While many sites announce their Black Friday sales in advance, some don’t, and sales change during the day. I’ll be updating this post throughout the day, but you may find some placeholder information or sales that have expired. A note about prices listed – if it’s $49 at one store, $49.99 at the next, and $50 at a third, I may have listed all of them as $49 or $50. This is generally the case in three-digit prices where you should probably make the decision based on other factors besides that 99 cents anyway. I hope you can forgive this for the sake of brevity.
I’ll be back with a new post for Cyber Monday, but the good news in 2019 is that most of the deals in this post can be had today online, and you don’t have to go out in the madness if you don’t want to. Good luck, shoppers!
Shopping with Rewards
First of all, be sure to shop with whatever cashback/points program you prefer (or that gets you the best deal on that transaction!) I’ve found Rakuten to be the best over time. I’ve been using it as often as I can remember to do so for the last three years and have gotten almost $500 cashback, which they mail to me in checks. (Full disclosure, that’s my referral link, and we both get bonus cash if you use it.) I less frequently use Swagbucks, although I know a lot of folks are fans. I find the Rakuten rewards to generally be higher, and they’re cash instead of points you exchange. Finally, if you have access to it through your job, Perks at Work can score you some pretty good deals. I used a triple points offer there once to buy something I needed anyway and was able to buy the laptop I’m typing on right now with the rewards!
General geekery
- Svaha: 40% off sitewide
- Entertainment Earth: up to 80% off and free shipping on in-stock orders
- Box Lunch: 30% off most of the site
- What’s left of ThinkGeek: GameStop still houses some things under the ThinkGeek name, and a few brick-and-mortar stores still exist.
- ShopDisney: Up to 50% off. Code: AMAZING
- Amazon has gaming computers and accessories as a deal of the day
Books
- Apress: All ebooks on sale for $7 this week. Code: CYBERWEEK19
- Target: Buy 2 get 1 free
- BJ’s: Buy 3 get 1 free
- Kindle Unlimited: 3 month trial for free or 6 month trial for $29.97 (about half price)
- Powell’s: 20% off entire site. Code: WASSAIL
Lego
- Amazon: General Greivous’ Speeder for $20.99, Ariel’s Celebration Boat for $34.99, and Star Wars Imperial Landing Craft for $62.99
- Walmart: Lego Creative Box or Duplo Creative Box, $20
- Kohl’s: 30% off select sets
- Target: $19.99 for select sets, 30% off many others
- Legoland Florida: 50% off Awesomer pass and vacation packages
Cosplay geeks
- TNT Cosplay Supply: Store-wide blowout
- Building Things Better: 25% off everything
- Dremel Lite 4V Variable Speed Rotary Tool, $49 at Home Depot
- Dremel 4000 53-pc. Variable Speed Corded 1.6A Multipurpose Rotary Tool w/ Hard Case, $79.99 at Lowe’s
- Dremel Multi-Max MM35 12-pc. Corded 3.5-Amp Variable Speed Oscillating Multi-Tool Kit w/ Soft Case, $79.99 at Lowe’s
Crafty geeks
- Fabric.com: 20% off entire site, no minimum. Code: BF19
- SewingmachinesPlus.com: An extra 10% off select machines. Code: BLACK
- Urban Threads: 60% off all regular single price designs. Code: BLACKFRIDAY60
Cricut and Silhouette
Supplies and accessories:
- Cricut: 40-50% off most supplies
- Joann: Mats and tools are BOGO, 50% off most other things and 40% off Infusible Inks
- AC Moore: B3G2 free most accessories and tools
- Michael’s: 40% off materials, mats, and tools
- Cricut Maker: $349.99 at Joann and Michael’s (machine only is generally a better deal than the bundles)
- Cricut Explore Air 2: $199.99 at Joann and Walmart
- Silhouette Cameo 4: $279 at Michael’s
Home and kitchen geeks
- If you’re in the market for an Instant Pot, the best price I’ve found on the 6-quart is $49 at Target and Walmart. If you’re looking for 8-quart, it’s $64.99 at Amazon.
- KitchenAid mixers — it’s a great time of year to get one! I prefer the bowl lift over the tilt head so it fits under cabinets. You’ll find the Classic Stand Mixer for $199.99 at Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Best Buy. The 5-quart Artisan Stand Mixer is $279.99 at Belk, JC Penney, Macy’s, Kohl’s.
