Black Friday 2023

[Apache]

Originally Posted by issybird

Yes; it's a pity. I still have older phones that work and they'd be fine, except that the OS is obsolete. And once you can't install/update apps, the writing's on the wall.

Even manufacturers that claim lifetime updates for products find ways around it. VW announced lifetime updates to the software in their vehicles. Then they announced that the lifetime of their vehicles is 15 years. Right now, I drive a 30-year-old vehicle that has 95,000 miles on it. Really makes me want to go out and buy a vehicle that the manufacturer says is only good for 15 years.
Apache

[cc_in_oh]

A complete joke so far - I planned to buy an undercounter beverage cooler. Amazon has page after page of "Black Friday Deals" but they aren't deals at all, e.g. $200 vs. "typical" price $220 - no better than their everyday prices.

[DNSB]

Sadly, I had 4 items on my watch list. All 4 were on sale for Black Friday but the sale prices were not impressive enough to have me making a purchase. One item was on sale a month back for less than the Black Friday sale price and I wasn't tempted then.

[Catlady]

I've done more shopping than usual, though just odds and ends, nothing major. Two home decor items in my saved shopping cart at Amazon have price cuts, but I hadn't bought them in the first place because I have no place to put them, and I still don't, so I'm waffling. I did get some Kasa smart plugs and will probably pick up a couple of flash drives and/or memory cards.

[tubemonkey]

Amazon Cyber Monday -- exp 27 Nov

• Live Updates -- on the best early deals, holiday shopping tips, and gift guides

46 of the best Amazon Cyber Monday Deals in 2023

Follow along for live updates on the best Amazon Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 deals, shopping tips, and more.

Amazon’s Cyber Monday weekend event kicks off Saturday, November 25 and runs through Monday, November 27, hot off the heels of our Black Friday deals event.

During the Cyber Monday shopping event, you’ll find great deals from top brands like Casper, Ninja, CeraVe, and Helly Hansen. Some of the exciting discounts to look for include up to 45% off Hey Dude, up to 30% off La Roche-Posay, and up to 30% off OPI nail colors and treatments.

see link for details

[haertig]

I agree that typical Black Friday sales are not enough to entice me to buy something that I really don't need, or something that I haven't researched in advance. Just not good enough to trigger that impulse purchase.

But for something I already need (or want), why not get a few dollars off if it goes on sale?

I wanted a bread maker. $129. $129. $129. For months. Then $89 on Black Friday. I also wanted a portable tire inflator. $89. $89. $89. Then $49 on Black Friday. I bought both of these in a heartbeat. I had heavily researched both for the months that I had been looking at them - that's my nature. I never truly make an impulse buy. I pretty much always know what I'm buying and if it's a good functioning, reliable thing - regardless of it being on sale or not.

I was also considering a car battery charger. I already have one, but kind of wanted an upgraded one for some reason. $99. $99. $99. Then $79 on Black Friday. I still have not bought this yet. And I probably won't. We'll see. I'm pretty sure the price will hold through Cyber Monday. But the thing is, I don't really need it. 20% off is a decent enough sale. But not enough to trigger an impulse purchase (my case is not quite impulse buy - I have researched the thing for months - my case is that I don't truly need it).

My secondary computer monitor started flickering and powering itself down on Thanksgiving. It's old. And an unheard of brand. Hannspree??? So I immediately started looking for Black Friday sales for cheap monitors. Since it's secondary, vertical orientation, seldom used except for tall spreadsheets I don't need a high end monitor. Pretty much anything remotely reliable will do in that role. The cheapest 24" monitor (the largest I can fit in my vertical orientation space) I could find was on sale from Dell, for $69. That may have only been $20 or $30 off of the typical price for a cheapie 24", but that's still money in my pocket. Thanks Black Friday! I'll take the discount without complaining. I certainly would never have made an impulse purchase of this super cheap monitor had I just randomly stumbled across it at this Black Friday price without already having an immediate need for it. But being my nature, I did research it against other brands cheapies before buying. I found that there is no significant difference in brands - who's names you have heard of - when you're looking at bottom of the food chain monitors (once you move higher end, yes, there can be significant differences depending on your use).

[John F]

I'm looking at an Amazon device. It says "In Stock". I'm a Prime member. It says it is an "Amazon's Choice Overall Pick"... and yet it is does not have the Prime symbol and if I order it within the next 8 hours, it won't arrive until next Thursday.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Extremely underwhelming. BF keeps getting worse every year and the $20~$30 phones are now a thing of the past.

I saw some around $30, but it wasn't a decent enough phone to price ratio for me to bite. I'd have had to go with $50 for something worth getting even as a music player.

