Big-ticket items like TVs and mattresses follow the same sale calendar every year. If your purchase can wait a few months, write down the exact model and today’s price now, then buy in its category’s sale window instead of the week you start wanting it.
That wait can be worth hundreds of dollars on a single purchase. Consumer Reports’ TV buying guide uses the example of a 65-inch set that sells for $1,100 at launch and can go for as little as $650 the next year.
Those drops aren’t random. Holiday promotions and new models replacing old ones push each category toward a low at about the same time every year. Here’s where Consumer Reports places each one:
- TVs get their deepest discounts around Black Friday. The next-best often come in promotions about two weeks before the Super Bowl, and prices drop again in spring, when new models arrive and stores clear out older sets.
- Mattresses drop for Memorial Day in May, with the lowest prices closest to the holiday weekend itself.
- Large appliances get cheaper over three-day weekends such as Memorial Day and Labor Day, and their steepest cuts usually land in the weeks before Black Friday. Some models drop 25% or more.
- Treadmills, ellipticals, and other fitness equipment tend to go on sale in January, right after the holidays.
Labor Day sales are real for some categories and not others, and our guide to what’s actually worth buying that weekend sorts them out.
Once you’ve written down the model and price, put a price tracker on it. When its window arrives, buy if the price has dropped below your number. If it hasn’t, keep the alert on for the next window. Break the wait only if the old one dies first.
New cars are the exception. Edmunds says no seasonal pattern in new-car deals has held up through the disruptions of the past few years, and it advises buying one when you need it, after you’ve done your research. Used cars still follow the calendar, and Edmunds puts their best discounts in October and November.
Pick the next big purchase on your list and put its window on your calendar today.
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