Black Friday 2015: Shopping the Best Deals, Sector-by-Sector

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From action figures to refrigerators, and smartphones to perfume and pajamas, there are deals to be found on and around Black Friday. Money Talks News helps break it down, along with partner DealNews.com, as the holidays roll in. Click through the slideshow to learn some of the ways to save money, sector by sector, in this prime shopping season:

Clothing: Sales plus coupons stack up to serious savings

Clothing retailers are laying bare their best deals of the year around Black Friday.

Shoppers will be able to stack coupons with sale prices while taking advantage of free shipping offers, predicts DealNews.com. Usually you get a stacking coupon or free shipping, not both, it says.

“The Black Friday season consistently delivers best-of-the-year sales from clothing stores at all ends of the price spectrum,” says the bargain-finding site and Money Talks News partner.

And you don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving. Many online merchants will launch discounts of 40 to 50 percent on Monday or Tuesday of Black Friday week, DealNews predicts. Last year, retailers who launched early included The Limited, Eddie Bauer and Original Penguin.

The best sales, DealNews says, will take up to 80 percent off, while the average will run about 54 percent. While the best coupons will take 60 percent off, it predicts, they will average 33 percent.

Black Friday’s most awesome markdowns likely will be on jackets for kids and adults, it says. Cyber Monday will include the best jewelry deals.

Among clothing special buys in Wal-Mart’s Black Friday ad, which the retailer released early:

  • Men’s for $8.50 each: Starter tech fleece hoodies or pants, Wrangler fleece shirts and Fruit of the Loom underwear packs.
  • Women’s for $8: Danskin Now tech hoodies or two-piece yoga sets, Riders by Lee fleece shirts and Faded Glory Leggings two-packs.
  • Kids for $4.75: Boys’ or girls’ two-piece character sleep sets, Carters’ Child of Mine baby blanket sleepers and Healthtex plush two-piece sleep sets for infants and toddlers.

Black Friday ad leaks reveal:

  • At Sears, boys’ Roebuck & Co. jeans and girls’ Canyon River Blues jeans, regularly $24 to $39, will be door busters for $9.99.
  • Kohl’s, on top of offering $15 in gift cards for every $50 spent, is marking down kids Jumping Beans tops and bottoms to $5.99 from $16 and taking 60 percent off select outerwear.
  • Macy’s Black Friday ad includes door busters that take 50 percent off men’s sport coats and suit separates by Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein as well as women’s and juniors’ collections from American Rag, Material Girl, XOXO, BCX, Jessica Simpson and more.

Clean up on housewares and appliances, etc.

Kitchen mixers, dishwashers and refrigerators may not sound like the sexiest deals around, but you can vacuum up some of the biggest savings of the season on this type of home goods on Black Friday.

“They see their best prices of the year during this time,” says DealNews.com. “You could potentially save hundreds on some big-ticket items.”

Expect Sears and Home Depot to take up to 80 percent off during Black Friday, says the bargain-scouring website and partner of Money Talks News. It also expects good deals at Target and Wal-Mart. If you need large appliances, also check for impressive deals at Best Buy and Amazon, it says.

For the kitchen, look for KitchenAid stand mixers starting at $141 and Pyrex cookware sets as low as $10, both after rebates, DealNews says.

It predicts Dyson vacuums starting at $199 for new models; $160, refurbished.

Among Black Friday ads leaked or released early are these door busters and other deals:

  • Wal-Mart has a special buy on Rubbermaid Easy Find Lids, 34-piece food storage sets at $7.50 each. For $9.72, you can choose a Farberware 1.1 liter deep fryer or two-slice toaster, a Black & Decker griddle or coffeemaker, a Crock-Pot 5-quart slow cooker, a 21-piece Better Homes and Gardens stainless mixing bowl set, an Aroma 14-cup rice cooker or an Oster eight-speed blender. A 5-cubic-foot Arctic King chest freezer is $124.
  • Kohl’s takes 70 percent off a Basic Essentials 14-piece nonstick cookware set, offering it at $29.99 instead of its regular price of $99.99; vacuums from Dyson, Shark and Hoover are 20 to 50 percent off, but among the door busters is a Bissell PowerSwift Pet bagless vacuum at $49.99, about two-thirds off its regular price of $139.99.
  • Target is offering a door buster for a Shark Steam Cleaner for hardwood floors at half off, or $49.99. It also has Fieldcrest Luxury 600-thread-count, 100 percent Egyptian cotton sheet sets at $34.99.
  • Best Buy offers a Samsung 28-inch Smart HDTV with the purchase of a Samsung major appliance of $649 or more, including a Samsung 28.2 cubic foot, four-door, French Door smart refrigerator for $2,099.00, or $1,500 off.

Toys: Act fast or lose out

When it comes to shopping for toy deals this Christmas season, don’t play around. The largest number of bargains are coming Black Friday week, predicts DealNews.com.

Amazon, which will launch discounts on a massive list of toys beginning the day before Thanksgiving, will have three times the number of toys on sale Black Friday week as its nearest competitor, Wal-Mart, according to the bargain-scouring site and Money Talks News partner.

While Toys R Us does not match the number of toy discounts offered by Amazon or Wal-Mart, DealNews said the toy giant did just lower its free-shipping purchase threshold to $19 from $49, which will generate savings for many online shoppers.

If you miss Black Friday week, toy sellers will revive discounts from Dec. 7 to Dec. 13, it says.

Whatever you do, don’t wait until the last minute. DealNews expects only Amazon to offer big last-minute markdowns — as much as 70 percent on select toys.

“Contrary to the belief that stores will want to dump their holiday toy stock right before Christmas, you’re going to see neither the deep discounts nor the assortment of toys that you’ve passed up throughout the season,” DealNews warns.

Discount predictions don’t mean the specific toy you seek will necessarily be marked down, either, unless a store is advertising an across-the-board sale, it says.

Wal-Mart, in a Black Friday ad released on its app, included these among its toy specials to be available online all day Thanksgiving Day or in-store at 6 p.m. and all day Black Friday while supplies last:

  • Star Wars Lightsaber: $5
  • Sky Viper X-Quad Stunt R/C Drone: $25
  • Board games including Sorry!, Trouble and Connect 4: $4.88 each
  • Marvel 20-inch action figures: $10 each
  • 200-piece tin art sets featuring characters from “Frozen,” “Minions” and others: $10 each
  • Lego or Duplo Large Creative Box: $30 each

If you’re trying to decide what to buy, Toys R Us usually is right on with its prediction of the “Fabulous 15” hottest toys of the season, DealNews says. But that means they expect those toys to fly off the shelves, marked down or not.

If you need more ideas, see other hottest-toy predictions, such as the top 10 by Toy Insider’s Laurie Schacht.

If you’re looking for deals on Star Wars collectibles, DealNews warns you may have to visit a galaxy far, far away. What scarce discounting does take place will result in quick sellouts, it says.

A more down-to-earth discount prospect will likely be Legos. Black Friday week markdowns could reach 60 percent on Lego sets. Another round of Lego markdowns, DealNews predicts, is expected the week of Dec. 14-20.

Laptops: Fierce price competition, deals at every level

If you’re looking for a laptop deal on Black Friday, you’ll have a lot of savings to compute, says DealNews.com.

Laptop sales are down, and retailers are pricing them aggressively, says the bargain scouring site and Money Talks News partner.

“There will be price points for every budget, with deep discounts on most laptop models,” it says, predicting discounts as good or better than steep discounts offered in 2014.

The extreme budget buy, if you’re not looking for a lot of computing power, will be $99, DealNews predicts. That might get you something with an 11-inch screen and just enough guts to let you check email and surf the Web.

For just $149, bargain laptops will come with 15-inch screens, an Intel dual-core processor and 4GB of RAM, suitable for casual use, DealNews says.

The best Black Friday value at $300, DealNews predicts, will be a mainstream laptop with a 15-inch screen, a minimum of 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive and an Intel Core i5 Broadwell processor, one of the best CPUs available. You should easily get two years of use out of it if properly maintained, it says.

If you need a good gaming laptop, don’t hesitate on anything priced less than $699, DealNews says. That’s the modest bargain price it expects for a laptop with a 15-inch, 1080p screen, at least 8GB of RAM, a quad-core Core i7 Haswell CPU and a dedicated video card. Such systems were averaging $727 ahead of holiday season sales, it says.

