The start of Spring always brings a new selection of seasonal deals, many of which are geared toward outdoor events such as exercise, home care and clothing that doesn’t have to be hidden by a heavy winter coat. Check out everything you should be on the lookout for during April.

Tax Day Freebies

When the tax man comes to collect on April 15, 2019, many national companies do their best to soften the blow by offering significant discounts or freebies one day only. For instance, several fast food restaurants offered free sides during previous years, everyone from Cinnabon to Arby’s. Other offerings previous years included free previews of premium movie channels like HBO and Starz, free document shredding at Office Depot and free massages at HydroMassage to relieve the stress of getting your taxes knocked out.

Finally Getting around to your New Year’s Resolution?

If you are in the market for a new pair of running shoes, April is the time to buy. April is the most popular month when non-serious runners start thinking about going for jogs and long walks outside to enjoy the Spring weather. Look for sales all month on all types of sneakers.

You are also going to find more aggressive deals on gym memberships, mostly because people will start wanting to exercise outside, thus gyms have to create more attractive offers to generate membership signups. Of course, if you want to go in the opposite direction, be sure to fill up on cheap Easter candy during late April.

Home Improvement Sales

Over the last few years, Home Depot has attempted to turn April into a Black Friday of sorts. Basically, the company has kicked off Spring over the last few years with sales on anything from outdoor lawn care to large and small projects happening inside the home. Lowes and other home improvement stores will typically follow suit as well.

New Fiscal Year Means Discounted Electronics

The period between April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2019 is the Japanese fiscal year, thus companies like to clear the books of old stock in order to make way for new models. All those new televisions, digital cameras, home theater gear, laptop models and other electronics announced at CES are starting to come out, thus the previous models will be discounted starting in late March and continuing through the month of April to completely clear the shelves.

For instance, Walmart is repeating an aggressive closeout on refurbished HDTV models during late March. You will see a similar sale on televisions at Dell that include additional gift cards. Be on the lookout for more of these discounts all through the month of April.

Spring Apparel Sales Kick into High Gear

When clothing is initially released, it usually takes about two to three months before consumers start to see significant sales on those items. Since all the new Spring clothing lines are mostly released during January, this means that more aggressive sales start as early at late March and continue ramping up during April. While a discount up to 40 percent is fairly standard up until April, look for 50 percent off sales in April. Even better, try to combine them with online coupon codes for maximum savings.

Early Mother’s Day Shopping

If you are thinking about buying jewelry for your mother or your wife this year for Mother’s Day, it’s smarter to shop in April than in May. While you will see more aggressive marketing during early May with the promise of deals, prices typically trend upwards the two weeks before the holiday hits. You are better off purchasing a gift in April in order to get the best deal.

Take a Vacation on the High Seas

April is typically the best month to snag a discounted price on a cruise, even if you aren’t traveling until 6 to 9 months away from the booking date. Be aware that sales prices are often influenced by events involving cruise ship accidents or mishaps.

April is National Car Care Month

Due to the increased level of education in April about taking care of your car, consumers will see significant discounts on auto accessories as well as services. Sears has actually started this trend early with car accessories sales throughout the end of March and those will likely continue through April. In addition, look for more aggressive coupons at car care locations like Advanced Auto Parts.

– Ben’s Bargains Managing Editor Kristin Cook contributed to this report.

Waste Not, Want Not: Best Deals to Buy in April

The dog days of summer are here, and while the best summer memories are spent outside, now’s a good time to get in some great online shopping deals.

At Ben’s Bargains, there are a lot of great deals throughout the year, but some patterns do appear. Since some schools will be starting this month, you will find even deeper discounts on back-to-school supplies than in July. Looks for price drops on everything from apparel to backpacks.

Even More Discounts on Summer Items

Prices on still-in-season products like patio furniture and grills and gardening supplies will also continue to drop in August as retailers make room for their fall lineup. While selection isn’t as good, you’ll find the best prices of the year. Watch for deals from Sears, Target, Walmart and Home Depot.

