The best time to buy a laptop is when you need it and the price is a real drop on the exact model you want. If you can wait, the week from Black Friday (November 27, 2026) to Cyber Monday (November 30) is the obvious target, but only if you check the part number and the return terms. For students, summer offers and year-round education pricing often matter more than any single sale day.
It depends on whether the model is new or a year old, and on how long your store gives you to return it or claim a price drop.
The laptop sales calendar, with dates
Each date below comes from the retailer’s or maker’s own page, except Amazon’s: amazon.com blocks our tools, so those come from NBC News Select.
No maker publishes a “clearance month.” What’s dated is when new models appear: CES runs January 6 to 9, 2027, and Apple announced the MacBook Air with M5 on March 3, 2026. The forum advice below says stores clear out last year’s models, so the weeks after a launch are worth watching.
| Event | What tends to be on offer | What to check before you buy |
|---|---|---|
| Black Friday to Cyber Monday (Nov 27 to 30, 2026) | Store-wide sales and doorbuster listings | Part number, “Sold by” line, the store’s price-adjustment rules for sale days |
| October sales (Prime Big Deal Days, Oct 6 to 7, 2026) | Amazon deals | Whether the seller is Amazon or a third party; we can’t read Amazon’s terms |
| Back-to-school (Apple: Jul 16 to Sep 24, 2026) | Apple gave a gift card, not a price cut | Whether you’d use the gift card; the education price applies all year |
| After a new model launches (CES in January; Apple’s March 2026 Air) | The previous model, while stock lasts | Chip generation, and that it’s sold new by the store, not a Marketplace seller |
| Holiday return windows (from Oct 1 at Microsoft) | Longer returns and price adjustments | The purchase dates covered and the return-by date |
Sources: the pages linked above and below, read October 22, 2026. “Tends to be” is our reading, not a retailer promise.
Should you wait until Black Friday to buy a laptop?
Wait if your purchase can slip a month and the laptop you want isn’t brand new. Don’t wait if you need it for a class or job that starts before late November, because no store promises a price on a date.
A July 2018 Tom’s Guide forum thread asked exactly this about a $1,889 MSI laptop. The reply marked as the solution, from a forum moderator, said Black Friday is really a marketing period from about November 1 to January 15. It advised watching the price daily and noted that new releases are rarely discounted, while stores clear out last year’s models. What the thread never gave was a way to judge a deal.
Is a Black Friday laptop deal real? How to check
A deal is real when the exact same laptop sold for more, at that store or elsewhere, for a good stretch before the sale. Four checks get you there.
1. Match the full part number, not the name. Copy the full model or part number (Lenovo’s look like 83J1002LUS) and search the maker’s own store for it. If the maker’s store doesn’t list that code, you can’t compare it like for like, and the “was” price tells you little.
2. Check the line-by-line specs against the regular model. Memory, storage, screen resolution, brightness in nits and battery size in watt-hours are where a cheaper version usually differs. If you’re not sure what’s enough, our Will it run? checker tests a laptop against the software you need.
3. Treat the crossed-out price with care. Federal rules say a former price is genuine when it was “the actual, bona fide price at which the article was offered to the public on a regular basis,” and a “fictitious” one makes the bargain “a false one” (16 CFR 233.1). Some stores don’t show a former price at all. Lenovo’s “Est Value,” for example, is “Lenovo’s estimate of product value based on industry data,” and it adds: “Third-party data may not be based on actual sales” (Lenovo shopping FAQ).
| Laptop | Price (check the live price) | The store’s “was” figure |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 (83J1002LUS) | $929.99, lenovo.com, Oct 22, 2026 (sale) | Est Value $1,249.99 |
“Est Value” is an estimate, not a price you could have paid. Compare the same part number at other stores.
4. Build your own price history. Start a few weeks before the sale and log that exact part number’s price at two or three stores every few days, with the date. Price trackers do this automatically. Then you’ll know whether a Black Friday price is a low point or the usual price with a red banner.
Black Friday or Cyber Monday: what each retailer says
No retailer we read promises lower prices on one day than the other. What they publish is what happens if the price drops after you buy.
- Apple refunds a price drop within “14 calendar days” of delivery, but “This excludes limited-time price reductions and special sales events, such as Black Friday” (Apple sales and refund policy).
- Best Buy says, “If we lower our in-store, online or app price during the return and exchange period,” it will match on request. The Thanksgiving-week exclusion covers competitors’ prices: it won’t match “items for sale at a Qualified Competitor the Thursday before Thanksgiving Day through the Monday after Thanksgiving” (Price Match Guarantee, effective September 2, 2026). On the 2026 calendar we read that as November 19 to 30. It also excludes “items that are advertised as limited quantity,” whether Best Buy’s or a competitor’s, so ask at checkout before counting on a match.
- Microsoft Store says “Holiday purchase price adjustment may be requested until January 31, 2027” for purchases in its October 1 to December 2, 2026 window (Microsoft Store returns).
- Lenovo still showed its 2025 holiday price match on October 22, so check for 2026 terms (Lenovo shopping FAQ).
So if you buy on Black Friday at a store with a price-adjustment window, a lower Cyber Monday price may be claimable. At Apple, a Black Friday event price isn’t covered.
