8 things smart shoppers never buy on Black Friday

There's a particular thrill that comes with Black Friday shopping. The countdown to massive discounts, the promise of saving hundreds on that thing you've been eyeing for months, the competitive rush of snagging a deal before it disappears.

I used to feel it too. During my years as a financial analyst, I thought I was being smart by timing major purchases around Black Friday. I'd analyze the deals like I analyzed investment portfolios, convinced I was outsmarting the system. Then I started actually tracking what I bought versus what I needed, what was genuinely discounted versus what was clever marketing.

The truth is, Black Friday has brilliant deals on certain items and terrible deals disguised as brilliant ones on others. Smart shoppers know the difference. They know which aisles to skip entirely, no matter how flashy the discount looks.

After years of tracking spending patterns and learning to read between the promotional lines, here are eight things you should walk right past this Black Friday, even when the sale signs are screaming at you.

1) Small kitchen appliances you'll use once

That waffle maker marked down 60%? The specialty panini press with the limited-time doorbusted price? The seventeen-function food processor that promises to change your life?

Here's what I've learned: Black Friday is when retailers push out all the kitchen gadgets that sound amazing but end up collecting dust.

These aren't the workhorse appliances you'll use daily. They're the trendy, single-purpose tools that seem genius in the moment and take up valuable cabinet space later.

I used to fall for this every year. I'd see an incredible deal on some specialized appliance and justify it by the discount. Most of those items got used exactly once before being shoved to the back of a cupboard.

The exception is, if you've been researching a specific appliance for months and know exactly how it fits into your routine, that's different. But impulse buying a gadget just because it's cheap is how you end up with a closet full of regrets.

If you wouldn't buy it at full price, the discount doesn't make it a better decision.

2) Toys that will be cheaper after the holidays

Black Friday falls right at the start of the holiday shopping season, when toy demand is at its absolute peak. Retailers know this. They know parents are desperate to check items off their kids' lists, so they mark toys down just enough to seem like deals without offering their deepest discounts.

The real toy sales happen in late December and especially January, when stores need to clear inventory after the holiday rush. That's when you see legitimately steep markdowns, often 50% or more off retail prices.

Obviously, this doesn't help if you need gifts for next month. But for birthdays later in the year, or for stocking up on basics, waiting until after the holidays will save you significantly more money.

3) Last year's tech that's been discounted for months

One of Black Friday's favorite tricks is offering "huge savings" on technology that's already outdated. That laptop marked down 40% might sound incredible until you realize it's last year's model that's been gradually discounted since summer.

The key question is: has this item been on sale before, possibly for the same price or better?

During my analyst days, I tracked pricing patterns obsessively. Electronics in particular follow predictable cycles. Older models get marked down steadily as new versions launch.

By Black Friday, that "doorbuster deal" on last year's tablet might actually be worse than the price it was in September.

This doesn't mean older tech is bad. Sometimes last year's model has everything you need at a genuinely lower price. But do your homework first. Check price history sites. Compare the specs to current models. Make sure you're actually getting a deal, not just buying yesterday's technology with today's marketing.

4) Clothing in weird sizes or odd colors

Ever notice how Black Friday clothing deals always seem to have plenty of inventory in XS and XXXL, or in that particular shade of mustard yellow that nobody wanted at full price?

That's not an accident.

Retailers use Black Friday to clear out the sizes and colors that didn't sell during the regular season. They mark them down significantly because they need the inventory gone, not because they're being generous.

This works great if you happen to wear those sizes or love unusual colors. But if you're buying something just because it's cheap, even though the fit isn't quite right or the color isn't what you'd normally choose, you're not saving money. You're buying something you won't wear.

I learned this lesson with a jacket I bought three years ago. It was 70% off, an incredible deal. It was also a color I didn't love and slightly too large. I've worn it maybe twice. That's not a bargain, that's a waste.

Buy clothes that fit your body and your actual wardrobe, not your sense of urgency.

5) Cheap TVs designed specifically for Black Friday

This one surprised me when I first learned about it. Major electronics manufacturers actually produce specific models of TVs just for Black Friday sales.

These units have similar model numbers to their regular lines but with cheaper components, fewer features, and lower quality specs.

Fortunately for them, the average shopper doesn't notice. They see a 55-inch TV for $299 and think they're getting the same quality as the $699 version. They're not.

These specially made budget TVs often have fewer HDMI ports, lower brightness levels, slower processors, and cheaper panels. They're designed to hit an attractive price point, not to deliver quality performance.

If you're in the market for a TV, focus on models that have been available all year and have established reviews. Watch for genuine discounts on those rather than falling for a model number you've never seen before.

The real deal is saving $200 on a TV you'd actually want, not saving $400 on one that's worth exactly what you paid.

6) Items with suspiciously inflated "original" prices

"Was $299, now $149!" looks like an incredible 50% discount. Until you check the price history and discover that item has never actually sold for $299. Its regular price is $179, making the "sale" only a modest $30 off.

This practice is so common that it should make you automatically skeptical. Retailers artificially inflate the "original" price to make the discount seem more dramatic than it actually is.

I use browser extensions that track price history now, and the difference between claimed savings and actual savings is often shocking. That mattress advertised as $600 off might have been that exact sale price for the past three months.

Before you get excited about the percentage saved, check what the item typically costs. Many price tracking tools will show you the price history over the past several months.

If the Black Friday price is actually the same as it was in October, it's not really a deal no matter what the sign says.

7) Extended warranties and protection plans

When you're already excited about scoring a deal, sales associates know you're in a buying mood. That's when they push the extended warranties and protection plans hardest.

These are almost never worth it. The markup on extended warranties is enormous, which is exactly why stores push them so aggressively on Black Friday. They make more profit on the warranty than on the actual product sale.

Most items either break within the manufacturer's warranty period or last well beyond any extended coverage. The sweet spot where an extended warranty actually pays off is vanishingly small. You're essentially betting that your product will break at exactly the right time, and that bet usually costs more than it's worth.

I ran the numbers on this during my finance career. If you took all the money people spend on extended warranties and just set it aside in savings instead, they'd come out ahead in almost every scenario.

Save your money. Most credit cards automatically extend manufacturer warranties anyway if you use them for the purchase.

8) Generic brand versions of products you've never tried

Black Friday draws you in with loss leaders, products priced so low they barely make a profit, just to get you in the store or on the website. Often these are store-brand or generic versions of popular items.

Sometimes generic is perfectly fine. Sometimes it's genuinely terrible.

The problem is Black Friday's pressure to buy NOW doesn't give you time to research whether that generic version is actually comparable to the name brand you know works. You see a great price and assume quality, but you're gambling.

This is especially true for electronics, tools, and anything where performance matters. That off-brand power tool might be half the price of the DeWalt, but if it breaks after three uses, you haven't saved anything.

I stick to a simple rule now: Black Friday is for deals on brands and products I already know are good, not for experimenting with unknowns just because they're cheap. If I haven't researched it beforehand, I don't buy it in the moment, no matter how good the price looks.

Final thoughts

Black Friday can absolutely deliver genuine savings if you know what you're looking for. The key is approaching it with strategy rather than emotion, and knowing when to walk away from a "deal" that isn't actually helping you.

The smartest shoppers aren't the ones who spend the most or grab the most items. They're the ones who buy exactly what they need, at genuinely reduced prices, without falling for the marketing tricks designed to empty their wallets.

So make your list now. Research the actual prices of what you want. Decide in advance what's worth your money and what's just retailer hype dressed up in red and black.

And remember, the best deal is often the one you don't take because you realized you never needed it in the first place.