- If you’ve thought of making your own sausage or ground beef (I highly recommend it!), the meat grinder attachment is $25.17 on Amazon.
- Sur la Table: Assorted deals
- Bed Bath & Beyond: 20% off your entire online purchase and 25% off in store
- Williams-Sonoma: Assorted deals
Amazon devices
As usual, this is one of the best times of the year to buy Amazon devices. Whatever you want, whether it’s an Echo device, a Kindle, or a TV, it’s probably on the best sale of the year right now.
PlayStation 4
The offer you’ll see most is a 1 TB PS4 Slim with God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn and The Last of Us Remastered for $200. You can get it at Walmart, Best Buy, or GameStop.
DualShock 4 controllers are $39-40 at all the usual suspects: Walmart (gold or red), Kohl’s, Best Buy, GameStop, BJ’s, and Target.
As for games, here are the best deals, including many under $25 at Best Buy:
- Minecraft: $20 at Walmart
- God of War Playstation Hits, $9.99 at Amazon, Best Buy or GameStop
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Playstation Hits), $9.99 at Best Buy or GameStop
- Little Big Planet 3 (Playstation Hits) $9.99 at Best Buy or GameStop
Side note – Pre-owned PlayStation 3 games are BOGO at GameStop
The Nintendo Switch Situation
You may have heard that the Black Friday deals on the Switch aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Here’s the deal. The Switch is $300. You could have gone to any store all year long and bought it for that price. The bundle you’re seeing in Black Friday ads is for $300 as well, but with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe included. The trick is that these are the older model Switch with about half the battery life of a newer one. If you want the longer battery life, make sure you’re buying a Switch with the model number HAC-001(-01). (The product serial number begins with “XKW). If that’s not important to you, and you really want Mario Kart, then go ahead and pick up a Black Friday bundle. But if you’re good with that, you can pick it up at Target,
Bad news for anyone hoping for deals on Pokemon Sword and Shield – they’re still $60 everywhere. But here are some of the rest of the best deals on games, including many under $25 at Best Buy:
- Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, $25 at Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart
- Just Dance 2020, $25 at Target, GameStop, Walmart, Best Buy
- Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battles, $15 at Target and Best Buy
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: $30 at Target, Walmart ($40 several other places)
Xbox
- Xbox One X 1TB bundles with:
- Xbox One S 1TB with:
TVs
I don’t know how many years I’ve been shocked at how cheap TVs have gotten, but it continues to be true. And you don’t have to stand in line at 4 am for them either. I’ve actually been seeing a ton of deals on TVs all year long, so if you don’t see a score you like on Black Friday, don’t stress about it. If you do want to try for a BF-level score, try for one of these (in decreasing size order):
- Samsung 70 4K UHD, $549.99 at Best Buy
- Insignia 58″ 2160p LED 4k UHD with Fire TV and free Echo Dot, $199.99 at Best Buy
- Westinghouse 50 4K UHD, $149.99 at Target
Google Pixel
- Pixel 3a XL with 64 GB, unlocked, $379 at Amazon
- Pixel 4 with 64 GB, unlocked, $599 at Amazon
- Pixel 3 XL with 64 GB, unlcoked, $549 at Amazon
- $300 Target gift card with purchase of Pixel 4 or 4XL with qualified activation on either Verizon or AT&T networks
- $550 Target gift card with purchase of Pixel 3 or 3XL with qualified activation on either Verizon or AT&T networks
- Best Buy has several offers depending on model and activation, but they also have offers on unlocked phones.
iPhones
$200 Target gift card with purchase of iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone Xs, or iPhone Xs Max after a qualified activation on either AT&T or Verizon
Digital cameras
If you’re interested in a DSLR, I recommend buying a camera body and then lens separately, but there are also plenty of good bundle deals to be had.
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- Nikon D3500 2-lens bundle, $399.99 at Best Buy, BJ’s, Target, Costco, Sam’s Club
- Canon EOS Rebel T6 with 2 lenses, $399.99 at Best Buy and Kohl’s
- Canon EOS 80D with 18-55 mm lens, $899.99 at Best Buy
- Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (body only), $2,499 at Best Buy