The same goes for summer apparel, shoes and sports gear. You’ll see a lot of great deals from eBay Fashion Outlet which features sales from mainstream brands like Timberland, Under Armour, Jockey and others. Other clothing stores to watch for include American Eagle, Gap, 6pm and Columbia Sportswear, among others.

Check out our apparel deals and sports gear deals on Ben’s Bargains.

Deals for Your Workspace

August will be a good time for office furniture and supplies, in keeping with the theme of back-to-school discounts. In addition to the big-box office stores, watch for Amazon, Walmart and Meijer to offer some good deals on desks and cabinets. Also, it’s that time of year when the new IKEA catalog will appear with lower prices and new low-priced furniture. Watch for continuing price drops on desktop PCs but especially further price reductions on previous generation products.

Check out our furniture deals and desktop PC deals on Ben’s Bargains.

Early Labor Day Sales

With Labor Day approaching on September 5th, the last week of August will bring the start of early Labor Day sales, particularly from apparel stores but also tech sites like Dell. Some of the best price drops of the year outside of Black Friday can take place around Labor Day apparel sales.

This is also a great time to snag a deal on a set of patio furniture as retailers will start to clear out stock for the end of the summer in order to populate those areas of the store with other seasonal items. Look for discounts between 50 to 75 percent at stores like Home Depot, Lowes and Sears. The same goes for grills, kid’s playsets and anything else that’s used in the back yard.

What to Wait For

Expect to see some big gadget releases in the fall (Apple, Samsung, Amazon), so if you’re planning a tech toy purchase, the best thing to do is wait and see because prices will dip as we get closer to the release dates.

You’ll see competitor phones and tablets dropping prices to anticipate the low-cost iPhone rumored to appear in early September.

Fall apparel and big-screen HDTVs won’t be seeing the real big price drops until November, so if you can wait, that will maximize your savings.

Don’t Forget Deal Alerts

If you want to make sure you don’t miss any upcoming July deals on Ben’s Bargains, don’t forget to set up deal alerts (registration required). You’ll receive an instant email and get the first chance to jump on a great deal before it disappears. And the best deals are gone fast!

You’re also welcome to send us tips or suggestions. Good luck!

– Mike Flacy contributed to this report.

Waste Not, Want Not: Best Deals to Buy in August

While October is a somewhat quiet month due to a retail lull between back to school shopping sales and preparation for Black Friday, the tenth month brings the first major holiday of the fall. Online Halloween deals, for example, will be plentiful in early October. With online costume purchases, you need to plan ahead to get the best picks and in case your first choice does not fit correctly, but the best deals in October historically won’t come until the middle of the month.

Or if you really want to plan ahead and want to save some serious money on Halloween, go the old-school route and buy highly discounted costumes on November 1st. Here are other deals to watch for in October:

Get Ready for Black October

Black Friday sales are starting earlier every year. Retailers are eager to get the attention of cash-rich consumers before the all-out brawl for their pocketbooks occurs in November.

In previous years, Newegg has traditionally offered some aggressive pricing in October, which matches their November discounts. If you’re following Ben’s Bargains in October, keep a close eye on the Ben’s Best deals. Many of these deals won’t go much lower for Black Friday, so if you can spend now, you’ll have a better shot at snagging the products that you want.

Still time for a New Old(er) Car

As we mentioned last month, the 2015 model cars have already hit the lots so you’re in a good position to negotiate an attractive price on last year’s (2014) cars. The discounts will increase through the end of the year, but your options will start to decrease as the holidays approach.

Even if you’re not buying a car, you’ll find some strong deals on auto supplies from merchants like Advance Auto Parts. Watch Ben’s Bargains for new coupon codes every week when you can see codes taking up to 40% off purchases.

Flight of the Gadgets

Fall is the season of new gadget releases, which means last year’s models will start receiving steeper discounts. With the recent September releases of the two new iPhones and several tablets as well as the upcoming October releases of products like the rumored Google Nexus 8 and the iPad Air 2, be on the lookout for markdowns of the previous models.

