TV pricing is driven by one fact: manufacturers launch new models every spring, and retailers must clear the previous year's stock before then. Everything else, including Black Friday, follows from that cycle.
The best windows, in order
1. Black Friday through Cyber Monday (late November). The lowest prices of the year for most TVs, especially on last year's mid-range and high-end models. Retailers use TVs as doorbusters, so the discounts are real, not label tricks. If you can plan a TV purchase, plan it here.
2. Super Bowl week (late January to early February). The second-best window. Retailers run "big game" sales on large screens (65 inches and up). Stock from Black Friday leftovers is still around and prices are close to November's.
3. Spring clearance (March to April). New models arrive, and the previous year's sets are cleared at their lowest prices ever, often below Black Friday. The catch is that popular sizes sell out. If you find the size you want, buy it.
4. Prime Day (July) and Prime Big Deal Days (October). Good for Amazon Fire TVs and budget brands (TCL, Hisense). Not usually the floor for Sony, Samsung or LG flagships.
When NOT to buy
- May through June. New models at launch price. The worst time of the year.
- December, after Cyber Monday. Prices bounce back up before Christmas and stock is thin.
Last year's model is the trick
The gap between a 2025 and a 2026 TV of the same tier is usually a slightly brighter panel and a new remote. The price gap in April can be 40%. Unless you want a specific new feature, the previous year's set is the better buy almost every time. Model numbers tell you the year: for example, LG uses a letter (C4, C5), Samsung uses a letter in the model code (QN90D, QN90F), and Sony bumps the number (Bravia 8, Bravia 9). Look up the year before comparing prices.
Size and price sanity check
Rough "buy now" targets, based on what we see across Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target and Costco:
- 55-inch 4K, budget brand: under $300.
- 65-inch 4K, mid-range (QLED or mini-LED): under $600.
- 65-inch OLED, previous generation: under $1,200.
- 75-inch or larger, mid-range: under $900.
A TV offer that beats those numbers outside a sale window is worth taking today.
How to know the discount is real
TVs suffer more than any other category from inflated "list" prices. A $1,999 list price that no store has charged since launch is common. Check the price at a second store (Costco and Best Buy are useful references because they do not play the list-price game much), or check the price history on our offer page. We record every price we see, daily, per store, so a TV that has been listed for a while shows its real "before" price.