Once long ago, Black Friday referred to a single day of shopping excess. People woke up early the Friday after Thanksgiving, headed to malls, and fought over sweaters and TVs to score the best deals.
Times have changed—enough so that we’ve created this guide.
These days, Black Friday is no longer a single day of the year. It’s now a vaguely defined period in November, during which you’ll find a mix of incredible loss-leader discounts, solid price reductions, and a slew of questionable “bargains.” The time creep only worsens each year, too.