Holiday return windows, retailer by retailer
These are the terms each store had posted when we read them on October 22, 2026. Several hadn’t posted 2026 holiday dates yet, so check again before you buy.
| Retailer | Standard return window | Holiday terms posted (Oct 22, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Store | “within 60 days” | Purchases “between October 1, 2026 – December 2, 2026” returnable “through January 31, 2027” |
| Best Buy | 15 days; 60 for My Best Buy Plus and Total members | No laptop holiday extension on the page; only decorations are mentioned |
| Apple | “14 calendar days” from receipt | None posted |
| Dell | 30 days from invoice | Last year’s: purchases Nov 1 to Dec 25, 2025, returnable to Jan 15, 2026 “or 30-days from invoice date, whichever is later” |
| Lenovo.com | “30 calendar days” (Outlet: 14) | Last year’s: orders Nov 3 to Dec 14, 2025, returnable through Jan 27, 2026 |
| HP.com | “30 days from the date of delivery” | None; HP says it “occasionally offers promotions that extend the standard return window” |
| Back Market | 30 days from receipt | Purchases “between Black Friday and December 31” extended to January 31 |
| Amazon | Not read | amazon.com blocks our tools, so we can’t quote its terms |
Sources: each retailer’s own page, read October 22, 2026. Best Buy’s return policy is dated February 23, 2026; Best Buy’s members’ longer windows “do not apply to any Marketplace purchases.” Microsoft’s FAQ on the same page still showed 2025 dates; we quote its banner and footnotes, which show 2026.
When is the best time to buy a laptop for college?
Buy after you’ve read your program’s laptop page, early enough to return it if it fails a requirement. For most students that’s summer.
Apple’s last back-to-school promotion ran from July 16 to September 24, 2026, and gave a discount equal to an Apple Gift Card’s value on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, with the card “redeemable for future purchase(s) only.” Education pricing itself runs all year. Programs with exam software set rules that a sale price won’t fix: our nursing school laptop requirements survey and best laptop for ExamSoft guide show what gets laptops rejected.
When is the best time to buy a MacBook?
Right after Apple launches a new one, if you want the new model, or when a refurbished unit of the outgoing model shows up. Apple doesn’t announce launch dates ahead of time; the MacBook Air with M5 came on March 3, 2026, and shipped from March 11.
| MacBook Air 13 (M5) | Price | Source, date |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price at launch | $1,099 ($999 education) | Apple Newsroom, March 3, 2026 |
| 16 GB, 512 GB, new | $1,299 | apple.com, Oct 21, 2026 |
| 16 GB, 512 GB, Apple Certified Refurbished | $1,099 | apple.com, Oct 22, 2026 |
Apple raised the price after launch, so the new 16 GB, 512 GB model cost more in October than the March starting price. Check the live price; refurbished stock changes daily. Refurbished terms are in our refurbished laptop guide.
What it means when you buy
Timing saves money only if the return window protects you. Before you buy, write down the full part number, the store’s return-by date and whether it adjusts prices that fall. Buy from the store itself, not a Marketplace seller: Best Buy’s member windows and price match both exclude Marketplace orders.
FAQ
Are laptops cheaper on Black Friday?
No store promises it. The forum moderator quoted above said brand-new releases are rarely discounted and last year’s stock is what gets cleared. Track the exact part number for a few weeks first and you’ll know whether it’s a real low.
Are laptops cheaper on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
No retailer we read says one day is cheaper. The cover differs: Microsoft adjusts holiday prices through January 31, 2027, and Apple excludes Black Friday from price-drop refunds.
Are Black Friday laptop deals worth it?
Yes, when the part number matches the regular model and the price beats its recent price at other stores.
What month are laptops cheapest?
No maker or retailer publishes one, and we don’t invent price history. Watch late November and the weeks after a new model launches.
What to do next
- Pick the model and copy its full part number from the maker’s own store.
- Set a price alert below, and log that part number’s price at two or three stores every few days.
- Check our Will it run? tool or your program’s requirements before the sale, not after.
- Note your store’s return-by date and price-adjustment rule on the receipt day.
- If it’s a refurbished deal, read our refurbished laptop guide first.
- Short on time? Our laptop finder matches your use and budget to laptops on our shortlist.
Sources
All read October 22, 2026, unless a date is given.
- Apple: Sales and refund policy, Newsroom: Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with M5 (March 3, 2026), College Student Offer terms, Education Store back-to-school page (no offer running). Refurbished and new MacBook Air prices are from our shortlist, checked on apple.com October 22 and October 21, 2026.
- Best Buy: Return & Exchange Policy (effective February 23, 2026), Price Match Guarantee (effective September 2, 2026)
- Microsoft: Microsoft Store returns
- Dell: Holiday shipping and extended returns (US) (page metadata January 20, 2026; shows 2025 holiday terms)
- Lenovo: Shopping FAQ (returns, price protection, 2025 holiday terms, “Est Value” definition); IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 83J1002LUS price from our shortlist, lenovo.com, October 22, 2026
- HP: HP.com returns & refunds (updated terms effective August 1, 2026)
- Back Market: 30-day change-of-mind returns (“Updated over 3 weeks ago”)
- CES: ces.tech (CES 2027, January 6 to 9)
- NBC News Select: Amazon Prime Day 2026 dates, October Prime Day 2026 dates. Amazon’s own pages were not read because amazon.com’s robots.txt blocks our tools.
- US Code of Federal Regulations: 16 CFR 233.1, Former price comparisons
- Tom’s Guide forum: Should I wait until Black Friday to buy a laptop? (July 8, 2018)