The 12 Best Things to Buy During Black Friday

Black Friday is mostly manufactured urgency around mediocre deals. But certain product categories consistently see their genuine lowest prices during this period. Focus your spending here and ignore everything else—the doorbusters on random electronics are usually last year's models being cleared out.

Premium headphones see reliable 20-30% discounts. Sony WH-1000XM5 and Apple AirPods Pro 2 typically drop to their lowest recorded prices during Black Friday week. If you've been waiting on either, this is the rational time to buy rather than paying full retail in March.

Kitchen appliances from brands like KitchenAid, Vitamix, and Breville see substantial markdowns. The KitchenAid stand mixer regularly drops from $350 to around $230, and Breville espresso machines see $100-150 off. These are investments that last decades, making the savings meaningful.

Mattresses are genuinely discounted during this period—not the fake 70%-off sales they run monthly, but actual additional markdowns on already-reasonable prices. Brands like Casper, Purple, and Tuft & Needle typically offer their best-ever pricing during Black Friday week.

Fitness equipment, particularly Theragun and Hyperice products, sees consistent 30% reductions. The Theragun Pro dropping from $600 to $400 is a recurring pattern. If you want recovery tools, this is the time to buy rather than January when everyone else remembers their resolutions.

Streaming service annual plans often offer their steepest discounts during this week. Spotify, YouTube Premium, and various cloud storage services run promotions that save substantially over monthly payments. Committing to an annual plan at Black Friday rates saves real money over twelve months.

What to avoid: TVs (most deals are on off-brand or previous-generation models), clothing (better sales happen in January and July), and anything sold exclusively through flash-sale countdown timers. If the pressure to buy is the primary selling point, the deal isn't that good.