Everyone wants a great deal during the month of December, and so stores will be rolling out repeats of some of their biggest deals from Black Friday.
But not every one of their big December “events" are all that great. In fact, one analysis finds that some of the big sales are really no deal at all.
Check out our ShopSmart circulars for daily deals that aren't duds.
Site compares new sales with current sales
The savings site NerdWallet.com analyzed 27 holiday season ads, and came out with some surprising findings.
The site reports many deals are the same price you could have bought them last year or last week, without the crowds.
For instance: Office Depot was recently selling a laser printer for $349. But that's the same price Office Depot offered for the exact same printer last year on Black Friday, a full year ago, according to an ad scan NerdWallet found.
Kmart featured a floor jack for your car for $49. But you could have bought the exact same floor jack on sale for $49 during the past few weeks, NerdWallet claims.
Ace Hardware was selling a Dewalt portable drill/driver for $89 for the past month as part of its November Savings sale. It was on sale again on Black Friday. That's great, but the problem is it was for the same price you could get it any day: $89.
Even Target, which has some great iPad promotions this year, also has some Apple duds, NerdWallet says.
The site claims Target’s recent $89 deal on Apple TV ($10 off) is not just a small markdown, but the same price Target has offered before during the past two months.
And JC Penney had a big savings event on a Cuisinart, marked down from $180 to just $99. Only problem: It was $99 in mid November, without the crowds.
NerdWallet says holiday weekend sales are so hyped, though, that people will fight the crowds for these items, not knowing that in some cases they could get the same price every day.
The bottom line
Look at those ads carefully, and make sure you are really getting a savings over the current price. That way, you don't waste your time and don't waste your money.
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