This post comes from Lindsay Sakraida at partner site DealNews.
At this point, we’re all pretty familiar with the notion of Black Friday season, and it’s very likely that you know what the usual suspects will be for doorbuster deals when the ads start rolling out.
But as Black Friday has grown into a massive promotional season, stores have taken the innate hype as an opportunity to discount even unconventional wares. And as such, you might be pretty surprised to learn what kinds of items you can get on sale during Black Friday.
From wine to luxury goods, here are some Black Friday deals that go way beyond the typical electronics.
1. Apple products
This won’t be shocking for devout DealNews readers, but many people are still surprised that you can, in fact, get a deal on an Apple product during the Black Friday season. In fact, Apple Black Friday deals will see discounts of up to 33 percent, but you’ll need to shop at resellers. (Find out what stores typically offer the best deals here.) Apple devices tend to carry the same doorbuster appeal as a ridiculously cheap big-screen TV, so these deals are excellent at drumming up publicity.
2. Wine
While you won’t see a huge swath of wine deals, you’ll likely find at least one or two extremely noteworthy discounts on wine from a major online or nationwide seller. For example, last year Astor Wines & Spirits took 20 percent off everything, while in years past Groupon offered excellent credits for Wine Insider and Naked Wines. Also be on the lookout for discounted shipping from online vendors.
3. Beauty items
According to our Black Friday predictions research, stores will actually offer coveted beauty deals during this time. A full 33 percent of beauty deals will be marked Editors’ Choice, an increase from 12 percent so far this year. Look to stores like The Body Shop, Sephora, and Bath & Body Works for “buy one, get one” and “$10 or less” type sales.
4. Luxury items
Once upon a time, luxury brands wouldn’t be caught dead among Black Friday sales. But these days, you’re almost guaranteed to see the outlet branches of some big names, such as Last Call by Neiman Marcus, offer special promotions. According to our research, they’re likely to launch sales early during Black Friday week.
5. Tea
Even we were surprised by this one. It didn’t occur to us, until a tea-loving writer brought it to our attention, that Black Friday would bring about great deals on tea. But that’s exactly what we saw last year, with both Teavana and Harney & Sons offering 25 percent discounts.
6. MP3s
Both Google Play and Amazon offered a slew of free MP3s and discounted albums last year during Black Friday. Google Play offered a selection of pop and ’90s hits for free, while Amazon slashed prices on popular “karaoke” songs from the likes of Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga.
7. Money
A number of deals will come with free credits that can be used toward future purchases, and we’ll see some stores offer discounted gift cards. ITunes gift cards in particular are a popular discounted option. Plus, you might even make a profit on your Black Friday purchases if you’re savvy with rebates. Stores like Newegg may offer deals that are priced lower than the included rebate, which means you’ll pocket the difference.
8. Cars
Look for discounts or sizable gift cards of about $1,000 with your purchase, but keep in mind that these discounts aren’t springing up for just this specific holiday. “Black Friday lines up nicely with the annual year-end inventory clearance process that dealers begin late in Q3, and that’s what is really driving value at this time of year,” says an analyst from Kelley Blue Book.
9. Online drugstores
Usually the individual items that are discounted in a drugstore Black Friday ad aren’t all that exciting or special, but sitewide discounts certainly are. Look to online vendors like Soap.com and drugstore.com for coupons that slash 25 to 30 percent off the things you buy regularly anyway.
10. Storage deals
Technically, hard drives and the like fall into the computer and electronics categories, which are standard Black Friday fare. But very few people think to stock up on storage deals during the mad dash savings event. It’s a shame, though, because it’s an excellent time to score external and internal hard drives, SSDs and flash drives.
Readers, have you ever encountered a Black Friday deal that surprised you? Let us know in the comments below.
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