Many Americans spend the Friday after Thanksgiving recovering from their food comas—and wondering whether they should muster up the energy to brave some serious Black Friday bargain hunting. After all, isn’t this the only time of year when you can save a ton on your entire wish list, from holiday gifts to home appliances and beyond?
On the contrary: A valid argument can be made to skip this overblown retailing event entirely and just relax in your jammies all day.
According to the experts we talked to, several Black Friday “deals,” it turns out, aren’t as wonderful as they may seem. Some merchandise tends to grow cheaper the closer you get to Christmas, or dip to even lower discount levels at entirely different times of the year.
As proof, here are some types of Black Friday pseudo-bargains that experts say you might want to skip, and when’s the better time to buy them down the line.
1. Bed linens
Photo by Tara Seawright Interior Design
More than a century ago, famed department store owner John Wanamaker decided to try and boost his store’s sales after the holidays by discounting sheets and towels in January.
The result became known as white sales—and these events continue to be the best time of the year to refresh your home linens. If you can sit tight on your current comforter right now, new options will very likely be even less come early January, say the experts.
“Macy’s and J.C. Penney have the best bedding sales—and always look for their coupons as these retailers allow you to stack them on sale items in most cases to get even deeper discounts,” says budgeting expert Andrea Woroch.
2. Large-screen TVs
Photo by Laura Burton Interiors
Some huge name-brand flat screens will be marked down, but “discounted options will be limited with small savings,” Woroch says.
The bigger deals tend to be on smaller to midsize TVs or off-brands that won’t hold up as well or as long as the more popular names.
The better time to pull the trigger on a big…