Black Friday: 10 items NOT to buy

(MoneyWatch) If you are one of the brave souls who will venture out on Black Friday (and the newer version, "Gray Thursday"), one of the best ways to save money is to not fall prey to retailers' seemingly "great deals." According to dealnews.com, not everything will be a good purchase on Black Friday. The site has compiled 10 items that are not worth buying this Black Friday.

1. Toys. Were you tempted by the "Toys-R-Us 2012 Holiday Hot Toy List"? Well, you may want to wait to buy that coveted Furby. Most retail experts say that without a "must-have" toy this season, many will see deep discounts within two weeks of Christmas.

2. Apple iPad mini. While there may be an iPad mini promotion out there, chances are the price will remain close to the current $329. Early adopters should be aware that the iPad mini is fairly close to the iPad 2, and that's the version that is likely to see a steep Black Friday discount.

3. Microsoft Surface RT Tablet. If you aren't an Apple fan boy or girl and wanted to give the new Microsoft Tablet, you may want to show a little restraint. If the new Surface sales are weak, the tablet's price could fall considerably by the spring.

• Will Black Friday save the economy?
• Black Friday: Getting the most bang for your buck

4. Windows 8 PC. This item was not on the dealnews.com list, but ZDNet's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols warns that "before you buy a new Windows 8 PC at any price you should keep in mind that many of your old applications aren't supported on Windows 8. Some older Windows applications, such as Quicken, aren't supported on Windows 8."

5. Jewelry and watches. The worst time to buy these items is the holiday season and Valentine's Day, when demand peaks. Deal News says this category should be on the "Do Not Buy List" for the entire holiday season. Save the purchase of these items for the spring and summer, when the best deals occur.

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[elleart]

Jewelers do have special offers for Christmas, since Christmas is the biggest time for the jewelry profession. In this Holiday season more jewelry is usually sold in these short 3 weeks then in 5 months of the year.

I am a Jewelry designer & I am suffering in business. Like many jewelers who are out of work, suffering as a result of the very weak economy & the price of gold is ridiculously expensive. Many people buy jewelry as Christmas gifts for their loved ones for this very special Holiday. To make your foolish comment that people should not by Jewelry during December is distasteful & disgusting.

Jill, Why would you hurt hardworking people in a profession who are struggling to make ends meet??
Especially when Christmas season is the biggest & the best season for Jewelry.

I am in tears just typing this.

[elleart]

Jewelers do have special offers for Christmas, since Christmas is the biggest time for the jewelry profession. In this Holiday season more jewelry is usually sold in these short 3 weeks then in 5 months of the year.

I am a Jewelry designer & I am suffering in business. Like many jewelers who are out of work, suffering as a result of the very weak economy & the price of gold is ridiculously expensive. Many people buy jewelry as Christmas gifts for their loved ones for this very special Holiday. To make your foolish comment that people should not by Jewelry during December is distasteful & disgusting.

Jill, Why would you hurt hardworking people in a profession who are struggling to make ends meet??
Especially when Christmas season is the biggest & the best season for Jewelry.

I am in tears just typing this.

[judymar14]

Common sense would be stay home!

[judymar14]

BTW, I have never done black Friday, never understood what it's all about except trampling each other to get to sale items that will go back on Monday, or the next day, impulse buying. Having to stand in long return lines.

[needtoknow5-2009]

Instead of fighting the crowds at the malls, we have done all of our Christmas shopping online the past few years. We have used a website called Pilewire.com. It uses lots of well-known retailers and searches for the best deals and then put them all on one site. It's been easy to get everything done well before Christmas and every thing is delivered. One good thing about the Internet.

[MS1938]

I don't go shopping from about 20th November until January 10 other than for needed items like food, etc. I have no connection to the Christmas or all the teasers that come our way. I just tune them out. Other than 10 Christmas cards I send out to friends, that is the extent of my Christmas. Call me cheap, but I save a lot. I don't care for the pagan holiday that Christmas has become, and the total commercialization of Christmas. That is very easy as I don't "celebrate" Christmas.

