6 Things NOT to Buy on Cyber Monday

Just say "no" to iPhones, tools, and other items that will have better deals on Thanksgiving or Black Friday.

Published November 14, 2016

BY:
ERIN CODUTI

Contributing Writer

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Cyber Monday is a great time for deals, but it's better to buy some things on a different day. For several low-tech items, that's not surprising — it is called Cyber Monday, after all — but even certain electronics are better bagged at other times. Here are six types of items you should skip on Cyber Monday.

iPhones

This is probably the easiest category to avoid. Over the past two years, we've only posted one Editors' Choice iPhone deal on Cyber Monday. While Cyber Monday is a fine time to look for Android phones, Apple fans will find more quality deals on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Cameras

If you're looking to buy a new camera, don't hold out until Cyber Monday. Not only will you see more deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but a higher number of those sales will be Editors' Choice. Though you can snag good deals on Cyber Monday as well, you're just as likely to find them over the weekend or during the week leading up to Black Friday.

There is one possible exception to this: Canon usually has one big online holiday sale on new and refurbished cameras. Last year, it held this sale early during Black Friday week, but two years ago it had the sale on Cyber Monday. If you're looking to capture a Canon and this sale hasn't gone live yet, you may want to wait.

Video Games and Movies

These categories aren't quite so clear-cut. We expect a lot of Editors' Choice movie and video game deals on Thanksgiving and Black Friday; though we'll see fewer on Cyber Monday, the total number of deals should still be high. The takeaway? If you notice a good bargain earlier, jump on it, but still keep an eye out on Monday for titles that may have been overlooked in previous sales.

Kitchenware and Appliances

For these categories, start looking on Thanksgiving, when you'll likely see a ton of high-quality deals posted. (Thanksgiving and Black Friday offer nearly twice as many kitchen item deals as Cyber Monday.) Maybe stores know you'll be hot to grab the gadgets for replicating Uncle Joe's famous dessert recipe while you still have the taste in your mouth... and perhaps less excited after several days of leftovers.

Tools

If you have tinkerers on your Christmas list, be sure to bag their gifts on Black Friday. Cyber Monday sees only a quarter of the deals on tools that Black Friday does.

Toys

Similar to video games and movies, we still see a lot of toy deals on Cyber Monday, so we definitely expect to post some great deals on previously non-discounted items. That said, about 25% more deals showed up on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday last year, and more of those deals were Editors' Choice.

What kind of toy deals will you see on Cyber Monday? There appear to be some trends: Nerdy or video game-themed toys seem to receive more frequent discounts, as do board games. Last year, both Barnes & Noble and Target offered a general sale on board games on Cyber Monday.

Readers, are there other items you'll avoid buying on Cyber Monday? What is your favorite day for holiday shopping? Let us know in the comments.

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