What Not to Buy on Black Friday

Long lines, packed stores and the sound of alarm clocks on smartphones going off far too early for a non-working day.

Say hello to Black Friday, the most anticipated shopping day of the year, and the best time to buy, right?

Sort of, depending on what you're in the market for, because Black Friday can be a tad overrated for some products and services, at least.

Here's what to avoid.

Travel: The Unfriendly Skies of Black Friday

You'd assume that travel, whether you're talking airline tickets or car rentals, hotels and everything else associated with the holidays and visiting family would be at the best rate right around the time Thanksgiving has just ended.

You thought wrong, unfortunately.

The truth is the best time to buy airline tickets or booking a hotel is more associated with the early bird getting the proverbial worm.

Booking for Christmas should have been done, flight wise, on October 22 or about 11 weeks before December 25, which dispels the notion that your best deal to fly would be on Black Friday.

September also makes sense to book your travel plans, hotels included, as JetBlue and Frontier Airlines dropped price to under $30 in 2016 if you booked in September.

Buying on Black Friday actually would be considered in the world of travel as a "last-minute deal, " and as much as that sales pitch sounds strong, that's the worst possible time to book a flight. Black Friday is only a few weeks before Christmas and thus falls into the period when airlines charge the most for flights, roughly $174 more if you book within seven days. Even if you push that out to two weeks, you're still spending $111 more on average. As much as four months out is the considered the prime window for booking a flight.

In short, steer clear of Black Friday as far as travel goes.

Peak travel times, in general, are best booked two to three months in advance, whether you're talking about the holidays or even the summer months (i.e., June, July, and August).

Even if a Black Friday hotel or airline deal looks appealing for Black Friday, remember that most merely adjust prices higher than most times of the year, knowing that you're looking to travel between November and December. That "savings" isn't quite as lucrative or financially appealing as you'd think.

Laptops: Reboot Thinking of Computers and Black Friday

You might argue this one to the bitter end when you're standing tall with a $100 laptop and feel like you're the king of the world. But your ship has not come in; rather you're a few seconds away from your heart sinking like the Titanic when you realize that electronics aren't created equal.

If you're totally fine with shopping for a second-rate laptop or TV that buzzes after the first year, then have at it. But most of the higher end electronics stand stoically, left alone and not marked down as you begin your foray into the retailer of your choice.

The best time to shop for laptops is between June and August actually, when new inventory hits the shelves and the old is pushed to the side (mostly to coincide with kids heading back to school and needing new equipment).

The laptop or computer you see in that Black Friday end is one that would be a lower end model, little power or memory and is more about the retailer getting rid of it, rather than it being perceived as a deal just because the sticker price speaks to you.

Laptops can drop as much as 50 percent on Black Friday, and that's been a constant year in and year out. But you can get that same price point at the beginning of each year, too, and models that perhaps didn't sell all that well.

Remember, retailers handpick the laptops they want rid of and discount on Black Friday. If you wait until the end of the year, you may have more selection and of a better quality.

Aside from TVs and video games, most electronics average only about 11 percent off the total MSRP versus 31 percent for the two other, more lucrative and aforementioned Black Friday deals.

Car: Bumpy Ride on Black Friday

Because Black Friday, in name value alone, means so much, you'll see dealerships jump on the day after Thanksgiving bandwagon a bit, offering Black Friday deals alongside the rest of the retail gamers.

But Black Friday and car sales are about as comfortable as Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson: they don't go together, and you shouldn't be duped by ads and pricing for Black Friday car sales that are more about just going through the motions.

On a new car, December is the month you should be eyeing, mostly due to old inventory being drastically reduced in favor of new, to the tune of, on average, six percent off the suggested manufacturer price that is on sticker.

Those who need a car in November might want to do their very best to stick it out until the following month.

That percent discount can go as high as 9 percent if wait until the very last day of the year, December 31, and close to 8 percent any time in December. How does Black Friday rank on that list (about 1 percent point less than those other dates, which accounts for thousands of dollars you'll end up overspending).

While Black Friday and racing to buy a new car and hitting the open road has come a long way in recent years, savings-wise, it still can't compare with how much more you can put back into your pocket the following month.

If you're still of the opinion that Black Friday and car deals are the best options, December has 23 percent more deals than the average month throughout the entire year.

Car dealerships, however, have taken notice that November was never really a strong sales month for cars, mostly due to car buying being more of a "spend on myself" type purchase, rather than the gift giving mentality that the month typically brings. So advertising deals on buying a car in November makes sense, but still isn't the best time to purchase a new or used car, despite the fanfare that suggests otherwise.

Jewelry: Diamonds aren't Black Friday's best friend

The biggest misconception about buying jewelry is that it goes perfectly with Black Friday since engagement season begins with those who opt to pop the question on Christmas or New Year's Eve.

But if you're in the market for an engagement ring, promise band or really anything jewelry related, you'll want to avoid Black Friday: the day won't be as kind to you as you'd think.

The smarter option, even if you're considering for example proposing in December or around the holidays is to skip the Black Friday frenzy in favor of a July or August period to buy that ring.

You can save up to 40 percent off in July and August on jewelry; hand's down the better option versus the day after Thanksgiving. Another month you'd want to consider is March, since prices often skyrocket before Valentine's Day and then plummet from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Even if you'd argue the point that not every piece of jewelry can be purchased between May and August, you'd still want to really hone in on your planning and forward thinking skills and assume that even if the jewelry is given as a gift for Christmas for a Fall birthday, you'll want to focus on May through August as the prime time to buy.

KayJewelers, for example, offered discounts on only a handful of items on Black Friday in 2016, and the most glaring discount was just 33 percent off their Open Hearts Collection, the 1/20 CT TW Diamonds Sterling Silver, $149 down to $99, so you're leaving nearly 10 percent on the table versus better times during the year.

To go a step further, consider luxury items a forbidden fruit on Black Friday, altogether (jewelry included). Some of the more higher-end retailers, like Tiffany & Co., don't offer much in the way of discounts on jewelry on Black Friday whatsoever.

The general rule of thumb on jewelry is that if it isn't a traditional gift-giving month or Black Friday, you'd stand to wait it out.

Winter Attire: Black Friday Gives Clothing Cold Shoulder

Black Friday isn't just about gadgets and products, but apparel also finds its way to the forefront on the busiest shopping day of the year. Even though you'll wait in long lines for TVs and video games, toys and other under the tree gifts, retailers such as Macy's, Kohl's, Target and others that depend or dabble in clothing sales also are going to make a big push for your business, particularly giving you discounts on the clothes of the season: jackets, hoodies, scarves, boots, gloves and really anything for the cold.

But Black Friday gives off quite the chilly reception clothing wise, and the discounts you're drawn to are minimal when compared to how much you'll save in January or February.

Winter clothing and accessories can be as low as 80 percent off if you can hold off and wait until after the new year.

The real savings comes when the spring clothing arrives in stores, and even though the winter weather hasn't subsided, most clothing stores opt to start integrating spring attire and to make room, the outerwear is on the outs, and savings are at an all-time high.

Even if you can't find a deal that hits the 80 percent plateau, keep in mind that the overall average savings on winter clothing in January is around 45 percent.

Not everyone has the patience to stick it out on Black Friday, either and retailers do an admirable job of offering doorbuster deals. Macy's or J.C. Penny's has always made it a point in recent history to offer, for instance, a pair of women's boots for $19.99a.

Recall, however, that "doorbuster" deals often are merely a minimal way to get you in, or at least close to the door for one huge reason: the product often isn't overstocked, meaning that if you're not the first 50 in line, you won't get it due to high demand and little inventory.

Slick ad campaigns and flashy marketing make it hard to resist the lure and temptation that Black Friday is filled with nothing but white-hot markdowns on a laundry list of items.

The National Retail Federation said around 154 million consumers shopped on Black Friday in 2016, but ultimately spent less, $290 per person versus around $300 in 2015 according to CNN so the appeal of the shopping date remains strong, even with the influx of the want and need to shop online more so than in the store.

And we're not saying you don't get more than your fair share of deals on Black Friday. From TV's to toasters, you can save a pretty penny if you're one of the ones out the door before dawn, standing in line or in hot pursuit of even hotter deals.

Even though Black Friday has grown in retail legend by leaps and bounds in the last decade or so, with weekly ads that enthrall and entice, not everything is worth buying on Black Friday.

You'll still have plenty of deals, but think again if you're of the opinion that Black Friday is all-encompassing and reigns supreme all year round.

Just because they call it Black Friday doesn't mean buying is so very black and white or a foregone conclusion. The shades of gray show up as the products that are better served to simply wait for a better time to buy.