Originally Posted by Apache

Even manufacturers that claim lifetime updates for products find ways around it. VW announced lifetime updates to the software in their vehicles. Then they announced that the lifetime of their vehicles is 15 years. Right now, I drive a 30-year-old vehicle that has 95,000 miles on it. Really makes me want to go out and buy a vehicle that the manufacturer says is only good for 15 years.
Apache

Or make it impossible to get warranty service of any kind. Had that happen with a TCL HDTV. 90% of calls got disconnected before ever talking to someone, of the ones that got through I'd either be put on hold and then disconnected (happened the most) or the phone system would conveniently glitch out and the call volume on their end was too low to understand me. And once I did get someone who said they'd send out the part I needed (it didn't come with all the pieces to connect the base)... they never sent it out. I eventually gave up after spending at least twelve hours attempting to get a single part. That two year warranty was worthless.

I still got dad a TCL HDTV a few years back, but was prepared to return it immediately if it had anything missing and assumed it had no actual warranty.

Originally Posted by haertig

I agree that typical Black Friday sales are not enough to entice me to buy something that I really don't need, or something that I haven't researched in advance. Just not good enough to trigger that impulse purchase.

But for something I already need (or want), why not get a few dollars off if it goes on sale?

The thing is, those types of good deals are few and far between for most people nowadays. I still need additional parts for my new PC, all the rest had no sales at all and now I'm waiting on Cyber Monday hoping maybe they'll be on sale then. Basically, you got lucky with how many items you wanted/needed that had good sale prices.

[Fbone]

Well, I bought stuff.

Three pairs of Skecher shoes
Two wool fedoras
Bunch of soy candles
Large 3D printed planter
Flannel shirt
Watering can
Cat food

[haertig]

Originally Posted by Manabi

The thing is, those types of good deals are few and far between for most people nowadays.

One trick is to find something your want on Amazon, and then put it into your Shopping Cart. Don't buy it, just let it sit. It needs to be in your main Cart (and not "Saved For Later"), and not just on your Wish List. As it sits there, sometimes you will see a price reduction after two weeks to a month of aging. I have seen this happen several times myself. And my friends have reported it too. Not every item will age well, but at least some do. So if I want something that I don't need soon, I always age it - just to see what will happen. Sometimes you get pleasantly surprised. The typical aging discount I see is 10% to 15%, sometimes 20%. Some items - the ones you see on every website for the exact same price - do not age. Probably some manufacturers "minimum price" agreement for those.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by haertig

One trick is to find something your want on Amazon, and then put it into your Shopping Cart. Don't buy it, just let it sit. It needs to be in your main Cart (and not "Saved For Later"), and not just on your Wish List. As it sits there, sometimes you will see a price reduction after two weeks to a month of aging. I have seen this happen several times myself. And my friends have reported it too. Not every item will age well, but at least some do. So if I want something that I don't need soon, I always age it - just to see what will happen. Sometimes you get pleasantly surprised. The typical aging discount I see is 10% to 15%, sometimes 20%. Some items - the ones you see on every website for the exact same price - do not age. Probably some manufacturers "minimum price" agreement for those.

They'll drop on price on Amazon's wishlists as well, I've seen it a lot. It's just rare that the stuff on my wishlists drop low enough for me to bite and most of it's just stuff I'd like to have if it ever gets cheap enough.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by haertig

One trick is to find something your want on Amazon, and then put it into your Shopping Cart. Don't buy it, just let it sit. It needs to be in your main Cart (and not "Saved For Later"), and not just on your Wish List.

Items don't need to be in the main shopping cart; they can be saved for later. Price fluctuations will still be shown at the top of the cart.

[tubemonkey]

Cyber Monday -- exp 27 Nov (except as noted below)

Cyber Monday continues for other stores with new ones joining in today. See the front page for a listing of all stores being tracked and their sale dates.

• Amazon
  
• Best Buy
  
• Target -- ad scan
  
• Walmart -- press release
  
• Lenovo -- ad scan
  
• Newegg -- exp 30 Nov
  
• Ofc Depot
  
• Staples -- exp 02 Dec

.

[tubemonkey]

BJ's Club Cyber Week -- exp 01 Dec

Cyber Week Savings!

BJ’s Wholesale Club Announces Super Deals at Wow-Worthy Prices

11/25/2023 - MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) (“BJ’s”), a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs, announced today savings of up to 65% on hundreds of items during the Cyber Week savings event from Monday, November 27 through Friday, December 1, 2023. BJ’s members can get savings on holiday gifts including TVs & electronics, small appliances and presents for the entire family.

To help members save even more, on Cyber Monday (11/27), BJ’s is offering a limited time promotion. Members can save $20* on purchases of $200+ on BJs.com and the BJ’s app. From 11/28/23 - 12/1/23, members will receive a $20** reward when making a purchase of $200+ on BJs.com and the BJ’s app.

“We’re launching our week of cyber deals with even more savings to our valued members following the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Monica Schwartz, Chief Digital Officer, BJ’s Wholesale Club. “It’s the season of giving, and we’re excited to help BJ’s members celebrate their holidays with extra savings during Cyber Week.”

see link for details

[tubemonkey]

Cyber Monday

• Costco -- while supplies last
  
• Sam's Club -- exp 28 Nov