By late October, you’ll begin to see aggressive Black Friday-like prices on older tech products like 4th Gen Ivy Bridge computers as well as smartphones released in late-2013 / early-2014.

If you’ve only got eyes for the newest gadgets or traditional Black Friday doorbusters like TVs, you probably won’t get lucky in October unless you see a gold Ben’s Best badge on one of those products, which means it’s a historical, BF-esque deal that you better snatch up immediately.

For deals on the newest tech products, plan to spend in November (like a new Google Nexus 8), but keep the wallet open for the off-chance you’ll see a crazy October deal. It will happen, especially in the last week.

Old-School PCs on the Cheap

Since tablet sales are now significant competition to traditional desktops and laptops, that means you will find aggressive deals on both types of computers. Don’t expect the fire sale to happen immediately, but if you’re content with a desktop or regular (non-ultrabook, non-touch) laptop, there will be some very low prices out there. Look for last-gen laptops (late-2013 or early-2014) at $250 or even less in the coming weeks, which is a fantastic bargain compared to tablets. And you can even do work on them!

Don’t Forget about the Great Outdoors

As colder temperatures start to roll in across the country, many people tend to forget about spending time in the great outdoors. However, October is the perfect month to pick up outdoor deals like discounted gardening supplies as well as camping gear for the next season.

More Off-Season Finds

It’s definitely not summer anymore in most parts of the country, which means travel deals will start heating up.  Sure, it’s not the most ideal time to travel, but there will be less people in your way.

The same goes for gas grills, air conditioners and back to school apparel, like denim. Stores like REI, Sears and American Eagle are all looking to liquidate the remainders of their summer inventory. If you wait for Black Friday, there will be very little left.

Traveling to the Big Apple?

Since October is still a fantastic time to pick up solid travel deals in the off-season before the holiday price hike, you can also land some excellent discounts on Broadway tickets for major shows in New York City. Head down to the ticket booth in Times Square to snag the best deals on the day of the show.

Don’t Forget Deal Alerts

If you want to make sure you don’t miss any upcoming October deals on Ben’s Bargains, don’t forget to set up deal alerts (registration required). You’ll receive an instant email and get the first chance to jump on a pre-Black Friday quality deal before it disappears. And the Ben’s Best deals are gone fast!

You’re also welcome to send us tips or suggestions. Good luck!

– Mike Flacy contributed to this report.

Waste Not, Want Not: Best Deals to Buy in October

Labor Day is September 1st this year, kicking off the unofficial start of fall and typically bringing with it a rash of Labor Day / End of Summer sales.

At Ben’s Bargains, there are a lot of great deals throughout the year, but some patterns do appear. For example, bedding and mattress sales abound during and after Labor Day. Aside from the usual department stores like Macy’s, JCPenney and Kohl’s having bedding sales, watch for good deals on sheets, comforters and pillows from sites like Tanga, 1SaleADay, Woot! and Groupon.

Here are other deals to watch for in September:

Get Ready for iPhone 5S Discounts

Apple is expected to announce its latest iPhone, likely two different screen sizes, on September 9th. Typically, Apple drops the price of their previous generation iPhone, in this case the iPhone 5S, by $100 and the two-year-old phone (the iPhone 5 or 5C) by $200.

In other words, the iPhone 5 or 5C could be free with a 2-year contract if previous years are any indication. You can also take advantage of Apple’s trade-in program in order to get credit for your old iPhone at Apple stores. Or you can sell it on an auction site like eBay.

In addition, a free firmware update will be released on September 10th. Rather than design changes, Apple is focusing on new features in this version of iOS 8. Those features include a revision to the Photos and Messages app, improved notification interaction, a smarter keyboard, family file sharing and a fitness dashboard for tracking your health. You can read more about these features here.

So if you pick up an iPhone 5S at a discounted price, you will likely be able to take advantage of all the new features. Be aware that Apple generally limits features in older generations of the iPhone, thus the iPhone 5 and 5C may run into issues when running iOS 8.

