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Black Friday 2018: The best early deals

Here we go!
By Alaina Yee
Nov 21, 2018 2:15 pm PST
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Image: Thinkstock

Black Friday is no longer just the day after Thanksgiving. Deals now roll out in a chaotic mass all throughout November.

Just a couple of years ago, most of those early discounts weren’t any good. But that’s changed.

While the deals that command headlines (those so-called “doorbusters”) are typically still available on only Thanksgiving or Black Friday, some worthwhile sales are already trickling out now. 

We’ve begun rounding up those here, so keep an eye peeled for further updates as the days tick by. We’ll add new deals as we spot them. And don’t forget: Holiday return windows have just expanded (many run into early January), so you can buy now and repent at leisure—assuming you can float the cash.

Not sure if you should wait or buy now? Check out Black Friday 2018: The best tech deals worth waiting for, which has a rundown of the best deals advertised for Thursday and Friday. You can see what’s supposed to still come down the pipeline.

Best early Black Friday tech deals

November 22, 2018: Many of the Black Friday (Nov 23) deals are live now, so head on over to comprehensive list of those deals.

Our top picks for deals are below, but here are a few things to keep in mind while shopping:

To qualify for Amazon’s Prime deals (and earlier access to some of the retailer’s limited-time Lightning deals), you can sign up for a 30-day Prime membership if you haven’t already done so in the past.

If you plan to buy anything from Newegg, be sure to sign up for a two-year Shoprunner trial, which gets you free two-day shipping and free return shipping on many items. (As far as I can tell, you don’t actually have to pay with Paypal at checkout to take advantage of the Shoprunner benefits.)

As always, keep in mind that these deals can expire before Black Friday if quantities run out, so don’t wait too long if something appeals to you. This first batch of Best Buy deals is officially slated to end Sunday, November 11.

Amazon Devices

  • $100 – Amazon Echo Show (1st generation) [Best Buy]

Apple Devices

Apple Watch

  • $229 – Apple Watch Series 3 (38mm) [Best Buy]
  • $259 – Apple Watch Series 3 (42mm) [Best Buy]
  • $329 – Apple Watch Series 3, cellular (38mm) [Best Buy]
  • $359 – Apple Watch Series 3, cellular (42mm) [Best Buy]

iPad

  • $330 – Apple iPad (2018) 128GB [Best Buy]
  • $525 – Apple iPad Pro (2018) 64GB [Best Buy]
  • $675 – Apple iPad Pro (2018) 256GB [Best Buy]
  • $850 – Apple iPad Pro (2018) 512GB [Best Buy]

MacBook

  • $2,000 – MacBook Pro (13.3-inch, Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) [Best Buy]

Audio

Headphones

  • $18 – Anker SoundBuds Curve Wireless Headphones, Black [Amazon] (Must clip 10% off coupon on product page)
  • $50 – Ultimate Ears WonderBoom Portable Bluetooth Speaker [Target]
  • $60 – Jaybird X3 Sport Wireless Headphones [Best Buy]
  • $100 – Beats by Dre – Powerbeats3 Wireless [Best Buy]
  • $120 – Jabra Elite 65t True Wireless Earbud Headphones [Amazon | Best Buy]
  • $200 – Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones, Porcelain Rose [Best Buy]

Portable Bluetooth Speakers

  • $24 – Anker SoundCore Bluetooth Speaker (Blue) [Amazon]
  • $100 – Ultimate Ears Megaboom Portable Bluetooth Speaker [Best Buy]

Fitness trackers

Gaming Accessories

Controllers

Headsets

  • $30 – Logitech G430 Over-the-Ear Gaming Headset [Amazon | Best Buy]
  • $70 – Logitech G633 Artemis Spectrum Gaming Headset [Amazon | Best Buy]
  • $100 – Logitech G933 Artemis Spectrum Gaming Headset [Amazon | Best Buy]

Mice

Gaming

  • $200 – PlayStation 4 1TB Spider-Man bundle [Target | Walmart]
  • $400 – Xbox One X 1TB console [Target]

Home Theater

Soundbars

  • $120 – LG 2.1-Channel 300W soundbar system [Best Buy]
  • $140 – Samsung 2.1-channel 300W soundbar system [Best Buy]
  • $150 – Sony 2.1 Channel soundbar system [Amazon | Best Buy]
  • $280 – Samsung 5.1-Channel 360W soundbar system [Amazon | Best Buy]

Streaming devices

Universal remotes

  • $60 – Logitech Harmony Ultimate One Universal Remote [Best Buy]

Monitors

  • $70 – ASUS VZ229H 1080p IPS 21.5-inch w/ built-in speakers [Newegg] (Must use coupon code EMCEEPX22 at checkout)
  • $180 – LG 29UM69G-B 29-inch 2560×1080 Ultrawide IPS monitor [B&H]
  • $289 – LG 27UD68-P 27-inch 4K UHD IPS monitor [B&H]
  • $329 – Dell UltraSharp U2715H 27-inch 1440p IPS monitor [Amazon] 

PC Accessories

Keyboards

  • $18 – Logitech K400 Plus Wireless Keyboard [Best Buy]
  • $20 – Logitech K480 Bluetooth Multidevice Keyboard [Best Buy]
  • $45 – Logitech K780 Wireless Keyboard [Best Buy]
  • $45 – Logitech K830 Illuminated Keyboard [Best Buy]
  • $50 – Logitech MK850 Performance Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse [Best Buy] 

Mice

  • $9 – Logitech M310 Wireless Optical Mouse [Best Buy]
  • $9 – Logitech M325 Wireless Optical Mouse [Best Buy]

Webcams

  • $50 – Logitech C922 Pro Stream Webcam [Best Buy]

PC Components

Cases

CPU Coolers

Graphics Card

  • $85 – PowerColor Red Dragon RX 560 4GB [Newegg] (Must file $20 mail-in rebate to get this price.)
  • $130 – Gigabyte RX 570 4GB [Newegg] (Must file $20 mail-in rebate to get this price.)
  • $140 – PowerColor Red Dragon RX 570 4GB [Newegg] (Includes 2 free games)
  • $150 – MSI Radeon RX 570 ARMOR 8GB OC, White [Newegg] (Must file $20 mail-in rebate to get this price. Also includes 2 free games)
  • $155 – MSI Radeon RX 570 ARMOR 8GB OC, Red [Newegg] (Must file $20 mail-in rebate to get this price. Also includes 2 free games)
  • $185 – Asus Radeon RX 580 Dual 8GB [Newegg] (Use coupon code 119ZFCF978 at check out. Includes 2 free games)
  • $190 – MSI Radeon RX 580 ARMOR 8G [Newegg] (Must file $20 mail-in rebate to get this price)
  • $200 – MSI Gaming Radeon RX 580 8GB [Amazon] (Must file $20 mail-in rebate to get this price)
  • $355 – MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Duke + Monster Hunter: World code [Newegg] (Must file $30 mail-in rebate to get this price)
  • $405 – Sapphire Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB [Newegg] (Use coupon code EMCEEPX32 at checkout)

Motherboard

Power Supply

  • $60 – EVGA SuperNova 750 G1+ 80+ Gold Modular [EVGA]
  • $70 – EVGA SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum Modular [B&H] (Price is after filing a $20 mail-in rebate)

Processor

(*In-store only. With the exception of the Ryzen 3 2200G, all listed CPUs are eligible for a $30 discount on select motherboards when you buy a CPU and a motherboard in the same order.)

RAM

  • $50 – G.SKILL Aegis DDR4/3000 8GB (1 x 8GB) [Newegg]
  • $55 – Ballistix Sport LT DDR/2400 8GB (2 x 4GB) [Newegg]
  • $98 – Team T-Force Vulcan DDR4/2666 16GB (2 x 8GB) [Newegg]
  • $100 – G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series DDR4/2666 16GB (2 x 8GB) [Newegg]
  • $100 – G.SKILL Flare X DDR4/2133 16GB (2 x 8GB) [Newegg]
  • $115 – G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series DDR4/3200 16GB (2 x 8GB) [Newegg]
  • $120 – G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series DDR4/3600 16GB (2 x 8GB) [Newegg]
  • $120 – Team T-Force Night Hawk RGB DDR4/3200 (2 x 8GB) [Newegg]
  • $135 – G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4/3200 16GB (2 x 8GB) [Newegg]
  • $145 – G.Skill TridentZ RGB DDR4/3600 16GB (2 x 8GB) [Newegg]
  • $200 – CORSAIR Vengeance LPX DDR4/2400 32GB (2 x 16GB) [Newegg]
  • $230 – G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4/3000 32GB (2 x 16GB) [Newegg]

Storage

  • $23 – PNY CS900 2.5-inch 120GB SATA SSD [Newegg] (Use coupon code EMCEEEW23 at checkout) 
  • $70 – SanDisk Ultra 2.5-inch 512GB SATA SSD [Best Buy]
  • $73 – Samsung 860 EVO 500GB 2.5-inch SATA SSD [Amazon | B&H | Newegg]
  • $100 – WD Black 500GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD [Amazon]
  • $118 – Samsung 970 EVO 500GB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD [Amazon | B&H | Newegg]
  • $128 – Samsung 860 EVO 1TB 2.5-inch SATA SSD [Amazon | B&H | Newegg]
  • $130 – Samsung 860 EVO 1TB M.2 SATA SSD [Samsung]

PCs

  • $180 – Lenovo 2-in-1 11.6-inch touchscreen Chromebook (4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC storage) [Best Buy]
  • $550 – HP Pavilion x360 2-in-1 14-inch touchscreen laptop (Core i5-8250U, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) [Best Buy]
  • $600 – Microsoft Surface Pro 5 (m3-7Y30, 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM) [Best Buy]
  • $950 – HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 13.3-inch touchscreen laptop (Core i7-8550U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) [Best Buy]
  • $999 – Acer Predator Helios 300 (15.6-inch 1080p IPS 144Hz screen, Core i7-8750H, GTX 1060 6GB, 16GB DDR4, 256GB NVMe SSD) [Amazon]
  • $1,900 – MSI 15.6-inch gaming laptop (Core i7-8750H, 16GB RAM, GTX 1070, 512GB SSD) [Best Buy]

Phones & Tablets

Cell phone plans

  • $200 – Red Pocket Prepaid Wireless Phone Plan + SIM (360 day plan): Unlimited talk/text/2G data, 2GB LTE data [Red Pocket via eBay] (Note: This plan is valid for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon’s networks. Read our article here for more info on Red Pocket.)
  • $220 – Red Pocket Prepaid Wireless Phone Plan + SIM (360 day plan): Unlimited talk/text/2G data, 5GB LTE data [Red Pocket via eBay] (Note: This plan is valid for AT&T and Sprint’s networks. Read our article here for more info on Red Pocket.)
  • $279 – Red Pocket Prepaid Wireless Phone Plan + SIM (360 day plan): Unlimited talk/text/2G data, 10GB LTE data [Red Pocket via eBay] (Note: This plan is valid for AT&T and Sprint’s networks. Read our article here for more info on Red Pocket.)

Phones

  • $180 – Motorola Moto G6 (32GB, unlocked) [Newegg] (Must apply coupon code EMCEEPY32 at checkout)
  • $200 – Motorola Moto G6 (32GB, unlocked) [Amazon | B&H |Best Buy]
  • $210 – LG Stylo 4 (32GB, unlocked) [Best Buy]
  • $330 – Google Pixel XL (128GB, unlocked) [B&H]
  • $429 – OnePlus 6 (64GB, unlocked) [OnePlus]
  • $520 – Samsung Galaxy S9 (64GB, unlocked) [Samsung] (128GB and 256GB models also on sale)
  • $640 – Samsung Galaxy S9+ (64GB, unlocked) [Samsung] (128GB and 256GB models also on sale)

Routers

  • $90 – Netgear Nighthawk AC2400 Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router [Best Buy]

Security Cameras

  • $250 – Arlo Smart Home Security Cameras (4-pack) [Amazon | Best Buy]
  • $450 – Arlo Pro 4-camera Security Camera System [Best Buy]
  • $580 – Arlo Pro 2 4-camera Security Camera System [Amazon | Best Buy]

Smart Home

Smart doorbells

  • $140 – Ring Video Doorbell 2 + Amazon Echo Dot 3rd gen [Best Buy]
  • $180 – Ring Video Doorbell Pro and Chime Pro Bundle + Amazon Echo Dot 3rd gen [Best Buy]

Smart lighting

  • $60 – Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus Dimmable LED Smart Light Strip (Multicolor) [Best Buy]
  • $120 – Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance LED Starter Kit (3-pack) [Best Buy]

Smart speakers

  • $100 – Lenovo 8-inch Smart Display with Google Assistant [Best Buy] 

Storage

  • $80 – WD Easystore 4TB External USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive + 32GB Easystore USB Flash Drive [Best Buy]
  • $98 – Samsung T5 500GB USB 3.1 Gen2 Portable SSD [Amazon | Best Buy]
  • $180 – WD Easystore 10TB External USB 3.0 Hard Drive + 32GB Easystore USB Flash Drive [Best Buy]

TV

  • $90 – Insignia 32-inch LED 720p TV [Best Buy]
  • $238 – TCL 49-inch 4K HDR Roku TV (49S405) [Target]
  • $278 – Samsung 43-inch LED 4K HDR TV (NU6900 Series) [Best Buy | Newegg]
  • $298 – TCL 55-inch 4K HDR Roku TV (55S405) [Target]
  • $328 – Samsung 50-inch LED 4K HDR TV (NU6900 Series) [Best Buy | Samsung]
  • $350 – Toshiba 55-inch 4K TV with HDR (Fire TV edition) [Best Buy]
  • $650 – Vizio 55-inch P-series 4K HDR TV (P55-F1) [Best Buy]
  • $900 – Vizio 65-inch P-series 4K HDR TV (P65-F1) [Best Buy]

Holiday return information

For your convenience, we’ve listed the return information policies for popular retailers. Do make note of the exceptions on their Return Policy pages, however. Some categories of products (like cell phones) have much shorter windows for returns, regardless of the holiday shopping period.

Amazon – “You may return most new, unopened items sold and fulfilled by Amazon within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. During the holidays, items shipped by Amazon between November 1st and December 31st can be returned until January 31st.”

Best Buy – “Almost every purchase made throughout November and December can be returned through January 12, 2019.” 

B&H – “As a courtesy during the busy holiday season, we have extended our usual 30-day limit on returns and exchanges. Purchases made between November 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019 may be returned or exchanged through February 1, 2019 (or 30 days from date of purchase, whichever is longer). All other standard return policy conditions apply.”

Costco – Costco’s return policy has no date limits, except for the following restrictions on these categories for electronics: “Costco will accept returns within 90 days (from the date the member received the merchandise) for Televisions, Tuner-Free Displays, Projectors, […], Computers, Touchscreen Tablets, Cameras, Aerial Cameras (drones), Camcorders, MP3 players and Cellular Phones (return details will vary by carrier service contract).”

Micro Center – No obvious holiday return policy. The general return policy is as follows: ”Desktop / notebook computers, tablets, processors, motherboards, digital cameras, camcorders and projectors, 3D printers, 3D scanners, and CD/DVD duplicators may be returned within 15 days of purchase. All other products may be returned within 30 days of purchase. Merchandise must be in new condition, with original carton / UPC, and all packaging / accessories / materials.”

Newegg – “We want to ensure your holiday shopping this year is hassle-free. That’s why we’re automatically extending our return policies on almost every product! For purchases placed between November 1, 2018 and December 24, 2018, you will have until January 31, 2019 to return your product. There’s nothing additional that you have to do!”

Target – “All electronics and entertainment items must be returned within 30 days for a refund or exchange. For these items purchased between 11/1 – 12/25, the 30-day refund period will start on 12/26. All Apple products, excluding mobile phones, must be returned within 15 days. For these items purchased between 11/1-12/25, the 15-day refund period will start on 12/26.” 

Walmart – “As an added convenience for customers, items (Drones, computers, camcorders, digital cameras, digital music players, e-tablets, e- readers, portable video players, GPS units, video game hardware, and prepaid cell phones) purchased between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 will begin the 15 day return period on Dec. 26.”