The Best Time to Buy (Almost) Anything: 10 Categories, Month by Month

The deepest TV discounts of the year usually land around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, across most sizes and brands. A second window opens in the weeks before the Super Bowl in February, when stores push big screens. Then, roughly from March through May, manufacturers roll out their new lineups and last year’s models get marked down to clear the shelves.

The best value is often last year’s mid-range or high-end model in spring, because the differences between model years are frequently small. Around Black Friday, watch for model numbers made only for the event (see rule 3 of our Black Friday guide).

Laptop promotions cluster in July and August, when stores chase students and parents, and again around Black Friday. Many brands offer student pricing; Apple, for example, has education pricing and has usually added a back-to-school promotion in the summer.

New processor generations are another trigger. When they arrive, laptops with the previous generation often get cheaper, and for most people those are still more than fast enough.

Phone prices follow launch calendars. Apple usually announces new iPhones in September. Samsung typically launches its Galaxy S flagships early in the year, and Google has introduced its recent Pixel phones in August. When a new model arrives, the previous one often gets a price cut or a carrier promotion.

Black Friday brings more phone deals, but many carrier offers come with conditions such as a new line or a long installment plan. Our guide to pricing tricks explains how to compare them.

Mattress brands advertise sales almost constantly, which tells you something about their regular prices. The real dips tend to come on long holiday weekends (Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day) and around Black Friday.

Compare a holiday price with the “sale” price from an ordinary week. If they’re the same, there’s no reason to hurry.

Refrigerators, washers, dryers and ranges follow a similar holiday-weekend rhythm, with Black Friday usually among the strongest events. Fall can be good too: manufacturers often introduce new models in late summer and fall, and stores discount the outgoing ones to make room.

In a physical store, ask about floor models and scratch-and-dent units, which can be much cheaper and often work perfectly. The end of a month or quarter can also make sales staff more flexible.

Patio sets, grills and outdoor gear sell at full price in spring, when everyone wants them. By August and September, stores need the floor space for fall and holiday stock, and prices drop, sometimes sharply on the last pieces.

Selection shrinks as discounts grow, so decide in advance how flexible you are about style and color.

Clothes are cheapest when you need them least. Winter coats and boots get marked down in January and February, and summer clothes and swimwear in July and August. Many department stores also run regular seasonal and semi-annual sales.

Once you’ve noticed a store’s rhythm, you’ll know when it’s worth waiting.

January brings fitness promotions because demand peaks with New Year’s resolutions. But high demand means less pressure on prices. Treadmills, bikes and home-gym gear often get cheaper from late spring into summer, when people would rather exercise outdoors, and holiday weekends add more chances.

Check the used market in spring, too: plenty of January purchases are for sale a few months later.

Toys and console bundles are most heavily promoted from Black Friday into early December. Popular toys can get harder to find, and pricier, as Christmas gets closer, so don’t leave a must-have item until the last week.

Video games follow their own clock. Prices usually drop in the months after release, and big digital stores run seasonal sales, Steam’s summer and winter sales being the best known, that are worth waiting for if you’re not in a hurry.

Headphones, streaming sticks, smart speakers, e-readers and similar gadgets are staples of the big online sale events: Amazon’s Prime Day in early summer (late June or July, depending on the year), its October sale event and the stretch from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. Companies that sell their own devices, such as Amazon and Google, often discount them heavily during these events.

If you can wait for one of them, you probably should.