5 Ways to Save on Large Appliances This Black Friday

Deep November discounts are back, though not quite at pre-COVID 19 levels. Here's how to shop wisely now.

By Tobie Stanger

At last, some good news: Savings for major home appliances will be deeper and more widespread for Black Friday 2022 than they’ve been the past two years, with price breaks of 25 percent or higher, industry watchers tell Consumer Reports. That’s a welcome shift for appliance shoppers in a year marred by higher prices for everything from airline tickets to electric bills to gas and groceries.

But there’s a limit to the largesse. Don’t expect as many of the 40-percent-off deals that were Black Friday staples before the pandemic. Appliance makers and sellers have wised up.

“Manufacturers and retailers aren’t going go back to promoting those [deeper] discounts so frequently,” says David MacGregor, an appliance industry analyst at Longbow Research in Cleveland. “They weren’t making any money at those levels.”

Bigger Discounts, More Items in Stock

Jordan Carter, who analyzes refrigerator market data for Gap Intelligence, an analytics company in San Diego, says she expects consumers to see average Black Friday major-appliance savings of 25 percent or more. That projection is based on the early seasonal discounts she’s seeing and the fact that other holiday appliance sales this year promoted higher price breaks than in 2020 or 2021. With discounts averaging 23 percent heading into November, “the average discounts that we are seeing now are already surpassing those of the 2021 Black Friday period,” Carter says.

Appliance retailers also have more merchandise in stock than they had in the past two Black Friday seasons. Transportation issues that plagued international supply chains have eased, so appliance makers have been able to get the parts they ordered from abroad, complete products that languished in factories, and distribute them to retailers.

At the same time, higher inflation and interest rates—and the prospect of an economic recession—are dampening consumer demand, MacGregor says. That rebalancing of supply and demand has begun to bring inventories of major appliances back to historical norms. “We’re heading in the direction of pre-pandemic levels,” he says.

But in general, you should have an easier time finding the product you want and getting it delivered and installed in a reasonable amount of time. The not-so-good news is that with supply and demand more in balance, retailers might not feel the need to offer as many appliances at rock-bottom clearance prices—those 40-percent-off come-ons—as in the past. “There’s more discipline among retailers and manufacturers,” MacGregor says. “There’s not a high need to clear a high volume of product.”

Still, November is, as always, the best month to get a deal on a dishwasher, range, refrigerator, washing machine, or other major home appliance. Here are tactics to aid your search.

1. Beware of Suites That Aren't Sweet Deals

You might be tempted by offers and rebates on matching kitchen suites—typically a refrigerator, range, dishwasher, and microwave—from the same maker. Home Depot, for instance, recently offered a suite of Samsung stainless steel kitchen appliances (including a French-door refrigerator and smoothtop electric range) for $4034, a price cut of 27 percent.

But price is only part of the equation when you’re purchasing appliances. Reliability is key, and it can vary within a brand’s offerings. Consumer Reports’ exclusive brand reliability ratings reveal that Samsung French-door refrigerators, dishwashers, and over-the-range microwave ovens are rated only Fair, and its smoothtop ranges earn a middling score of Good.

“Not every discount is a good deal, especially if you end up with a brand that’s repair-prone,” says Mark Allwood, CR’s market analyst for large appliances.

Different styles of appliances from the same brand also can differ in reliability. For instance, GE’s French-door and side-by-side refrigerators are rated just Good, but its top-freezer and traditional bottom-freezer models are rated Very Good. Among its ranges, gas and dual-fuel models are rated Excellent for predicted reliability, as are its electric smoothtop styles. GE electric induction and electric coil ranges, though, have Very Good reliability.

2. Don’t Buy by Brand Alone

If you’re brand loyal, remember that not all models from a manufacturer are created equal.

We tested two comparably priced top-load high-efficiency washing machines from LG, a brand with an Excellent score for reliability and Very Good for owner satisfaction for this category. The CR Recommended LG WT7100CW, currently selling at most retailers for around $850, is a stellar performer and a Green Choice.

The top-load HE LG WT7300CW washer is priced similarly. Its performance and features are nearly identical, but unlike the WT7100CW it’s not water-efficient. So it doesn’t earn quite the accolades of its brandmate.

3. Prepare to Haggle

At any retailer, keep in mind that you may be able to get a better bargain by haggling, even on items that have been discounted for the holidays. In a recent member survey conducted by CR, 23 percent of major-appliance shoppers negotiated for a better price. Two-thirds of those who did succeeded, saving a median of $119.

Among the most successful negotiating tactics when shopping for a major appliance were checking competing retailers’ websites to compare offers and purchasing multiple items at once. Other effective steps our members used were asking for a senior, veteran, or membership discount; referring to prices found at other walk-in retailers; and checking deals at price-comparison websites. Another winning trick: Asking for a discount on a floor model.

Among hagglers who gained a discount, 15 percent used no special leverage; they just asked. And notably, online appliance shoppers were just as successful as their in-store counterparts at negotiating a discount, our survey found, though few do it.

Even if you fail to chip away at the sale price, there are other ways to save on a large appliance, such as asking the retailer to waive fees for shipping or delivery. Many already offer this service and also include the free hauling away of your old appliance. Ask if the retailer can waive installation fees, especially if you’re just replacing one appliance with another rather than undertaking an entire kitchen remodel.

4. Ask for a Price Match

Stores will often price match the competition to keep you from going elsewhere. But check the fine print of retailers’ policies for caveats. For instance, Best Buy says its price match can’t be used between the Friday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 18) through the Monday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28).

Big-box stores also match the prices offered by your local warehouse club. The practice doesn’t always go the other way, though: Costco doesn’t price match.

Some retailers will honor their price-match guarantee for days or weeks from the date you bought your appliance. If you purchase something from one of them, check online prices from competitors and then contact the original vendor again for a rebate. Abt, which tops CR’s appliance-store ratings, offers its price match for items purchased within the previous 30 days. But Lowe’s only price matches qualifying items at the time of purchase, so you’ll need to know in advance what the competition is charging.

5. Shop Online Efficiently

Take advantage of the online tools that many retailers offer to quickly find what’s in stock locally and available for delivery now—key to keeping your sanity while supplies remain low. On the Best Buy site, for instance, we honed our search of available top-freezer fridges to 122 from 196 by clicking on “Exclude Out-of-Stock Items” among search filters. Lowe’s and Home Depot have similar options.

Some retailers offer extra online shopping tools. Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha, for instance, can demonstrate appliance features via virtual appointments. For iPhone users, Home Depot’s app can provide a three-dimensional image of an appliance on your phone’s screen that you can view alongside your existing cabinets and counters to get a better sense of how it will look installed.

Ordering online often comes with free shipping, though you probably can’t skip out on tax. And you can still attempt to barter by contacting a customer service rep either by phone or in an online chat.

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