Many shoppers are going to buy tech items on Black Friday, with televisions being among the most popular. You’ll be able to save hundreds (or even thousands, on higher-end models) of dollars on many TVs on the busiest shopping day of the year. However, just because you see a television that’s over 50% doesn’t mean it’s a good deal. In fact, it means it’s a bad deal in many cases (don’t you think there’s a reason the television is on sale for that much?)
There are some key rules to follow when shopping for a new television on Black Friday—or any other time of the year. I’ve written about this earlier this year around the time of the Super Bowl, the second most popular time for people to buy televisions. And now I’ll help apply these rules to Black Friday 2017.
Rule #1: A television is an investment.
That’s not to say you need to spend $10,000 on a television for your home. But you also shouldn’t just walk into Walmart or Best Buy and decide to buy the first television you see because it’s a “good deal.” You should take your time to do some research. And on Black Friday, it’s a good time to get a big discount on an investment (LG’s top of the line OLED televisions are getting sizable discounts). Take your budget and decide what price range is worth it, then find the best deal to get you great picture quality (which, in my opinion, is the most important trait of a television).
Rule #2: You get what you pay for.
Black Friday will have deals where decent-sized televisions are going for $200 and $300, but that doesn’t mean they are good. The popular brands like Samsung and LG are the safest bet, but even some of their televisions get huge discounts because the picture simply isn’t close to their mid- and high-end televisions. And, in most cases, buying a television from a lesser known brand—even if the price is unbelievable—will eventually lead to disappointment with its quality. This leads me to the next point.
Rule #3: Bigger is not always better.
A lot of people will walk into a store in Black Friday and be simply amazed at a 70” or 80” television, deciding a television that big for a discount price is totally worth it. I am warning you, please don’t do that. While you might think you can take advantage of a holiday sale to get a great new centerpiece for your living room or theater room, chances are you’ll be disappointed if size is the only thing you look for. You’ll be a lot better off waiting a Black Friday or two to purchase a more-premium television down the line. One, prices of the best televisions could go down as competition increases; and two, the picture quality will be worth the extra money.
Rule: #4: Try to purchase 4K.
Like the switch from standard-definition to high-definition, the switch to 4K is starting to accelerate to the point that it’s becoming the large-to-vast majority. There’s even been talk about 8K televisions in a few years, but for now, 4K content is becoming more readily available. You can buy 4K Blu-Rays—for both movies and television series—that look stunning, there are now companies like Netflix that stream content in 4K, and 4K channels are becoming available from some sources (like DIRECTV). Also, Microsoft came out with a full-4K gaming console, the Xbox One X. Buying just a full 1080p now probably isn’t a wise investment, unless it happens to be for a smaller room in your house.
Rule #5: Compare prices
This rule is extremely easy to follow, as a quick search on Google can help you find the best deal for a television. You wouldn’t want to buy a good television just because it’s on sale, only to find out a few days later you could’ve saved a lot by just doing a quick check to make sure no one else was selling it cheaper at the time.
Those five rules should help you make a television purchase that you’re happy about now and into the future. If you want advice on the televisions I most highly recommend, LG’s Signature OLED G7, which, from places like Amazon and Best Buy during Black Friday comes in 65” for $5,000 and 77” for $10,000 ($5,000 off) is the best option if money is no object. LG, who has probably taken the crown as best television makers over Panasonic since the emergence of OLED, also has some cheaper but still great OLEDs, like the B7, C7, and E7. They just aren’t quite the same level as their G7 and W7 wallpaper television.
I was just thinking of buying one of those LGs myself actually..
Can you start doing tv reviews?
I wonder if the tv market is something new companies could break into….