Whether you’re ready or not, the early stages of Black Friday 2023 have already begun. Not only has Best Buy laid out its plans for the holiday shopping season — the early deals are already live. So we know you’ll have plenty of opportunities to save money on gifts for the people on your list, and for yourself. Best Buy’s Black Friday sales event will will continue through November, even past the day itself. Here’s what to expect from the sale in 2023.
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Best Buy Early Black Friday Deals – LIVE NOW
Best Buy’s early Black Friday deals have officially begun. They’ll run all the way through the main event itself, and into the following week, thanks to Cyber Monday.
However, some of the deals are only available for My Best Buy Plus or Total members (sign up here). It’s unlikely that any of those exclusive deals will be available for non-members, at least until Black Friday week rolls around.
When Does Best Buy Black Friday Start?
While Black Friday 2023 itself occurs toward the end of November, Best Buy is starting the deals a month early, in October. If you have a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total membership (details here), you can access the early deals starting October 27. Here’s the full rundown of dates for Best Buy’s Black Friday 2023 sale.
- October 27-29: Paid members get early access to the early Black Friday deals
- October 30 – November 16: Early Black Friday deals for everyone
- November 17-25: Black Friday Sale
- November 26-27: Cyber Monday Sale
As you can see, the deals start at the end of October and continue on throughout November. Best Buy’s official Black Friday sale starts November 17, a full week before Black Friday itself. However, you can still expect the best doorbuster deals to occur on Black Friday.
What Is a My Best Buy Membership?
If you want the earliest access to Best Buy’s Black Friday sale, you’ll need a paid subscription to the big blue retailer’s membership program, called My Best Buy.
My Best Buy is available in three tiers. First is a free tier simply called My Best Buy that gets you free standard shipping. If you pay $49.99 a year, you can upgrade to My Best Buy Plus, which gets you free 2-day shipping, exclusive deals and sales events, and an extended return window on most products. The most expensive tier is My Best Buy Total, which costs $179.99 a year. It gets you everything in the earlier tiers, as well as protection plans, 24-hour tech support, and discounts on repairs.
You can learn more and sign up for a My Best Buy membership here.
Best Buy’s Extended Store Hours
To facilitate selling as much stuff as possible, Best Buy is extending its store hours starting Monday, November 6. Brick-and-mortar stores will be open during the following hours local time:
- Monday – Saturday: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Sunday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
However, all stores will be closed Thanksgiving Day — though you can still shop online while you enjoy your turkey.
Best Buy’s Holiday Shopping Return Policy
Many retailers update their return policies during the holiday shopping season, and Best Buy is no different. The company website says, “Most gifts purchased between Oct. 27 and Dec. 30 can be returned through Jan. 13.”
The Best Black Friday Deals – What to Expect in 2023
TVs – One thing is certain: Black Friday is the best time to buy a TV. You can find good discounts at other times of the year, but you’ll always find great deals on top TVs during Black Friday. Whether you’re looking for a TV from LG, Samsung, Sony, Vizio, or more, you’ll likely find a good deal at Best Buy.
Apple Products – Black Friday is a great time to pick up Apple products, because Best Buy reliably offers discounts on various Apple Watch models and iPad models. MacBooks, older iPhones, and also Apple accessories like AirPods will almost certainly get a discount. I wouldn’t count on discounts on the latest models, like the iPhone 15 or Apple Watch Series 9, but it is possible.
Gaming PCs and Laptops – Black Friday is absolutely one of the best times to buy a laptop. Best Buy typically runs big discounts on gaming laptops and budget gaming PCs from brands like Acer, Ibuypower, Asus, and more.
Video Games – If you want to pick up any games you’ve missed, whether they came out this year or in previous years, you will find tons of video game deals during Black Friday. Even some of the biggest brand-new AAA games are likely to get some kind of discount during Black Friday. Just be sure to buy what you want when you see it on sale, because stock sells out. That can be especially true for some Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals and Black Friday PS5 deals.
Headphones and Earbuds – Best Buy makes Black Friday one of the best times of the year to buy any headphones, earbuds, or headsets. There are almost always deals on AirPods, Sony, Beats, and Samsung headphones. There are likely to also be some phone bundles that throw in branded earbuds for free with your purchase, so you’ll want to keep an eye out for those as well. See our guide to Black Friday headphone deals for more info.
E-transportation – One of the newer categories Best Buy has added to its offerings is e-transportation. This includes items like electric bikes and electric scooters. The company specifically calls out e-transportation as a category that will see discounts during Black Friday 2023.
Blu-rays and DVDs – Best Buy has already said it will stop selling physical movies and TV shows in 2024, meaning it will want to sell through its current stock during this year’s sale. But even without that assurance, in the past we could always count on big sales on 4K UHD Blu-rays and DVDs. Even if these movies and TV shows won’t be on the shelf next year, you can count on deals this year.
Kitchen Appliances – Kitchen appliances will definitely be discounted this year. This goes for major appliances like refrigerators and ranges, as well as for smaller countertop appliances like air fryers, ice makers, microwaves, and more.
Tips for Shopping Best Buy Black Friday Deals
While Black Friday is generally the best time to get big discounts on many categories of items, there are definitely some Black Friday tips to keep in mind while shopping.
- Set a Budget – Whether you’re buying for yourself or for the people on your gift list, you don’t want to go overboard, no matter how good the deals are. Set a budget before the sales kick off, and stick to it.
- Create a Shopping List – It’s easy to go nuts buying things when you see a bunch of great deals. But the smart move is go into Black Friday with a shopping list. That way, you can buy what you need, without being sidetrack along the way by shiny deals you don’t actually need.
- Research Before You Buy – For many categories, like TVs and gaming PCs, for instance, you have tons of options. To help whittle down your options to the one you really want, you should do your research before you buy. Another question you might have is whether a Black Friday deal is actually a good price compared to normal. One of my favorite tools in this regard is Camelcamelcamel, which shows historical Amazon pricing, so you can see how often it goes on sale, and for what price.
- Compare Prices – It’s happened to me more than once — I’ll see an item on my list for 30% off, and I’ll pick it up. Then I’ll hop over to another retailer and see it marked down 50%. For most deals, you should compare prices at various retailers before buying. Checking prices against the Walmart Black Friday and Amazon Black Friday sales is always a good idea.
- Be Wary of Search Results – Search platforms, such as Google, have a tendency to be flooded with sponsored links in the results. Be careful to avoid clicking on a sponsored ad if you’re looking for reviews or searching for specific products by price.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Threads and/or the social network formerly known as Twitter.
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