Consumer Reports: Hold off on buying a TV on Black Friday

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Black Friday is a popular day to get deals on all sorts of things, especially electronics. But there's one big purchase you might want to wait and buy later.

We are once again hard at work on our annual Black Friday Playbook, gathering deals and freebies exclusive to our 6abc viewers.

But one thing you won't see on our Playbook is a TV. Consumer Reports explains why Black Friday might not be the best time to get one.

Consumer Reports says Black Friday bargains have changed in recent years.

"Probably the biggest trend with Black Friday that we've seen is just that it's no longer about Black Friday the day and it's Black Friday, the week, the month. We see deals, creeping up earlier and earlier every year," said Consumer Reports' Jim Willcox.

Unfortunately, this shift in Black Friday shopping hasn't been all good.

"One of the downsides to Black Friday shopping is that for a lot of consumers, it's a lot more work than it used to be. You used to just look in a circular on Sunday and go out and pick the store you want to get to. Because of all the online activity now, you really have to monitor all the different websites," suggests Willcox.

And don't think that just because something is advertised as a Black Friday bargain that it's necessarily the lowest price you can find.

For example, Consumer Reports says there are sometimes better deals on TVs, if you wait to shop closer to Christmas, or wait a few weeks for Super Bowl sales.

"A lot of it is based on inventory levels. So if retailers and manufacturers don't sell a lot of TVs during the year they may have the buildup in inventory," said Willcox.

But to really find the lowest prices on TVs, plan to buy at the end of February or the beginning of March. That's when stores clear out last year's models at rock-bottom prices to make room for the newest sets on the market.

Some TVs to keep an eye on in the coming months include some 4K models from Samsung, LG and Sharp. They are Samsung UN55KU6300 for $800, LG 55UH6150 for $700, and Sharp LC-50N7000U for $550.

And again, don't miss the deals and freebies we're gathering for you in our Black Friday Playbook, which we'll release next week.

To read the full report from Consumer Reports, CLICK HERE.