Is now a bad time to buy a TV?
Wait if you can. Black Friday is weeks away; some early deals can start in October.
The year, best to worst
5 = best. ▶ marks this month.
Best windows
- November: Black Friday: the deepest TV discounts of the year.
- January: Pre-Super Bowl sales start in late January.
- February: Super Bowl and Presidents' Day sales; last year's sets get cleared.
Worst windows
- August: No major TV sale event in the sources we cite; Black Friday is months away.
- September: No major TV sale event in the sources we cite; Black Friday is close enough to wait for.
- October: Black Friday is weeks away; some early deals can start in October.
How we know
The sale calendar. Month scores (1–5) are our judgment, based on the well-known retail patterns reported by the sources below. They're not numbers from those sources.
- Consumer Reports, TV Buying Guide: Black Friday brings the deepest TV discounts; second-best are 'Big Game' promotions about two weeks before the Super Bowl; prices drop again in spring as new models arrive.
- Consumer Reports with Gap Intelligence, 'When to Get the Lowest Price on Your Next TV': Two-year pricing analysis: Black Friday deepest discounts; Super Bowl sales second-best (average 22% price drop in that analysis).
- NerdWallet, 'When Is the Best Time to Buy a TV?': New TV models arrive March/April; Prime Day discounts prior-year sets; Black Friday deals run through November and sometimes start in October.
- Wirecutter, 'When Is the Best Time to Buy a TV?': TV discounts begin late January and typically continue through the Super Bowl and often Presidents' Day.
BLS CPI: Televisions (CUUR0000SERA01, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted).
Inputs: monthly index values from 2018-09 to 2026-09; missing months skipped: October 2025 (Data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations). Latest: 95.693 (September 2026), -1.90% vs. a year earlier.
Formula: change = 100 × (index[month] ÷ index[previous month] − 1), averaged by calendar month.
| Month | Avg change | Std dev | n | Fell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | +0.86% | 1.12 | 8 | 3/8 |
| February | -0.53% | 1.34 | 8 | 6/8 |
| March | -2.06% | 1.12 | 8 | 8/8 |
| April | -0.56% | 1.57 | 8 | 5/8 |
| May | -0.23% | 1.23 | 8 | 4/8 |
| June | +0.30% | 1.34 | 8 | 3/8 |
| July | +0.34% | 1.37 | 8 | 5/8 |
| August | -0.25% | 2.06 | 8 | 4/8 |
| September | -0.23% | 0.76 | 8 | 4/8 |
| October | -1.06% | 1.24 | 7 | 6/7 |
| November | -2.85% | 1.08 | 7 | 7/7 |
| December | -1.88% | 1.14 | 8 | 8/8 |
Result: average monthly change -0.68%; the biggest average drops (or smallest rises) were in November (-2.85%), March (-2.06%), December (-1.88%). The gap between the best and worst month is 3.70 points, and the typical swing within a single month is 1.28 points. The CPI adjusts for quality and is sampled during the month, so it can miss short sale events. We show it as a cross-check; the verdict follows the sale calendar.
Last updated: page rebuilt October 26, 2026. Data status: bls: ok, last good October 26, 2026.
Shopping anyway?
FAQ
When is the best time to buy a TV?
By our ranking: November, January, February. See "How we know" on this page for the sources and math.
When is the worst time to buy a TV?
By our ranking: August, September, October.
Will my current TV be offended?
Only if you tell it.