FOX31 Denver

Ten things you shouldn’t buy on Black Friday

DENVER – While it seems like everything will be one sale for Black Friday, there a few things that you should not spend your money one this weekend.

Black Friday is the one day of the year known for the deepest discounts and sale-crazy shoppers. Stores strategically design their sales to get in their doors because it is estimated that most retailers make 20 to 40 percent of their annual revenue from Black Friday through Christmas.

“They’re designed to make it seem like everything is the best deal of the year,” explained Kendal Perez, a Savings Expert with CouponSherpa.com.

Perez and her team have done their research and have some important tips for shoppers heading out on Black Friday.

“So, something to be aware of on Black Friday is something the industry refers to as derivative products,” Perez said. “These are products that are manufactured specifically for Black Friday.”

The items, usually TVs and other “doorbusters”, are manufactured specifically to be sold at discounted prices. It is hard to tell what kind of deal you are getting, because those products don’t exist anywhere else, don’t have reviews yet, and may be made with lower quality parts.

“Often times some of these derivative products are missing some key features so that they’re less costly for the retailer,” Perez said.

Still, once you hit those aisles, it’s tempting to want to grab every deal off the shelves. Experts warn though, there are ten things you should never buy on Black Friday.

  1. Furniture
  2. Gift cards
  3. Airfare
  4. High-powered laptops
  5. Used video game consoles
  6. New video game consoles
  7. OLED TVs
  8. Winter clothes
  9. Holiday decorations
  10. Flowers, chocolates and food gifts

Many of the items on the list can be found at deeper discounts other times of the year. Furniture sales are best during the summer, you can score better bonus gift cards the first two weeks of December and holiday decorations will be up to 90 percent off in January.

The best advice for shoppers is to only buy what you need. Make a list and stick to it.

“Just because it’s a good deal doesn’t mean that you should waste your money on it,” Perez advises. “You really have to check yourself. Is this something that I want? Or do I just want it because everybody else does?”

If you decide to ditch Black Friday completely, there are other shopping holidays when you can score similar deals: