Every year around Black Friday, retailers introduce mouth-watering TV deals. And it seems every year the offerings become wilder, with sizes rising and prices dropping.
While the timing of sales events looks different than in past years, one question remains the same: should you be taking home a TV this Black Friday?
What to know about Black Friday TVs
When you open an ad or see a banner online, you may see TVs for prices that seem too good to be true. And as usual, when something seems too good to be true it probably is— at least if you have the wrong expectations.
Here are some things to know:
Many TVs on sale for Black Friday are made— poorly— just for the sale
This is super important to know if you’re looking to upgrade your set this year. While you may expect weird off-brands to be less-than-reliable, most name brand makers also produce half-baked TVs to satisfy the sale demand.
On the one hand, if you’re bargain-hunting for a television, you probably don’t care if it’s of top quality. If you merely want a set and don’t care about picture, you may still be interested in these deals. But also realize these shortcuts will likely affect the lifespan of your new purchase; even if you don’t care about quality, you may have to replace your new TV sooner than if you picked another option.
My advice: If you’re worried about going home with one of these bum TVs, look up the model number before you check out. You should find it available at a number of retailers through your browser and hopefully see a couple of reviews as well. If you don’t see many results, you’re likely looking at a cheapo TV manufactured just for the sale— adjust your expectations accordingly.
Don’t take their features at face value
If you’re looking for specific features, you should be particularly wary of these deals. Especially in a year where you may be shopping for a specific use— such as to pair with a new Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X— cautious.
While listings may tout features such as HDR or high refresh rates, these features may be in name only. There’s some wiggle-room for manufacturers between including these features and actually making them useable, and these cheap sets often take advantage of that fact.
Like above, if you don’t really care about these features and just want a TV, maybe it doesn’t matter to you. But if you’re in the market for a specific function, make sure you’re not heart-broken if you don’t get the full benefit of these features.
My advice: If you’re looking for specific functionality or use-cases, you must care to some degree about the quality of the TV. I really respect rtings.com for their thorough reviews to provide insight into the pros and cons of a set. You can use them to search for a feature, use-case, or price range that interests you to get some of the best options.
To reinforce my point: 5 years ago I was in college and had a limited budget, but used their reviews to make sure I got the most I could within my constraints. Now I’m finally looking to upgrade, and once again I’m using their reviews to guide my decision. Which is to say, I really and truly advocate for them as a resource.
Many discounted TVs are old models
Many people have misconceptions about this one, so I want to clarify what I mean when I bring it up.
First, a lot of people caution against taking advantage of Black Friday sales because it falls at the end of the year, and new models usually debut in the winter or spring, which will more options and discounts on the older models.
While this is true, if you’re truly looking for the best-of-the-best, and you’re willing to wait for it, you probably don’t have blue and red ads sprawled out looking for savings.
Also, sales on the older models— the ones available right now for Black Friday— are usually discounted to Black Friday levels until later in the year, when it’s almost Black Friday again. You can get caught waiting forever for the next best thing, so unless there isn’t something that matches your need or your budget during these sales, I don’t advise waiting endlessly.
What I want to caution against, though, is unknowingly getting a model 2-or-more years old when you could have found something more suitable.
Here’s an example to illustrate: several ads have featured the 65″ Sony X800H as a Black Friday sale for $800. While that’s a solid TV, the same size of the X900H is expected to sell in some ads for $900— a mere $100 more to get the newer model that my trusted rtings scored much higher across categories.
My advice: I’m not advising against older TVs as a rule— they may fill your need at a better price when they’re properly discounted. And without exception, I would suggest grabbing an older, reputable model vs one of the made-for-Black-Friday imposters I discussed above. That said, I’d suggest taking a second to consult this chart from rtings to see if a new— or perhaps even older— TV fits your needs-to-budget ratio better.
Budgeting for TVs can be easier than you expected
Once you know what to look for and what to avoid in a Black Friday TV set, the next step is figuring out how to purchase it. This gets so much easier with options from Public Safety Credit Union.
One option is to use our Skip-a-Pay, where you forego a payment on a loan with us, instead keeping the money for whatever you need. You can even use this on multiple loans, making it easy to fit a TV purchase into your same monthly budget.
Another option is to get a Holiday Loan at our special promotional rate. This allows you put some cash in your pocket now to get what you need. With the opportunity costs of quality Black Friday TV sales, and the long lifespan and enjoyment time of a good set, it makes sense to take advantage while you can!