Pricing for highly coveted ultra-portable laptops are tougher to predict, says DealNews. Generally described as laptops with screen sizes of less than 14 inches and weight under 4 pounds, ultra-portables balance portability and performance. DealNews expects price cuts of up to 30 percent for Black Friday. That would mean an ultra-portable regularly priced at $800 marked down to $560.

Beauty bargains worth a double take

Retailers are polishing up their Black Friday bargains on popular beauty and skincare lines, DealNews.com says.

Most makeup and perfume retailers will offer extra or deluxe samples with any order, but you may need to sniff out a coupon code or visit a specific online page to take advantage of some offers, says the bargain-scouring website and Money Talks News partner.

Classic deals, it expects, include a $10 sale at Sephora, a three for $33 sale at The Body Shop and a buy-three-get-three offer at Bath & Body Works.

Pair those discounts with offers for stuffed tote bags from Bath & Body Works and The Body Shop, and you’ll score a year’s worth of skincare in one haul, the site says. Merchants vary, but typically you’ll need to make a minimum purchase of $25 so you can purchase a tote bag full of goodies for at least another $25.

“The tote bag will contain around $100 to $200 worth of products, so it’s worth every penny,” DealNews says.

For men, high-end shavers from Norelco and Panasonic will start at $105 at Amazon and Target; beard trimmers, $5.

Look to Amazon for coupons to bring the price of drugstore brand cosmetics, like CoverGirl, to zero, which it did last year, DealNews says.

Come Cyber Monday, better makeup deals will be available, including discounts on brands like Clinique, it says. Perfume sites, such as Perfumania, will offer sitewide coupons for 25 to 30 percent off.

Look for free shipping on many items for no or low minimum purchases.

Door busters:

  • Macy’s offers a five-piece Elizabeth Arden Lip Kit for $15, an $85 value; a two-piece Ari by Ariana Grande bubble bath and rollerball for $25, about a third off the regular $37 price; three-piece RiRi by Rihanna eau de parfum sprays and rollerball for $40, a bit over one-third off its regular $62 price.
  • CVS has 50 percent off through a BOGO on Revlon Colorstay foundation, powder, blush, concealer and lip or eye makeup for its shopping cardholders. It’s offering 40 percent off Norelco shavers and Sonicare rechargeable toothbrushes.
  • Target says buy one, get 50 percent of another on all men’s and women’s designer fragrances. It will also have Sonicare toothbrushes, including unique colors, and Norelco shavers at half off, or $34.99.
  • Kohl’s Simple Pleasure Stocking Stuffers will be $3.99, or half off, while a Conair Curl Secret Styling Iron will be $99.99, 23 percent off its regular price of $129.99.

Apple devices: Best deals at non-Apple stores

If you’re in the market for an iPhone, iPad or any other Apple device, you may find a good Black Friday deal if you stay away from the Apple Store, says DealNews.com.

Apple-authorized resellers have undercut Apple on Black Friday by as much as 13 percent, and this year will be no different, says the online retailer news site and Money Talks News partner.

The Apple Store on Black Friday 2013 bundled Apple Store gift cards ranging from $50 to $150 with select purchases; in 2014, it bundled iTunes gift cards ranging from $25 to $100, DealNews says.

But Target, for example, in 2014 bundled nearly every iPad with a minimum $100 Target gift card and even gave a $140 gift card with some newer models, while the Apple Store’s iPad gift cards topped out at $50, DealNews says.

Watch for the largest discounts to be offered on iPad minis, it says; the entry-level iPad mini 2 could drop to $199.

However the iPad mini 4 could see the most deals, bringing its Black Friday price down to $300, it says. That would compare with Target, Best Buy and Micro Center last year shaving $100 off the iPad mini 3.

DealNews also expects aggressive discounting on the iPad Air 2, whose list price dropped to $359 over the summer. The item did not get an Apple refresh during the fall, it says.

The iPad Pro will get little discount love, perhaps just a bundling with a $25 gift card, DealNews says.

If you’re after an iPhone 6s deal, you may have an easier time, depending on the carrier plan you choose to use it with.

Purchases subsidized by carriers could be as low as $99, DealNews predicts.

Not-so-substantial deals likely will be available for an unlocked iPhone 6s at just $9 off the full $649 list price, it expects. Some retailers may bundle the full-price phone with a generous gift card, DealNews says.

In select stores around Boston and San Francisco, Apple ran a two-week promotion knocking $50 off an Apple Watch when bought with an iPhone.

You may see retailers offer a 3 percent Black Friday discount on an Apple Watch when bundled with an iPhone, DealNews says, noting that retailers may just discount watch bands rather than the watch.

Gaming: Scoring the best prices

Bundle up for the best deals if you’re ready to get your game on this Black Friday, says DealNews.com.

Prices are plummeting for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 console bundles, says the online retailer and Money Talks News partner.

“Console bundles are the best way to score savings on the most recent 2015 titles, with release dates in October and November,” DealNews says.

Sony recently cut the price of PS4 bundles to $350, it says, predicting Black Friday deals starting at $300.

It expects the same price for the Xbox One 500 GB holiday bundle, with a 1TB console bundle at $350.

You might also find consoles at list price but with merchants sweetening the pot with a $50 gift card, DealNews says.

One way it says to know if the deal is good:

“Always do the math and compare it to console-only deals; if you’d end up paying more than $60 per game in a given bundle, it’s not worth your cash.”

Got a console, but you’re looking for games?

“Black Friday is the perfect time to bulk up your collection with this year’s latest hits,” DealNews says.

Console video games are discounted at predictable rates (except Nintendo, which doesn’t discount much at all). Games released from January to May will hit $30 around Black Friday — Dying Light and Mortal Kombat X, released in January and April respectively, are already there, it says. Games with a June to October release will fall to $40, while November titles could go as low as $45. The best price Nintendo fans can expect is $50, or $10 off list, DealNews says.

PC gamers will see some lower prices, it says. Games released between January and May will drop to $20; June to October, $30. November PC releases will be priced like console games, with $45 the best price.

Shoe deals, coming soon

If you’re looking out for somebody’s soles this Christmas, you may want to sidestep Black Friday, says DealNews.com.

Wait for a run-up of deals on Cyber Monday says the bargain-scouring site and Money Talks News partner. That’s when online retailers will offer the biggest bargains on luxury brands like Jimmy Choo and cut athletic footwear prices to the $20-to-$30 range for pairs of Nike, PUMA and Reebok shoes.

One of the largest online shoe sellers, 6pm, will offer its best coupon of the year on Cyber Monday, hot on the heels of already stellar Black Friday promotions, DealNews says.

The best sales will offer up to 90 percent off, and the average discount will be around 59 percent.

Gone, it warns, are coupons for free shipping.

This year, expect a minimum purchase of $25 to get free shipping on your order, it says. Exceptions, of course, include sites that always offer free shipping. On the other hand, it’s not that hard to reach the minimum when you’re stocking up.

If you are shopping at stores, here are some sales from retailers’ Black Friday ads, some leaked, others previewed by the stores:

  • Target will offer 40 percent off all women’s boots.
  • Macy’s has kicked off an online-only BOGO: Buy one pair of women’s boots and get 60 percent off a second on select styles. In-store door busters include men’s Alfani boots for $24.99, marked down from $69.99 to $75, and 65 percent off men’s dress and casual shoes. For women, Macy’s offers door buster deals of 50 percent off a variety of boots and booties and 40 percent off sneakers from G by Guess and Easy Spirit.
  • Sears has women’s boots and booties for $19.99 in select styles usually selling for $40 to $70. Kids moccasins and men’s DieHard Workboots, Craftsman slippers and Wonderlite shoes are 50 percent off.
  • Wal-Mart shows ladies’ Dearfoam slippers on a special buy for $7 a pair.
  • Kohl’s previews a selection of women’s dress and casual boots for $29.99, marked down from $85 to $100. It also offers select styles of men’s and women’s athletic shoes for $29.99, more than 50 percent off regular prices. Kids’ dress and casual boots at $14.99, reflecting reductions of up to 73 percent.

Tablets: Squeezed into low prices

If you’ve been sitting on the fence about buying a tablet, maybe a mere $20 price tag will push you over. That’s the lowest price DealNews.com predicts will be available for a new Android model on Black Friday.

Second-hand units may be less than $15, says the online retail bargain news site and Money Talks News partner.

Tablets are finding themselves squeezed in the market by smartphones that are growing in size and capabilities, and full-functioning laptops growing in portability.

Still, if you’re gifting someone who travels or just needs to take along work while taking kids to soccer practice or choir rehearsals, tablets may make great stocking stuffers. Their large screens and crisp, clear text and graphics make it easy to enjoy e-books or movies.

While good deals have been rare this year, DealNews says, discounts are due for a comeback in iPad, Windows, Android and Fire tablets.

Aside from ultra-cheap Androids, which may have limited capacity, expect to pay $25 to $100 for a solid media tablet on Black Friday, DealNews says. “These tabs don’t have the coolest specs, nor will they run Android’s latest Marshmallow (or even Lollipop) OS, but they’re perfectly priced.”

Higher-end models, including “top-tier, critically acclaimed” tablets such as Google’s Nexus 9, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 or a Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 will run $200 to $500 depending on size and features, DealNews says.

The iPad mini 4 could drop as low as $300 from retailers like Target, Best Buy and Micro Center, while the entry-level iPad mini 2 could drop to $199, it says. Little discounting is expected on the iPad Pro, which may be bundled at full price, starting at $799, with a $25 gift card.

Windows shoppers on Black Friday likely will see a new, non-Surface off-brand Windows tablet as low as $45. Expect prices to start around $650 for a new Surface Pro 3 (or $150 off list price for the 64GB unit).

Also, on top of all these prices, don’t forget to figure in the costs of cases, keyboards, mice, pens and more tablet accessories.

Television bargains abound

When it comes to Black Friday deals on televisions, size will matter, predicts DealNews.com. So will resolution, yours as well as the TVs’.

The online shopping site says that for years retailers have lured bargain-hunters to stores with TV deals, and it expects the trend to continue this year.

“The good news is many of these deals will indeed be price lows,” DealNews.com says. “However, there will also be some offers disguised as deals that you should avoid at all costs.”

DealNews, a Money Talks News partner, breaks down TV offers by limited-quantity, door-buster prices and average, name-brand (Samsung, LG, etc.) and off-brand (Seiki, Westinghouse, etc.) prices.

At the low-cost end, look for small TVs, like the 32-inch models, to drop to less than $100 as door busters, or look for $130 as the average off-brand bargain, DealNews says. Start with Target and other big box stores as potential sources.

Things won’t change much from last year for 55-inch, 1080p LCD TVs, says DealNews: Retailers will treat that as the entry-level size. Look for door-buster offers at $379, and name brand averages of $570.

The hottest door-buster price DealNews predicts is $549 for an off-brand, 60-inch 1080p LCD TV. It expects the average name-brand price for that size to be $775. The 60-inch size used to be out of the question for most consumers, DealNews says, but they’ve become far more affordable recently.

If you want to go big and can afford it, DealNews says a 70-inch, door-buster price will drop to as low as $1,279, about the same as Black Friday in 2014. Brand-name models will average $1,500, it predicts.

You might also consider if it’s time to buy a 4K TV with an Ultra High Definition screen of 2160p, which has four times the resolution of a 1080p. A 42-inch model will be as low as $299, while 55-inch, name-brand sets will sell from $425. Of course, 4K content is still limited, but the offerings are growing.

Popular Netflix shows, including “House of Cards” and Amazon Prime’s “Bosch,” stream in 4K, as do some YouTube videos.

As Black Friday approaches, follow these tips to save top dollar:

  • We’ll offer more information on specific stores for the best deals. So if you’re not already getting our updates, subscribe now.
  • Remember when shopping online to always start with a rebate site. They can automatically earn you 3 to 15 percent. Our favorite is Ebates. Click the link, create a free account, get money back whenever you buy online.
  • Meanwhile, Amazon is already rolling out its Black Friday deals on a daily basis. Click here to explore.

What’s your plan for shopping on and around Black Friday? Share with us in comments or on our Facebook page.

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