[TOJ8211]

What does paganism have anything to do with why you're cheap? You do know that home made gifts, crafts, and such can be sent to folks in the spirit of giving. You don't necessarily have to "buy" anything.

[judymar14]

I'm not a pagan, but an atheist, and enjoy the Christmas season as much as any christian, maybe more. I just don't believe in the myths and fairy tales, except Santa for the little ones, and the adults have always been Santa. It doesn't matter what the gift is, except for children, just an ackknowledgement of saying thinking of you and family and friends to get together. The ignorant atheists who want to ruin it for everyone by putting an end to decorating (Santa Monica) for Christmas should be hung, drawn and quartered.

[TimeToEvolve]

Just to splain you Lucy: I have a small business but am part of the 98% of Americans who cannot afford to hire corporate lobbyists. There is nothing wrong with capitalism if it is highly regulated like they do for small business. But the American style has gone hog wild completely out of control. And it must be radically changed by millions of us before it is too late for the planet.

[TimeToEvolve]

Friday Nov 23 Buy Nothing Day!

[TimeToEvolve]

How about just staying home and celebrating Buy Nothing Day? Until we realize that the corporations are the real enemy of democracy we will continue to suffer under the fanatical religious cult of capitalism.

[MitaPogue]

Do you mean the evil capitalists who gave me a job so I could feed my family? Those capitalists? So, what you are saying is that you'd rather me have to get food stamps than you spend a buck or two. Because without products and services for customers to buy, and without jobs for those customers, and without manufacturing or innovation or capital for product AND scientific research, NO ONE makes a living. He that does not work may not eat. It would indeed be idyllic for us all to go back to a purely agrarian society where we all live on tranquil farms and give birth at home and ride in a buggy pulled by a horse, but unless you, too, are willing to live an Amish lifestyle, please be quiet. No one wants to here your stupid, blanket, "I'm morally superior to you" statement of, well, ignorance. You probably posted that using the latest Apple computer product. Hello.

[TimeToEvolve]

No that's not who I meant.

[MitaPogue]

Actually, I work in a fine jewelry store and our best deals for the year (Friends and Family) start on Nov 25th, just a couple of days after Black Friday, and the discounts are practically store-wide, not just for a few select items. So please be careful about ruining sales for some retailers Christmas season when workers (many of whom work on commission and rely on this to give them their Christmas bonus - like me) by reporting something as if it is a blanket truth for all stores. For instance, in my store, if we have an item that is not technically on sale, we can automatically take 35% off the retail price for the holiday season, and 25% off year round. THEN on top of that, we can take another 20% off during Friends and Family which lasts a WEEK and is something you don't have to camp out for. So you can get a $1,000 anniversary ring for your deserving sweetie, take the first $350 off (35%), making it $650. Then take another $130 off (20%) - so your ring, which was originally $1,000 now costs $520. Don't tell me that's not a good deal! I make a rather small hourly wage, so the commission on that will go toward helping me pay for the outrageous gas it takes for me to drive 34 miles one way to work or buy an iPad with special apps on it for my special needs child, which she needs for her mental development... so why don't you report THAT.

[TOJ8211]

So why not just sell the ring for $520 so that the consumer can save money for other things they might need instead of padding your pocket with commission? Jewelry is over priced to begin with and we all know that you NEVER pay sticker price. And by the way, that initial 35% off is because the product was purposely marked up an extra 35% to make the consumer feel like he's getting a deal right off the bat. Why play all the games and just offer a product with a good price and sell more of them?

[elleart]

TOJ8211, You are wrong. Your comment is false & baseless. I am a jeweler & like most in the Jewelry profession I am struggling to sell my designs. As a result, not only am I not selling my jewelry, I am making very little profit on esch pendant I sell.