Not so long ago, if you wanted to score Black Friday deals, you either had to head to the local Target at the crack of dawn or stand in line right after packing up dinner leftovers. Online shoppers bide their time until the Monday after the holiday, with the day eventually becoming known as Cyber Monday.
Black Friday vs Cyber Monday: Which is a better day to shop?
These days, Black Friday sales start well in advance of Halloween, lasting several weeks before the actual day occurs, which raises a very real question: Is Cyber Monday still a thing? And for an online-only retailer like Amazon, where most people do their online shopping, is it better to shop on Black Friday, or wait until Cyber Monday to get the best deals?
Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Canceling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds
,
$219.99
(List Price $249.00)
Apple iPad 11″ 128GB Wi-Fi Retina Tablet (Blue, 2025 Release)
,
$274.00
(List Price $349.00)
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones
,
$248.00
(List price $399.99)
Blink Outdoor 4 1080p Security Camera (5-Pack)
,
$159.99
(List price $399.99)
Fire TV Stick 4K Streaming Device with Remote (2023 Model)
,
$24.99
(List price $49.99)
Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones
,
$298.00
(List Price $429.00)
Shark AV2511AE AI Robot Vacuum with XL Self-Empty Base
,
$249.99
(List Price $599.00)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band)
,
$339.00
(List Price $399.00)
WD 6TB My Passport USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive
,
$138.65
(List price $179.99)
Amazon Fire HD 10 32GB Tablet (2023 Release, Black)
,
$69.99
(List price $139.99)
Based on many collective years of covering these sales, our shopping Spidey-sense leads us to believe this.
Will Amazon have better deals on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
In our experience, Black Friday deals at Amazon are better and more plentiful than Cyber Monday savings. Or They are on equal footing. In the years we’ve worked on this sale, very rarely have we seen additional price cuts or brand new deals pop up for Cyber Monday. Although Amazon tries to snag some deals for Cyber Monday, they are often quite lackluster, and rarely include the most popular products from brands like Apple, Samsung, Sony, Ninja, and Nintendo.
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Now that the holiday shopping season starts so early, Black Friday is starting to feel like the grand finale, Cyber Monday is starting to feel like a repeat of sorts. This year, we’ve seen a number of products hit record-low prices in the days leading up to Black Friday, like the $69 Apple AirPods 4 and the DJI Mini 4K drone at a $60 discount. If there is to be an additional price drop, it will likely happen on Black Friday, and then either remain stable until Cyber Monday, or the price will rise again. (If it doesn’t sell in that time, which often happens.)
Mashable shopping reporter Sam Mangino put it perfectly when he wrote, “Think of Cyber Monday as your last chance to shop for deals, not your best chance.”
150+ Amazon Black Friday deals: Get the best live deals on AirPods, Kindles, Lego, and TVs
Amazon’s Cyber Monday sale also starts on Saturday, November 29 and runs through Monday, December 1, essentially making Amazon’s sale one long Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. With this, we expect deals to gradually dry up on Monday and Tuesday.
When to buy deals on Black Friday
With the above in mind, we recommend securing a good deal on Black Friday. Popular items, like great Apple deals or Kindles, are especially likely to sell out or increase in price again. “I suspect that hot ticket items like Kindles won’t get Cyber Monday discounts and won’t go up to their standard prices,” said Mangino, who covers the e-reader beat year-round.
If this sounds a little stressful, we understand. As journalists are monitoring these sales day after day, we know that there is a Very Delivering a message about shopping fatigue and the urgency to buy deals as quickly as possible at this time of year (more than anything else, TBH!). Although we’re not recommending rushing to buy every amazing deal you see, Black Friday is one of the best times of the year to find really good deals. And that’s taking into account the “sale prices” that can be found year-round.
Mashable will send the best Black Friday deals straight to your phone — how it works
If you’re feeling unsure about a deal you’ve added to your cart, we recommend 1) checking out Mashable’s Black Friday coverage, and 2) consulting a price tracker like CamelCamelCamel, which can give you complete information about an item’s price history as well as any record-low prices.
Looking for the latest Amazon deals? Check out the biggest discounts on Amazon’s epic Black Friday sale And save up to 70% on popular gifts, gadgets and other goodies.
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