What Not to Buy on Cyber Monday

The ultimate shopping and retail driven grudge match occurs over a four-day period when consumers debate if they’re ready to brave the long lines and early mornings to of Black Friday or if they’ll opt to sit at home come Monday morning and bask in the glow of Cyber Monday from the comfort of their own couch.

Certainly, holiday shoppers can enjoy the best of both words, obviously, but clearly you have a contingency of consumers who are more inclined to have product in hand versus the notion of buying online, sight seen but not touched.

Sales numbers would suggest that Cyber Monday is the frontrunner and clear cut preference for holiday shopping.

Cyber Monday sales have grown in each year since 2015 and 2016 was a whopping 3.5 billion dollars spent, a 12 percent increase over 2015. The forecast for 2017 is just as bright and sees projections falling just short of 4 billion dollars. Black Friday, in turn, was about 110 million short of Cyber Monday in 2016. (http://fortune.com/2016/11/29/cyber-monday-2016-sales/).

The numbers suggest that shoppers like the idea of buying from home, comfortably and without worry, along with the convenience smart phones and technology has afforded shoppers.

But to truly be a savvy holiday shopper, you have to understand that Cyber Monday, while lauded for its savings and simplicity, has certain promotions and products that are better left to Black Friday and should be skipped on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Here’s a few Cyber Monday products you’ll want to think twice about before buying:

Play Dated: Toys Aren’t Tailor Made for Cyber Monday

Generally speaking, toys aren’t really a Cyber Monday thing. In fact, your better option for getting the latest action figures, dolls, video games and consoles is either Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday, where on average you’ll save about 50 percent off the total price when you fill your physical cart with toys (https://www.dealnews.com/features/How-Deals-Will-Differ-on-Thanksgiving-vs.-Black-Friday-vs.-Cyber-Monday/879878.html).

Online toy sales has never been a big hit with any retailer, from Wal-Mart to Amazon, mostly because unless you’re talking about the hottest toy in the marketplace for the season, parents generally don’t order toys online.

A lot of that has to do with two things: wanting to have the toy in hand and a general sales decrease on toys the closer you get to the holidays. Toys typically and gradually have more of a discount the closer you get to Christmas. (https://www.offers.com/blog/post/what-not-to-buy-on-cyber-monday/).

Video games are more of the same as they lend themselves to Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping versus Cyber Monday. The average savings on video games on Thanksgiving is around 60 percent and a whopping 72 percent off on Black Friday, while Cyber Monday isn’t really even in the running. (https://www.busywifebusylife.com/fashion/shopping-deals/black-friday/)

Phone Not From Home: Tablets, TVs, phones no longer Cyber Monday fare

Cyber Monday just feels like a techie type day, right? Flanked by the word “cyber” in the tag line, the Monday after Thanksgiving does lend itself to wanting the latest and greatest in technology, tablets, smart phones and gadgets, but not all manufacturers play nice with Cyber Monday.

Take Apple for instance. Past online deals for Apple iPhones rarely see much give on the price points on Cyber Monday, compared to that of Black Friday or the Thanksgiving sales rush. (https://www.cbsnews.com/media/6-things-not-to-buy-on-cyber-monday/2/).

Apple even opted to position itself in a less humbling light and wasn’t really worse for wear on Cyber Monday, thanks mostly to its Black Friday success. averaging nearly $5,000 per sale per square foot of retail space in 2015 (http://fortune.com/2015/11/30/apple-black-friday-cyber-monday/).

Electronics in general have seen more of an increase on Black Friday versus Cyber Monday, mostly due to the former offering “door busters” but also the fact that other times of the year when electronics are much cheaper, even compared to the holiday rush.

Most electronics take a nose dive in January and February, along with August and September, roughly an average of 46 percent off the retail price to make way typically for new models on both ends (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/buy-cyber-monday/story?id=17794258).

Snap short: Cyber Monday doesn’t lend itself to camera shopping

Much the same way Cyber Monday and iPhones, smart phones and TVs don’t mesh all that well, neither does that shopping day and buying a camera. With the influx of individuals opting to use cell phones and tablets for their camera needs, the likes of Kodak are always in the mode of offering discounts, but you'll want to take advantage of the best discounts on Black Friday versus waiting out the weekend and shopping on Monday.

On average, there’s about 10 percent more saved when you buy a camera on Black Friday versus Cyber Monday. You’ll save about 44 percent off with a Black Friday promotion versus one on Cyber Monday. (https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-retailers-for-cyber-week/17260/).

While 10 percent might not be enough to move the needle for some shoppers who want to buy from home, consider the difference on a higher end camera of $800 retail, leaving almost $100 on the table if you opt to choose Cyber Monday over Black Friday.

Tool’s Gold: Steer Clear of Tools on Cyber Monday

Black Friday stakes its claim to being the best day to buy TV’s, Apple products and toys, among others, but what about the gifts for the do it yourself person on your wish list? Cyber Monday certainly isn’t without its amazing deals, but if you’re in the market for tools, you’d be better served to buy before the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Tools typically are better served as an in-person item, and the deals on Thanksgiving shopping and Black Friday excursions speak to that more so than waiting to buy them online. Stores that market to expert carpenters and the at home, weekend warrior who wants to stock up for the spring and summer months lean more toward adding additional savings if you’re willing to make the trip in person.

Home Depot and Lowes come to mind immediately as the leaders in at home projects while still catering to the professional builders, and the sales on Cyber Monday are typically slim versus its Black Friday predecessor. Actually, Thanksgiving offers the best options, with Black Friday a close second. You’ll see about a quarter of the sales on Cyber Monday versus the Black Friday alternative buying day. (https://www.dealnews.com/features/Things-NOT-to-Buy-on-Cyber-Monday/1829432.html).

And if you’re going to buy tools, not only make sure you do it on Black Friday, but go for the always heavily marketed gift sets, which are always better priced on Black Friday as well just due to the nature of how they’re packaged, such the always popular all in one sets. https://www.thestreet.com/story/13376789/1/black-friday-vs-cyber-monday-which-day-has-the-hotter-deals.html#6

Applied Science: Big Ticket Appliances aren’t smart Cyber Monday buys

A lot of what can ail Cyber Monday is that instant gratification that you get from a Thanksgiving or Black Friday sale, being able to leave the store with item in tow, being loaded in your pickup truck or in the back of your car or SUV. The same can be said for appliances, which aren’t really much of a sales pitch for Cyber Monday. Larger scale items like washers, dryers, stoves and refrigerators find moderate success on Cyber Monday. That isn’t to say retailers don’t toss a few appliances in on Cyber Monday in the way of deals, but Black Friday and being able to see, touch, feel and take home what you buy means more.

Best Buy, in 2016, took about 40 percent off their best appliances on Black Friday, along with nearly half off a washer and dryer set at Sears. (https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/shopping/black-friday-2016-what-to-buy-skip/).

You also have to take into consideration special promotions when you spend a certain amount of money on appliances. A lot of smaller appliances often are dangled in front of consumers to get them up and out of bed on Black Friday; Cyber Monday simply doesn’t do as well with appliances, although small ones as stand alone buys are a bit different and see success on Amazon, for example and help push Cyber Monday past Black Friday in that category.

Vacuum cleaners, blenders, toasters and juicers are highly coveted on Cyber Monday, and last year proved that at a glance with the likes of Best Buy and Wal-Mart. The latter retailer took 40 percent off a Black and Decker robotic vacuum cleaner in 2016, a nearly $300 device for less than $200. (https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/articles/2016-11-23/6-best-cyber-monday-sales-for-2016).

Expect more of the same on smaller appliances on Cyber Monday but as for the bigger ones: steer clear of the online Cyber Monday sales.

The creation of Cyber Monday fulfilled a sector of shoppers and the masses who weren’t interested in dealing with crowds and the would be news stories of parents punching each other over an Elmo doll or traveling from one Target to another for anything from a Furby to a flat screen TV.

After digesting the list above, you may be wondering how Cyber Monday edged Black Friday in 2016 in sales, and the answer is quite simple: time management and online coupon codes, truthfully.

Buying online is quick, easy and painless. And while your better deals for toys, iPhones and tools are going to take place on Black Friday, you still find fairly (albeit lesser) deals on Cyber Monday, not to mention smaller stores and brands offering direct discounts, circumventing the larger retailer chains, like if Levi sold jeans cheaper from Levi’s web site versus through Kohl’s, for example.

One aspect of Cyber Monday you can’t overlook is how quickly deals come and go online. Much like how a Black Friday sale has a starting point, so too does Cyber Monday, but not with traditional parameters.

Most Cyber Monday deals last for just 24 hours, and then they’re gone. A whopping 61 percent of them are gone within that one day time span. The other fact about Cyber Monday, too, is that about 12 percent of those deals are done within five hours, suggesting that you have some sense of urgency in order to save on Cyber Monday. (https://www.dealnews.com/features/Does-It-Matter-When-You-Shop-on-Cyber-Monday/1821122.html)

If you’re in the market for travel deals, clothing or beauty supplies or something of that ilk (along with stores that are online only, devoid of brick and mortar stores) that lend itself to buying online, that’s a smarter shopping decision than focusing on any of the aforementioned items that simply aren’t the best when paired up with Cyber Monday.

For instance, when you take a look at clothing, you save between 57 percent off and 70 percent off for Cyber Monday between the like of Sears for the former and eBay for the latter, percentages that blow away Black Friday deals (https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-retailers-for-cyber-week/17260/).

Furthermore, there are 45 percent more clothing deals on Cyber Monday and 50 percent more shoe deals specifically, making that shopping day much more clothing centric (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Monday).

But sitting back, relaxing and doing your shopping online has become commonplace, and with good reason, but as superb as Cyber Monday is, you still have a few deals and subsequent items that aren’t tailor made for that day.