Nathan Burrow

It has to be a substantial discount, a meaningful discount on, of course, a quality product. Let me give you an example. The UE Wonderboom 4, that's Wirecutter's top portable Bluetooth speaker. Right now it's on sale. I don't know if you hear my air quotes there, but it's on sale very regularly at $80,000. But we've observed the price fall to $75 on a few occasions.

It has to be a substantial discount, a meaningful discount on, of course, a quality product. Let me give you an example. The UE Wonderboom 4, that's Wirecutter's top portable Bluetooth speaker. Right now it's on sale. I don't know if you hear my air quotes there, but it's on sale very regularly at $80,000. But we've observed the price fall to $75 on a few occasions.

It's been as low as $70 on one occasion. And since products in the Bluetooth speaker category tend to gradually fall in price from the time that they're released, we think a reasonable target for the speaker right now is $70 to $75. We're looking for around about the lowest price we've ever seen. $80, which is consistently framed as a sale by retailers, is not a real discount anymore.

It's been as low as $70 on one occasion. And since products in the Bluetooth speaker category tend to gradually fall in price from the time that they're released, we think a reasonable target for the speaker right now is $70 to $75. We're looking for around about the lowest price we've ever seen. $80, which is consistently framed as a sale by retailers, is not a real discount anymore.

Yes, typically we look for something that either matches or betters that lowest price we've seen all year. And on Black Friday, you'll see a lot of retailers offer what appears to be the best price of the year, 30 to 40%. But that's not actually true. Often they're overstating the full price because they inflate the list price.

Yes, typically we look for something that either matches or betters that lowest price we've seen all year. And on Black Friday, you'll see a lot of retailers offer what appears to be the best price of the year, 30 to 40%. But that's not actually true. Often they're overstating the full price because they inflate the list price.

So it's actually usually a smaller percentage than that, more like 10 to 15% off the regular street price. And we're looking for something that's even better than that 10% to 15% in order to make our cut. Really, it's going to vary from product category to product category.

So it's actually usually a smaller percentage than that, more like 10 to 15% off the regular street price. And we're looking for something that's even better than that 10% to 15% in order to make our cut. Really, it's going to vary from product category to product category.

For something like a MacBook Air, which can retail for over $1,000 depending on the configuration, a 10 percent discount can be really impactful. But for something under $100, we prefer much larger discounts percentage-wise because we want the amount saved to be meaningful. Ultimately, if you go through the deals that we post during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, this entire week,

For something like a MacBook Air, which can retail for over $1,000 depending on the configuration, a 10 percent discount can be really impactful. But for something under $100, we prefer much larger discounts percentage-wise because we want the amount saved to be meaningful. Ultimately, if you go through the deals that we post during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, this entire week,

The average percentage off we generally settle on is around 20% to 25%. It's a far cry from the massive discount percentages that a lot of retailers will claim they're giving you. But it's really a realistic percentage off that is truly some of the better pricing of the year. And we find that that's consistent across product categories during Black Friday. Okay.

The average percentage off we generally settle on is around 20% to 25%. It's a far cry from the massive discount percentages that a lot of retailers will claim they're giving you. But it's really a realistic percentage off that is truly some of the better pricing of the year. And we find that that's consistent across product categories during Black Friday. Okay.

Are there any new categories you're recommending this year?

Are there any new categories you're recommending this year?

Yes. So Wirecutter has started to recommend a lot more in the way of apparel and cosmetics and gifts. You'll probably see more deals highlighted on drugstore cosmetics, makeup, and other beauty items from Ulta and Sephora this holiday season.

Yes. So Wirecutter has started to recommend a lot more in the way of apparel and cosmetics and gifts. You'll probably see more deals highlighted on drugstore cosmetics, makeup, and other beauty items from Ulta and Sephora this holiday season.

Unfortunately, it's gotten harder. There are more retailers involved than ever before in these big deal events, and the shopping experience is honestly more opaque than ever before. And so we're trying to sort of puncture the hype. We're trying to identify the real stuff. And the sales have also gotten longer, which makes for some confusing dynamics for shoppers.

Unfortunately, it's gotten harder. There are more retailers involved than ever before in these big deal events, and the shopping experience is honestly more opaque than ever before. And so we're trying to sort of puncture the hype. We're trying to identify the real stuff. And the sales have also gotten longer, which makes for some confusing dynamics for shoppers.

We saw early Black Friday sales start around the turn of the month between October and November. And so... Really, at that point, it's about identifying what you should wait until Black Friday to purchase. Because a lot of retailers will count on you to sort of not take advantage of price protection policies that are in place.

We saw early Black Friday sales start around the turn of the month between October and November. And so... Really, at that point, it's about identifying what you should wait until Black Friday to purchase. Because a lot of retailers will count on you to sort of not take advantage of price protection policies that are in place.