The thrill of finding a bargain on Black Friday is a real thing, but sometimes the hunt for those deals can overrule common sense. Surely, most shoppers think, these are the best prices of the year so far, right?
Wrong.
While plenty of good buys abound on this retail holiday, some aren’t as good as they seem, with items costing more than they did just a few weeks ago or stores listing products at the full retail price, but slapping the label “Black Friday deal” onto the flyer to entice shoppers.
DealNews, which regularly scans for bargains, has cast its eye upon the flood of flyers that are advertising Black Friday deals, and found some of them wanting. Here are a few ‘bargains’ that are just the opposite:
Xbox One S 500GB Console ($189.99 at GameStop) – It’s not that it’s a bad price for the console. But there are plenty of other places that will bundle a game or store credit for the same price.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 6″ eBook Reader ($89.99 at Amazon) – It’s less than the ‘list price’ for this eReader, but the deal’s really no better than what you can find regularly on Amazon (and other retailers). If you’re thinking about buying a Paperwhite, roll the dice and see if prices come down more in the weeks to come.
Nintendo Switch 32GB Console ($299 at Walmart) – Given the popularity of this console and how in-demand it’s likely to be this year, just finding one in stock is a good day. But there’s no discount here. Walmart (and every other store) is asking full retail.
Super Mario Odyssey or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ($59.99 at Best Buy) – Mario’s latest adventure might be his greatest and Link’s journey in the new Zelda game is breathtaking, but just like Walmart’s ‘deal’ above, Best Buy isn’t discounting either title at all.
KitchenAid Artisan 5-Qt. Stand Mixer ($339.99 at Kohl’s) – This one’s tricky, because you’ll also get $75 Kohl’s Cash and a $60 rebate will bring the price down to $279.99. So it seems like a strong deal—but last December, the same mixer was going for $150 after rebate. And prices earlier this year have been as low as $180.