But Don’t Forget About the Tablets

September has also meant new Kindles from Amazon in previous years as well as other manufacturers. Expect updates Samsung’s line of tablets as well as the Google Nexus and possibly the Kindle Fire. A new iPad release is also possible as the rumored update to the iPad Air could be announced as early as September 9th.

Summer is Over, School is in Session

If you’ve waited till now to buy Back to School stuff, you’ll actually be able to pick up some pretty good deals since retailers are trying to clear out the rest of their stock. Retailers aimed at kids and teens like The Children’s Place and Aeropostale started slashing prices in late August and will continue into September.

Seasonal items like patio furniture and sunglasses will see further price reductions in September. Kmart has already started an end of season clearance sale on patio furniture with reductions up to 70% off. As the days get shorter, September is a good time to stock up on some shades. You should see more sunglasses deals from sites like Oakley Vault, Groupon, 1SaleADay, 13 Deals and Sunglass Hut.

Home is Where the Deals Are

A lot of babies are born in September. It’s usually the number one or number two highest birth rate month of the year. Babies R Us on eBay has started a huge clearance sale on over 1800 baby and kids’ apparel items. Amazon is a good site for stroller deals as well as baby monitors.

Furniture and appliance deals will also be plentiful in late September as retailers move new models and styles into stores. In late August, Target started a big furniture sale with 20% off furniture orders plus a $10 off $50 coupon code.  Be aware that these sales get more aggressive as the year wears on, typically tipping during November into Black Friday sales.

Don’t Get Sucked into Black Friday Just Yet

As we look into the fall months, there is a tendency to wait it out for Black Friday deals on tech products. However, September has traditionally been a good time for laptop deals and extremely good for desktop deals. If you are in the market for an all-in-one design or simply the traditional setup, you are likely to find desktop deals that rival what you can score during Black Friday sales.

Apple released the newest Macbook models in June. Although a few retailers dropped the price of the new models for a few days in August, expect to see price drops on Fall 2013 models at sites like MacMall and Amazon and good deals on refurbished 2013 models at Apple Store.

Beyond computers, there are also heavy discounts on televisions during September, specifically due to the kickoff of the college and professional football seasons. While you will find doorbusters during Black Friday that are more aggressive, the majority of regular Black Friday sales are on par with television deals during September.

If you are in the market for something larger, look to plasma televisions in the 55-inch to 65-inch range for the best deals during September. However, if you’re interested in LED or 3D televisions, it’s best to wait until early November to start taking advantage of more aggressive deals.

Head to the Dealership this Fall

Since the 2015 models of new cars hit the lots during early September, hitting the car lot in late September and beyond will put you in an excellent negotiating position for the current stock of older models. Discounts usually start around 10 to 15 percent and dealers are more flexible during the purchase process when haggling over the price. These base discounts increase over the following months, but stock on older models also dwindles as 2014 comes to a close.

In addition, September is a killer month for deals on auto supplies according to our sales data. If you are working on an older car and need to pick up a small set of tools or parts, look for Labor Day discounts as well as other sales throughout the month.  If you’re looking for a larger set of tools, it’s best to wait until the Black Friday sales period to get the best deals.

Need Some Bling?

There are six terrible months to purchase jewelry and six months you will find the best deals. August and September are in the latter category due to the lack of a major buying holiday. If you start shopping for a shiny Christmas gift now, you’ll save significantly more compared to the final three months of the year. Jewelry sales traditionally bottom out in September and jewelers are more open to price negotiation. Online jewelry sales are also more aggressive.

Don’t Forget Deal Alerts

If you want to make sure you don’t miss any upcoming  September deals on Ben’s Bargains, don’t forget to set up deal alerts (registration required). You’ll receive an instant email and get the first chance to jump on a great deal before it disappears. And the best deals are gone fast!

You’re also welcome to send us tips or suggestions. Good luck!

– Mike Flacy contributed to this report.

Waste Not, Want Not: Best Deals to Buy in September

You can admit it. We all do it. It’s a compulsion, a necessity, an obsession. Anyone that uses the Internet checks Amazon when shopping for something.

