapest price ever for non-Prime members right now.
I recommend this as a simple and affordable way to stream video in high definition on any TV with an HDMI port.
In fact, that’s exactly what we said in our Amazon Fire TV Stick review, too. It’s solid, capable, has a decent interface and a great range of app support – even though it’s missing the ultra-high definition 4K support of the more powerful streaming sticks. The accessibility features were handy, too, including voice controls to make navigation easier and connect with other smart home devices.
Amazon Fire TV Stick: was $39.99 now $19.99 at Amazon
Walmart Plus: is it worth it?
I was just saying how useful a Walmart Plus membership is over Black Friday as it gives you three hours of exclusive early access to the retailer’s deals. But that’s not all you get. Other perks include free grocery delivery, free one or two-day shipping with no minimum order value, a Paramount Plus subscription and savings on fuel.
Our fellow deals editor Mackenzie Frazier highly recommends it if you use Walmart for a lot of your shopping, especially for free grocery delivery. It’s a strong offer at 50% off right now, too, as it massively undercuts the cost of Amazon Prime.
So, if the delivery perks, discounted gas and early access to deals are a priority for you over the likes of Prime Video, Prime Reading and Prime Music then it’s excellent timing to sign up for Walmart Plus if you’re looking to spend during this year’s Black Friday deals bonanza.
Walmart Plus: was $98 now $49 at Walmart
Walmart Black Friday sale starts this week
Walmart was one of the last major US retailers to confirm its plans for Black Friday last week. Here’s everything you need to know.
The retailer will hold two Black Friday deals events later this month: one on November 8 and one on November 22. Different offers will launch during both events, with brands such as Apple, Dyson, LEGO, LG and Samsung all promised so far in the press release.
Some of the standout deals already confirmed include the Apple Watch 9 for $329, the AirPods (2nd Gen) for $69, a Dyson V12 Slim Absolute Cordless Vacuum for $449.99 and a Samsung 65-inch 4K Roku TV for $398.
Walmart Plus members also get three hours of early access to the deals from both events. This is actually a very useful perk as we saw many of the top offers sell out in a matter of minutes last year. Not signed up yet? You can get 50% off a yearly membership right now.
We’ll be here to bring you live coverage of the sale when it starts next week, so keep an eye on our Walmart Black Friday deals hub for more news, updates and our pick of the best offers when they go live.
The one deal you need to see today
This is the best and most popular deal we’ve seen so far in the early Black Friday sales: it’s this all-new Echo Show 5 on sale for $39.99. That’s a substantial 56% discount and a new record-low price.
It also beats the deal on Prime Day by $5, which is a surprise considering Amazon usually saves its lowest price for Prime members. Based on that, I predict you won’t see a better deal at the official Amazon Black Friday sale, which starts on November 17.
The latest Echo Show 5 features a compact 5.5-inch display but packs impressive sound with deeper bass and clearer vocals. Use it to listen to podcasts, watch movies, play music, and more with the help of Amazon Alexa.
Echo Show 5 (2023): was $89.99 now $39.99 at Amazon
Welcome to our early Black Friday deals live blog
Thanks for joining us at the start of a new week for even more live coverage of the best early Black Friday deals that you can buy today.
It’s less than three weeks to the day itself but hundreds of excellent offers are already available at top retailers and manufacturers – and more sales are set to get underway throughout the week.
I’ll take you through all of the best early deals right here, including some cheap smart home tech, record-low prices for OLED TVs and excellent value games console bundles.
Plus, I’ll keep you up to date with all the latest sale news that you need to know about so you’re best prepared for the Walmart and Best Buy events in the days ahead.
Let’s get started!
Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews