The Best and Worst Things to Buy in July 2017

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This post comes from Ben Glaser at Dealnews.com.

Prime Day deals

It seems like last year’s second-ever Prime Day was a notable improvement over the first. While 2015 saw a bunch of unimpressive items on sale, and any worthwhile deals disappearing in seconds, 2016’s Prime Day reportedly had sales increase by 60 percent and was Amazon’s biggest day ever.

We listed hundreds of deals from Amazon that day, and a whopping 42 percent were Editors’ Choice. Some of the most popular deals included Warehouse open-box and used items with deep discounts — the Amazon Fire 8GB 7-inch Wi-Fi Tablet for $33 (discounted $17), and, yes, a Segway miniPRO Self Balancing Transporter for $699 ($300 off) — to name a few. Amazon products, like the Fire tablet, Echo and Fire TV Stick, were particularly good deals.

4th of July sales — clothing

Last year, July saw 40 percent more Editors’ Choice clothing deals than June, in no small part due to July 4th sales. Look for at least 50 percent off at your favorite stores and brands. If you’re willing to stock up on some heavier denim and khaki for fall, we saw amazing deals from Dockers and Levi’s, with jeans available for just $10, a savings of $9. Also look for shorts for $14 (a savings of $38), and halter dresses from $14 (a savings of $36). We expect big sales from Gap, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Kate Spade and more.

Remember, if a store has been in the headlines for its struggles recently, they’ll offer big discounts this week to bring in shoppers.

4th of July sales — outdoor gear

Beyond casual wear, you’ll also find good deals on all kinds of outdoor gear and apparel. Last year’s most impressive deal came from Jenson USA, which offered up to 90 percent off bikes, biking gear and apparel; however, you’re more likely to see discounts of around 50 percent off at stores like Columbia, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops, Backcountry and Gander Mountain. Last year, outdoors-favorite Cabela’s offered up to 60 percent off throughout the store, with good deals on camping and fishing equipment.

House paint

Too hot to work outside? That’s exactly why stores will be discounting house paint, as it just sits on their shelves while homeowners wait for more agreeable weather. That means if you think ahead, you can save. Last year during July, we saw Buy One Get One on select paints at Lowe’s, and 40 percent off at participating Sherwin-Williams retailers. And don’t worry about the paint spoiling — it can last for 10 years unopened, so it will definitely be fine come the fall.

Steam games

July is (usually) host to the Steam Summer Sale, the best time of year to get titles from the PC gaming giant. The discounts you can expect depend largely on how recently the game was released. For a title from the last year or two, you can probably hope for a discount between 20 percent and 50 percent off. Meanwhile, older hits can reliably be expected to drop to 75 percent off or more at some point during any major sale, and a few titles have dipped as low as 95 percent off.

Christmas in July

Marking the halfway point to the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, stores have increasingly tried to bring a bit of the holidays to summer. Christmas in July sales are too varied to generalize, but last year we saw over 40 percent off select bookings at Hotels.com, up to 88 percent off jewelry at Szul and Jewelry.com, and up to 50 percent off sale items at Toys R Us.

Not surprisingly, there are also a few deals on Christmas decorations! Walmart offered LED curtain lights for $2 off, and 7-foot pre-lit trees for a whopping $40 off. That latter deal is the best price we’d ever seen, making it worth buying and storing until December.

July travel

Even though the month’s primary holiday is past, you can still score some amazing travel deals this month. With gas prices so low, hopping in the car for spontaneous travel should be easier than ever. Consider heading to New York City; despite its infamously high rents, hotel prices are a whopping $60 cheaper per night in July than in August. Plus, there are always a wealth of free activities in the Big Apple, especially with outdoor concerts and events in the summer.

If NYC is too far, consider checking out a national park (perhaps with some of the outdoor gear you just picked up on sale). Or, if you don’t mind buying some airfare, jet to Las Vegas for a fun long weekend. Travel app Hopper says fares to Sin City are actually cheapest just 14 days out from your travel date.

So, those are some of the bargains out there for you this month. There are things to avoid too. Read on …

What not to buy in July

Amazon Prime Day junk items

Though it wasn’t as much of a problem last year, some Prime Day deals were on strange items like krill oil pills, furniture-moving slings or this $1,000 investment. So while there will be some great deals, we urge shoppers to avoid impulse buys on such filler items.

Grills

Sorry, you may think this obvious, but just in case you didn’t know: It’s not a good time to buy a grill! You probably want one for your summer festivities, but so does everyone else, which is why stores will offer minor discounts at best. Wait another month for prices that will be 40 percent lower.

What’s on your July shopping list? Share with us in comments below or on our Facebook page.

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