Maybe it’s that new 47-inch HDTV that you’ve had your eye on at Best Buy. Let’s check Amazon to see if it’s cheaper. Maybe it’s a new pair of sneakers that you spotted at the mall. I bet Amazon has them too.

Don’t get us wrong, we do it too. And quite often, Amazon is cheaper. It gets even better if you still live in a state where Amazon doesn’t charge sales tax or you can use your Amazon Prime subscription to get it in just two days without paying additional shipping costs.

However, there are an increasing number of deals as of late in which retailers are able to beat Amazon’s price significantly. On Ben’s, we specifically point that out in the deal box next to the retail price. In addition to that feature, we will also be rounding up the best of those deals for you each week in this new series.

So without further adieu, here are the best deals that are cheaper than Amazon this week:

Motorola Moto G Android 4.5″ Smartphone (No Contract)

$50 at Best Buy versus $90 at Amazon

MSI Primo 81 Android Tablet (8-inch)

$69 at Newegg versus $119 at Amazon

Sennheiser CX 890i Headphones

$45 at VMInnovations versus $73 at Amazon

Conair Cuisine CC-10 Grind & Brew Coffeemaker (06-04 only)

$20 at Best Buy versus $43 at Amazon

The North Face Men’s Apex Elevation Jacket

$90 at REI versus $199 at Amazon

LG 55LB7200 240Hz 3D IPS LED Smart HDTV (55-inch)

$1050 at eBay (BuyDig) versus $1277 at Amazon

Kenmore 1.6 cu ft 1100W Countertop Microwave

$88 at Sears versus $157 at Amazon

As always, be sure to check Ben’s deal feed for the latest deals and contribute to our community by rating each deal. If you are looking for a specific product, you can sign up for deal alerts here and we will email you the second that we post it in the deal feed.

Cheaper Than Amazon Part I: Phones, Tablets and Coffeemakers

While Spring has been around for over a month at this point, temperatures have finally started to get more tolerable across the country. As you emerge from your winter hibernation, retailers are excited to get you into the stores to shop for new products. As always, we have combed through our deal history over the last ten years to give you the insider perspective of what type of deals to expect this month.

Memorial Day is Creeping up Quickly

During 2014 and 2015, you will see Memorial Day sales advertised sooner, basically because the holiday is on the 26th (this year) and 25th (next year), as opposed to the end of the month. Similar to how Black Friday sales started earlier during 2013, pre-Memorial Day sales will start by the second full week of May.

Dell is normally aggressive with computer and television discounts in the weeks leading up to Memorial Day weekend. Last year we saw some a huge number of discounts on big-screen HDTVs and Inspiron laptops and desktops on the Thursday before the big Memorial Day weekend. They weren’t historical lows, but still solid sale prices.

In addition, expect to see a significant increase in the number of apparel sales. Last year, we saw sales from clothing brands / retailers such as Kenneth Cole, Aeropostale, Levi and Altrec. Sales are usually a minimum of 50 percent off merchandise and can be improved with special Memorial Day sale coupons in your local paper.

May can also be a great time to get next year’s winter jacket for heavily discounted prices. However, be aware that much of this stock has been picked over already due to 50 to 75 percent off sales during April. You will also find a larger number of sales on Spring clothing as retailers have started to shift to the summer lines.

Game on!

In addition to Xbox One discounts that should continue throughout May around the $450 price point, the long-awaited Watch Dogs multi-platform game comes out just before Memorial Day. Based off coverage of the title, it should be a significant hit for Ubisoft.

Expect Amazon, Newegg and Dell to offer pre-order discounts on all versions of the title, console and PC. In fact, Dell already has: LINK. In addition, NVIDIA is bundling the game with the purchase of a new GeForce graphics card from participating retailers.

It’s time to leave college

Starting in May (and continuing through early June), this is the time that retailers compete for shoppers that are purchasing graduation gifts. As your college student graduates college and heads off to their first job / apartment, they are going to need housewares that are a step up from the dorm hotplate. You should be able to find numerous deals on cookware sets and small kitchen appliances.

