Prices get playful right before Black Friday. A few everyday products suddenly creep upward, almost as if they’re stretching before the big performance. Retailers call it a strategy, shoppers call it annoying. Keep reading if you want to spot the items that quietly climb so you don’t fall for the “deal” that isn’t.
Mattresses
Take a look at mattress prices around early November, and you’ll notice something strange. Retailers nudge them upward even though demand has not spiked yet. The reason lies in the financing. Holiday promo periods often include special credit offers, so stores initially raise the base price to cover the cost before rolling out the “deal.”
Gaming Consoles
Consoles don’t actually get more expensive. The bundle does. Stores attach a controller or a minor accessory, then present the new package as the baseline option. Since the bundle costs more, the so-called discount later appears dramatic even though the console’s real value never changed.
Laptops & Tablets
The biggest annual laptop sale cycle ends in September. Once those promotions expire, retailers lift prices to normal levels to rebuild margins. This creates a brief uptick before Black Friday, making the later “deal” look more dramatic without altering the product lineup.
Cookware Sets
Cookware sets jump in price early because retailers know shoppers treat them as “holiday upgrade” items. People buy them for gifting, weddings, and kitchen resets, so stores push the premium lines to the front. By hiding the cheaper sets and spotlighting higher-end collections, the category’s baseline price rises long enough to make the sale discount look dramatic.
Beauty Gift Sets
Beauty gift sets see price bumps because they are designed as impulse-friendly holiday items. The seasonal packaging also creates a sense of exclusivity, so retailers raise prices as excitement peaks. That inflated number becomes an anchor point for later promotions, strengthening the perceived value of the sale.
Winter Coats
Coat pricing behaves differently from electronics because shoppers naturally start searching as temperatures dip. Retailers monitor that spike in browsing and let algorithms raise the tag based on traffic. No one touches the item manually. The software quietly adjusts it upward because November guarantees an audience.
Smart TVs
Retailers don’t need to raise TV prices outright. They switch the featured models. In early November, stores push the newer, higher-priced lineup to the front and bury the outgoing models. When the sale starts, the old models return, marked with big red tags, creating the illusion of a steep discount.
Fitness Equipment
The bump here has nothing to do with Black Friday. It’s the New Year effect creeping in early. Stores know January fitness demand is enormous, so they raise prices in November to avoid dropping too low before the post-holiday rush. Black Friday discounts only neutralize the pre-season lift.
Toys
Toys slip into a separate pattern: demand builds steadily during the holidays, so retailers slow the rate at which they restock. That small throttle makes shoppers see fewer units available, and scarcity nudges prices up. When the sale finally hits, the discount restores the regular price rather than offering anything new.
Travel Luggage
Travel luggage spikes in price during November because retailers brace for a predictable headache: return season. Summer trips leave plenty of bags scraped or dented, and those damaged returns pile up in October. Stores raise prices on new stock to offset those losses. The Black Friday “discount” simply removes that temporary markup.
