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
Ranked by the retail sale calendar (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
1. The sale calendar. The ranking above comes from well-known retail patterns reported by these 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 and older sets are cleared.
- 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 models start arriving March/April; Prime Day (summer) discounts mid-range and prior-year sets; Black Friday deals run through November and sometimes start in October.
- Wirecutter, 'When Is the Best Time to Buy a TV?': Discounts begin late January and typically continue through the Super Bowl and often Presidents' Day.
Turning those patterns into 1–5 month scores is our judgment, not a number from those sources.
2. Government price data. We also checked the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index for televisions (series CUUR0000SERA01, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted).
Inputs: monthly index values from 2018-10 to 2026-09, with missing months skipped: October 2025 (Data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations). Latest value: 95.693 (September 2026), -1.90% vs. a year earlier.
Formula: change(month) = 100 × (index[month] ÷ index[previous month] − 1), then averaged for each calendar month across the years.
| Month | Avg change | Std dev | Years (n) | Months it fell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | +0.86% | 1.12 | 8 | 3 of 8 |
| February | -0.53% | 1.34 | 8 | 6 of 8 |
| March | -2.06% | 1.12 | 8 | 8 of 8 |
| April | -0.56% | 1.57 | 8 | 5 of 8 |
| May | -0.23% | 1.23 | 8 | 4 of 8 |
| June | +0.30% | 1.34 | 8 | 3 of 8 |
| July | +0.34% | 1.37 | 8 | 5 of 8 |
| August | -0.25% | 2.06 | 8 | 4 of 8 |
| September | -0.23% | 0.76 | 8 | 4 of 8 |
| October | -1.06% | 1.24 | 7 | 6 of 7 |
| November | -2.85% | 1.08 | 7 | 7 of 7 |
| December | -1.88% | 1.14 | 8 | 8 of 8 |
Result: the TV index fell -0.68% per month on average. The gap between the best and worst calendar month is 3.70 points, while the typical year-to-year swing within a month is about 1.28 points. There is a pattern: the biggest average drops were November (-2.85%), March (-2.06%), December (-1.88%), which fits the Black Friday story. Still, we rank on the sale calendar, not on this index. This index also adjusts for quality, and it is sampled during the month, so it can miss short sale events like Black Friday weekend. It tells us TVs keep getting cheaper for what you get. It doesn't pick your shopping day.
Last updated: price data fetched October 26, 2026; page rebuilt October 26, 2026.
Shopping for one anyway?
FAQ
When is the best time to buy a TV?
Black Friday (November), according to Consumer Reports' analysis with Gap Intelligence. The second-best window is the run-up to the Super Bowl in late January and early February.
Should I wait for new TV models?
New models usually arrive in March or April at full price. If you don't need the newest features, last year's model often gets discounted once the new ones land.
Do TV prices really fall over time?
Yes, the government's price index for TVs has fallen in most months. Over the period we looked at, its average monthly change was -0.68%. That index adjusts for quality, so it is not the same as a sticker price.
Is October a bad time to buy a TV?
Usually, if you can wait a few weeks. Black Friday deals run through November and sometimes start in October.