In addition, look for heavy discounts on vacuum cleaners. In years past, the release cycle for new vacuum cleaners has been scheduled for June. This means that all the older models will be discounted heavily to make room on store shelves.

Upgrade the big screen with a bigger screen

In late April, we’ve already seen a lot of big TV discounts on last year’s models. Expect that trend to continue into May. Dell is bundling big gift cards in the range of $200 to $400 with 2013 HDTVs from Sharp, Samsung and Vizio. You will also see television sales increase as we get closer to Memorial Day. Specifically, look for the best deals on larger panels in the 55 to 60-inch range.

More Memory Can’t Hurt

Memory prices are steadily declining since last fall’s China factory fire. Don’t expect the impending release of DDR4 to make any impact on current DDR3 prices. That’s still many months away, probably not until 2015. On a similar note, Intel’s 5th gen chips, codenamed “Broadwell,” have been delayed until the beginning of 2015, so the current 4th generation PCs should hold their prices longer than the previous generation.

You can also find solid deals on laptops this month, namely because manufacturers are continuing to slash prices to fight off dwindling demand for the platform. That being said, if you can afford to wait another couple months for a new laptop, back-to-school laptop sales during July will offer the best value for your dollar.

Embrace your inner Gym Rat

Traditionally, when the weather improves significantly outside, the number of people that hit the gym drops. Of course, gyms in extremely hot climates or extremely cold climates will still see gym rats during the summer or winter. If you live in a mild climate, look for gyms membership deals that offer reduced rates, zero sign-up fees or even offers that don’t require you to sign a long contract.

Score deals by skipping the retailer completely

During the May / June period, you will see an increase in thrift store inventory as well as a larger number of yard sales each weekend. This is specifically due to Spring cleaning and it can help you score some amazing bargains on pre-owned merchandise. Check Craigslist each weekend as well as the thrift stores in upscale neighborhoods to find the best scores.

Waste Not, Want Not: The Best Deals to Buy in May

Ah, Black Friday: the mother lode of deals. It’s the day that bargain hunters wait for, either in snaking lines in the freezing cold or at their computers with a mouse in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

Black Friday and its younger sibling, Cyber Monday, are well known to all shoppers as the pinnacle of the shopping season. However, if you’re only circling the dates of November 28th (Black Friday 2013) and December 2nd (Cyber Monday 2013), then you will definitely be missing out on a wide spectrum of online deals that will be available in the month of November.

Expanded Shopping Window

The entire month of November is now open season for stores targeting customers’ wallets. It has become so competitive that retailers are no longer waiting for Black Friday or even Thanksgiving to roll out their best deals of the year. The last few years, online electronics seller Newegg has promoted “Black November” on November 1st, kickstarting an entire month of best-of-the-year offers. Amazon has their “Black Friday Week” starting on November 22nd this year and will be counting down to that date with various offers throughout the entire month of November.

At Ben’s Bargains, we invite you to visit our Black Friday 2013 Hub which we will launch on Monday, November 4th and will be showcasing all the best deals of the month as they appear, 24/7! Plus, we’ll have a cheat sheet of the best in-store Black Friday deals and buyers’ guides to the hottest gifts this holiday season.

Here’s a look at some prime shopping deals in November:

Cheap Media

Crazy doorbusters are par for the course on Black Friday, and cheap DVDs, Blu-rays and older video games are typically among the loss leaders that retailers will dangle to customers to get them into their stores or onto their sites.

Expect popular Blu-ray movies at $5 a pop or even less from sites like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, JR.com and the Warner Bros. online shop. Amazon will discount movies and music the last week of November at different times of the day. Sign up for their emails or even better, peruse their Twitter feeds to get notice of every single deal.

Popular new video games (less than 6 months old) are rarely as cheap as movies during November, but you’ll see stores like GameStop and Amazon pricing select new titles at the sweet spot of $25 to $30 for a limited time. However, don’t expect the new platform titles (Xbox One or PS4) to be discounted, but you may see promotional gift cards bundled with these games at full price from Newegg and Amazon.

