Time has been meaningless for most of 2020, and it clearly didn’t have much of an influence over when retailers started their Black Friday celebrations.
Dell kicked things off by releasing its ad scan over two weeks before Halloween, and other big retailers quickly followed — giving us a pretty well-rounded idea of what to expect before November even started. November saw an unprecedented number of early sales, including three separate Black Friday events from Walmart and mulitple early deals from Best Buy.
At any rate, the week of actual Black Friday still brings a certain sense of giddiness. The big box stores are dropping the last of their ad scan deals and direct-to-consumer retailers like Casper, Theragun, and Dyson have officially kicked their sales off, too. Here are the best Black Friday deals that you can shop as of Monday, Nov. 23, but be sure to check back for updates during the week:
1. Casper — 15% off mattresses
We can totally blame some poor shut-eye on this year’s chaos. But if you’d also like to nip that lower back pain, this is your chance to get one of Casper’s famous mattresses for 15% off. This discount adds an extra 5% off from its usual 10% holiday discount. Choose between the Original starting at $506, the Nova Hybrid starting at $931, and the Wave Hybrid starting at $1,271.
The V10 Cyclone is one of the most powerful Dyson’s stick vacuums, second to just the $599 V11 — and with this early Black Friday sale, you can grab it for the exact same price as the lower-tier Dyson V8. Brush roll speed (125,000 RPM) and battery life (60 minutes) are near identical in the V10 and V11. The V11’s digital screen and an Intelligent Suction Mode are welcomed additions, but probably aren’t reasons to spend the extra $200.
We don’t often see significant discounts on an Apple Watch that’s only been out for a month, and we certainly don’t ever see an Apple Watch this new at a price point so close to $200. Compared to the Apple Watch 3 (an affordable model from 2018 that’s somehow still in circulation), the SE charges faster, has less clunky bezels, and won’t face the WatchOS 7 slowdowns that older models fall victim to.
Samsung’s Black Friday sale is hitting its affordable line of QLEDs hard, making the purchase feel significantly less extra. The 58-inch Q60T sees a $200 discount (compared to the 55-inch’s $100 discount) and is a perfect happy medium size-wise. 100% color volume, dual backlighting with automatic tone adjustment, and deeper blacks with HDR10+ all come with the Q60T’s Quantum Dot technology.
Massage guns are still having a moment. If you’re willing to splurge, the best one to get is the Theragun Pro. The QX150 motor on this bad boy produces fast, deep thumps to kickstart muscle recovery after a workout or relieve knots causing pain. Other Thergaun devices are also part of the sale, including $100 off the mid-tier Elite massager and $75 off the simplified Prime massager.
6. Zenni — save up to 25%
Zenni is one of the best places to buy glasses online and doesn’t have sales super often. Use code BF2020 to take 15% off orders of $10 or more, 20% off orders of $30 or more, or 25% off orders of $75 or more. Zenni offers a 180-degree virtual try-on tool to give you a realistic idea of how your new prescription glasses, blue-light blocking glasses, or sunglasses will fit your face.
The classic Fire TV Stick finally has a new set of buttons: plus and minus controls for volume, a power button, and a mute button. For around the same price as the first-gen Fire Stick (that was way more basic), the new Fire Stick can do pretty much everything that your TV’s remote can do plus cool extras like Dolby Atmos theater audio.
Walmart is the place to shop cheap laptops this year. With nearly 13 hours of battery life and a 32GB hard drive as a backup for cloud storage, Samsung’s 11.6-inch Chromebook 4 is perfect for kids learning remotely.
Plants can be oddly comforting companions, especially when social distancing has your walls being the backdrop you stare at the most. The Sill is offering an almost 30% discount on its Snake Plant Laurentii, ceramic planter incuded. These recognizable sword-like sprouts require little TLC and are said to remove toxins from indoor air.
The newest rendition of Fitbit’s beloved Charge trackers may look the same on the outside, but it packs interior improvements like built-in GPS and a new metric called Active Zone Minutes. Though it’s still not a completely phone-free experience like Fitbit’s true smartwatches, the days-long battery life is hard to beat.
Cross two smart home must-haves off your home improvements list with this video doorbell and smart speaker (with a screen!) bundle. Any time you have a visitor, the Ring Video Doorbell lets you take a peek without actually answering the door. If you’re home, ask Alexa to show the front door — if you’re away, travel safely knowing that Ring will send a notification if it detects motion.
On the home security beat, a keyless smart lock is a stronger alternative to hiding a key under the mat. This slick keypad allows multiple different users to have their own PINs (including temporary ones), which saves parents from begging kids and Airbnb owners from begging guests to not lose their keys.
It turns out that homemade coffee actually tastes good when your coffee maker doesn’t take five pods to produce an ounce of flavor. Of Keurig’s single-serve coffee makers, the K-Elite has one of the largest water reservoirs and doesn’t produce that weird plastic-y taste.
Tempur-Pedic’s early Black Friday savings give options to everyone, whether you’re totally replacing your mattress or just want to add some squish to your current setup. Save 30% on the four-layer Cloud mattresses, 40% on toppers for an easy layer of cushy support, or 25% on a pillow to save your neck.
Stocking up on gear from The North Face is always wise, especially if you’re planning to use the great outdoors as an escape from quarantine. Save 30% on select cozy styles including vests, fleece quarter zips, and the Thermoball Eco puffer jacket, which is insulated with recycled materials.
