Make no mistake: Black Friday will be full of killer deals. But while stellar sales on cars may surprise and delight you, there are some items that only see minor discounts — or no discounts at all. Black Friday sales are time-sensitive, so wasting precious minutes looking for a deal that may not appear could make you miss a killer doorbuster. In the interest of keeping you on track, we've rounded up 11 product categories that consistently under-perform during Black Friday.
Whether it's furniture deals you should have grabbed in the summer or gift cards that'll be cheaper in December, read on to discover the items that Black Friday forgot:
Home and patio furniture: Many high-end furniture shops don't even hold Black Friday sales. This is because most retailers heavily discount these items in the warmer months, with home furniture seeing a huge spike in deals in July and August.
Chocolates & Flowers: The perishable nature of these treats makes them better suited for purchase close to a gift-giving holiday.
Exercise Equipment: Research shows you'd be better served by waiting a few weeks. While we do see a decent number of sporty deals during Black Friday, November is overall among the worst months to make a purchase in this category.
Airfare & Vacation Packages: Despite the fact that hotel sites offer superior discounts on Black Friday, this just isn't the time to book a flight or plan a vacation.
Brand-Name Smart TVs: Black Friday made its name on killer TV prices, but that doesn't mean every TV sees super deals during the shopping holiday. Premium smart TVs usually hang out at the top of the price spectrum anyway, and these in-demand sets are less likely to see doorbuster discounts during Black Friday.
Gift Cards: A little patience is required here. Discounted gift cards practically rain from the sky in December, especially those from iTunes. Last year, we saw so many gift card deals in December, we had to publish a weekly feature just to keep track of them all.
Tools: the month of December actually has the edge in tool sales. Last year, we listed 16% more tool offers in December than in November.
High-End Laptops: The Black Friday season makes November the best month of the year for buying a laptop ... unless you're in the market for a real powerhouse. High-performance machines that boast a powerful CPU like Intel's Core i7 models actually see better prices during the summer back-to-school sales. .
Latest Fire Tablets: History has proven that it's all but impossible to find a deal on recently-released Amazon tablets during Black Friday. We saw a couple discounts (yep, two deals total) on the then-new Kindle Fire HDX during Cyber Week last year, but we're not holding our breath for any earth-shaking offers in 2014.
Designer Clothing: Label lovers should stick to the outlets on Black Friday, because luxury clothiers traditionally offer very little to deal-seeking fashionistas.
Winter Gear: November is a winter month, so winter clothing is obviously in-stock everywhere at this time. You'll see the best deals on these items during winter clearance sales in January through March.