Don’t forget magazines: online magazine seller DiscountMags will most likely have its once-a-year sale with 2-year subscriptions at $8 for dozens of magazines.

Discounted iTunes Gift Cards

Speaking of cheap media, November is the time when you start to see select retailers discounting iTunes gift cards. iTunes cards make great gifts for anyone in the Apple ecosystem, because they can be applied towards music, iOS apps, Mac apps, iBooks and more. You will see iTunes cards discounted from 20% up to as much as 30% off in some cases. Walmart, Best Buy and even Safeway (but not Apple, see below) are known to heavily discount iTunes cards at this time of year. Don’t pass up an opportunity to grab these great stocking stuffers.

November is also a great time to find discounted gift cards at other stores like Nike and Home Depot from online gift card discounter Raise.com.

Snag That Big Screen Television

You will see the best prices of the year on HDTVs, laptops and tablets hands-down. However, don’t expect they will appear only on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Because the landscape is so competitive among retailers, expect to see once-a-year, one-off deals peppered throughout the month of November.

November is about three-quarters through the HDTV model year, and there will be big discounts. If you miss them, don’t expect similar deals to come around till February 2014 when the new model year TVs come out and the 2013 models need to be liquidated. While 42-inch televisions will likely be around similar prices to last year, expect larger discounts on televisions in the 47-inch range. Of course, you will see the lowest prices on off-brand televisions, but keep an eye out for middle-of-the-road brands like Vizio for the best combination of build quality and features.

Gadget Nirvana

We are not quite midway through the life cycle of the current 4th generation of Intel (Haswell) computers, so you won’t be seeing big price drops on those PCs. For 3rd generation and older PCs, you will see crazy prices with Core i3 laptops below $300 and Core i5 at $350 to $400. Lenovo, Dell and HP will have the best prices of the year on all of their laptops. And because PCs are facing increasingly stiff competition from tablets, you may see some of the best laptop deals in 2013 that we’ve seen in years.

While tablets are sitting pretty and regular prices continue to fall, the holidays should serve up some exciting tablet deals, as well. Amazon is known to discount their Kindle line this time of year, including their newest models, and eBay is certain to have prices on brand-new, popular tablets like the Google Nexus 7 at 10% to 15% off anywhere else.

Also, keep an eye out for tablets sporting Intel’s new Bay Trail processor, especially if you are in the market for a Windows tablet this year. The Bay Trail has impressive performance and a low price point that will give the Apple iPad some serious competition this year.

Apple Discounts

The Apple Store Black Friday sale gets a mention only because new Apple products are so rarely discounted.  During their one-day Black Friday sale, Apple Store will offer very modest discounts between 5% to 15% on their products with their iPad line at the low end of that spectrum.

If you’re hoping to save a few more bucks, you can wait for the eBay deals that we normally feature on a weekly basis which have similar or slightly better discounts on brand-new iPads from top sellers. As for Macs, Best Buy is likely to offer slightly better deals than Apple Store’s Black Friday deals, and you may even see them in early November.

The Usual Suspects

It almost goes without saying that the best time of the year to buy clothes and toys is November and December. If you’re looking for a specific toy or brand of clothing, you absolutely must set up a Ben’s Bargains deal alert because we will be working hard over the next several weeks to bring you the very best clothing and toy deals out there on the web.

You will also be able to find tons of great deals on kitchen cookware as well as tools for the garage over the next several weeks. Look for the best deals toward the end of the month as well as early December.

Don’t Forget Deal Alerts

If you want to make sure you don’t miss any upcoming November and Black Friday deals on Ben’s Bargains, don’t forget to set up deal alerts (registration required). You’ll receive an instant email and get the first chance to jump on a once-a-year, one-off deal before it disappears. And the Ben’s Best deals are gone fast!

You’re also welcome to send us tips or suggestions. Good luck and don’t forget to stop by Ben’s Bargains every day in November for the best deals of the year!

– Mike Flacy contributed to this report.

Waste Not, Want Not: Best Deals to Buy in November