Dudproof title card: Black Friday Isn't Always Cheapest

Black Friday Isn’t Always Cheapest: 8 of 10 Top Picks Hit Their Lowest Price Another Time

Published By Researched, not tested in person

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Black Friday 2026: see the top pick from every Dudproof guide, plus how to spot a fake deal. See all Black Friday picks →

Short answer

We read the Amazon price history of 10 products that independent testers recommend and that camelcamelcamel has tracked through at least one Amazon Black Friday event. Only 2, the Roborock Q7 M5+ robot vacuum and the Instant Vortex Plus ClearCook air fryer, first hit their lowest tracked Amazon price during Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events. For the other 8, Black Friday never beat a price Amazon charged at another time, from early November to February, April and June.

What we checked. We did not test these products in person. On November 4 and 5, 2026 we read the Amazon price history on camelcamelcamel for every pick on our Black Friday deal pages, using only the “Amazon” price (items sold and shipped by Amazon itself). camelcamelcamel shows the date a product first hit its lowest tracked price. We kept the 10 products that Amazon itself has sold and that camelcamelcamel tracked through at least one Amazon Black Friday event, and compared that date with Amazon’s event windows: November 17–27, 2023; November 21–December 2, 2024; and November 20–December 1, 2025 (Amazon 2023; Amazon 2024; About Amazon). We left out products that are only sold by third-party sellers or are too new to have a Black Friday on record. This is 10 products, not a market study. Researched and written by the Dudproof editors. Last updated November 5, 2026.

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The data at a glance

ProductTracked sinceFirst hit its lowest Amazon priceDuring a Black Friday event?
Roborock Q7 M5+ robot vacuumMay 2025Nov 20, 2025Yes (day 1 of Black Friday Week)
Instant Vortex Plus ClearCook 6-qt air fryerOct 2021Dec 1, 2024Yes (Cyber Monday weekend)
Ninja Air Fryer Pro AF141Mar 2024Nov 2, 2025No (18 days before)
Sony WH-1000XM6 headphonesMay 2025Nov 2, 2026No (this month, before any 2026 sale)
Instant Vortex Plus 6-qt air fryerSep 2019Nov 6, 2023No (11 days before)
Ninja AF101 4-qt air fryerSep 2018Oct 29, 2024No (October)
Kindle Paperwhite (2024)Oct 2024Oct 6, 2025No (October)
Tapo RV30 Max Plus robot vacuumNov 2024Feb 10, 2026No (February)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)Sep 2025Apr 13, 2026No (April)
Apple AirPods Pro 3Sep 2025Jun 17, 2026No (June)

All dates are from each product’s camelcamelcamel page, read November 4, 2026 (air fryers and Kindle) or November 5, 2026 (the rest), linked in the sections below.

What the price histories show

1. Early November beat Black Friday three times

The Ninja Air Fryer Pro AF141 first hit its lowest Amazon price on Nov 2, 2025, and the Instant Vortex Plus 6-qt on Nov 6, 2023, both before that year’s Black Friday event started (camelcamelcamel AF141; camelcamelcamel Vortex Plus). This year the Sony WH-1000XM6 hit its lowest tracked Amazon price on Nov 2, 2026, three weeks before Black Friday (camelcamelcamel). The AF141 was back at its low on Oct 25, 2026.

What to do with it: if one of these is at its tracked low now, a Black Friday “deal” at the same price isn’t worth waiting for. See our air fryer deal page and headphone deal page.

2. Some of the best prices came months after the holidays

The Tapo RV30 Max Plus hit its low on Feb 10, 2026, the Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen) on Apr 13, 2026, and AirPods Pro 3 on Jun 17, 2026 (camelcamelcamel Tapo; Bose; AirPods Pro 3). Because camelcamelcamel shows the first date of the low, none of them sold on Amazon this cheaply during last year’s Black Friday event. AirPods Pro 3’s highest tracked Amazon price came on Dec 2, 2025, the day after Cyber Monday.

What to do with it: for a gift you need by December 25 this doesn’t help much, but for something you’re buying for yourself, a non-holiday sale can be just as good. Our AirPods and earbud deal page and robot vacuum deal page show where each one sits now.

3. October sales beat Black Friday twice

The Ninja AF101 first hit its low on Oct 29, 2024, and the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite on Oct 6, 2025 (camelcamelcamel AF101; Paperwhite 2024). The 2024 Paperwhite’s latest tracked price change, on Oct 8, 2026, was its highest. Our Kindle deal page covers why.

4. When Black Friday did win, timing mattered

The Roborock Q7 M5+, Wirecutter’s top robot vacuum, hit its lowest Amazon price on Nov 20, 2025, the first day of Amazon’s Black Friday Week (camelcamelcamel). The Instant Vortex Plus ClearCook hit its low on Dec 1, 2024, the Sunday of Cyber Monday weekend, at the end of the sale (camelcamelcamel). One was cheapest at the start, the other at the end, so there’s no single “best day”.

5. “List price” is often the highest price

camelcamelcamel lists the AF141’s, the Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen)’s and AirPods Pro 3’s list prices at the same level as their highest tracked Amazon prices (AF141; Bose; AirPods Pro 3). A “% off list” badge measured from that number makes an ordinary price look like a deep discount (SanePrice explains the difference).

How to use this before Black Friday

  1. Look up the price history now. Paste the Amazon link into camelcamelcamel or Keepa and note the lowest price and when it happened.
  2. If it’s at or near the low today, buy it (or set a price alert at that level). Waiting for Black Friday only pays if the low came during a past Black Friday.
  3. Compare with the lowest and average lines, not the “was” price. The list price is often the highest price.
  4. Check the model and seller. Older models and marketplace sellers are where “deals” go wrong; our deal pages list the model traps for each category.
  5. Check the return window. Amazon usually extends holiday returns; check the date on your order before you gift.

Our category deal pages post a Real deal / Normal price / Wait / Skip verdict for every pick the week of Nov 20: air fryers, Kindles, robot vacuums, headphones and AirPods and earbuds. All of our picks are on the Black Friday 2026 page.

FAQ

Is Black Friday the cheapest time to buy?

Not always. Of 10 tester-recommended products we checked, only 2 first hit their lowest Amazon price during Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events. The other 8 were cheapest at other times, most often in early November or October.

Should I buy before Black Friday?

If the price history shows the item at or near its lowest tracked price already, yes, or set a price alert at that level. The Sony WH-1000XM6 and Ninja AF141 were both at their tracked lows before November 5, 2026.

Is Cyber Monday cheaper than Black Friday?

Sometimes. The Instant Vortex Plus ClearCook’s lowest price came on Cyber Monday weekend in 2024, while the Roborock Q7 M5+’s came on the first day of Black Friday Week in 2025.

Why don’t you show prices?

Prices change by the hour during deal week. We show when each product hit its lowest tracked price and link to the live price instead.

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Sources

Changelog

  • Nov 5, 2026 — First published, using camelcamelcamel data read Nov 4–5, 2026.