By Christine Frietchen on November 5, 2011 in
Here we go: The first of the leaked Black Friday circulars are being hastily scanned and slapped online at sites like BlackFriday.com and BFAds.net. But as we saw last year (and pretty much every year), it takes a keen eye and a lot of research to separate the actual good buys from the dross.
Today's case in point: the partial Black Friday circular from Sears. Most of it is clothing and jewelry, so it's probably not complete, but there's a page of small kitchen appliances that represent most of the problems with these Black Friday deals in microcosm.
Black Friday circulars in general are pages and pages long full of tempting bargains, but ConsumerSearch has been scrutinizing these circulars for years, and we've found there's almost always a 'gotcha' -- usually falling into one of several scenarios (sometimes more than one):
1. The product is indeed a bargain, but the product itself gets lousy reviews.
2. The product looks like a good deal, but only because the stated "regular price" is inflated in the ad.
3. The discount is decent, but only after you jump through a hoop -- mail in a rebate, buy an additional product, etc.
4. The product is shown as "on sale" but it's available online RIGHT NOW for the same price or less.
So just to get ourselves warmed up for holiday 2011, let's take a look at some of the items featured in the leaked Sears circular.
The deal: Cuisinart PowerBlend Duet or Cuisinart Grind & Brew coffeemaker, $59.99 each
The catch: Where to begin? The Cuisinart PowerBlend is a combo blender and food processor; it uses the same base unit for both attachments. While the $59.99 sale price is a decent deal, the $199.99 stated "regular price" is baloney. Right now, Sears sells this product for $80 -- just like pretty much every other store online, including Amazon.com, where the product gets terrible reviews (far more 1-star and 2-star scores than 4- and 5-star ratings). Lastly, the sale price is only achieved with a $10 mail-in rebate. That means you'll pay $70 at the register -- only $10 less than it's current price, all for a blender/food processor that gets sad reviews.
As for the Cuisinart Grind & Brew DGB-550, which combines a bean grinder and brewer in one unit, it's a similar story. First of all, this is a discontinued product (newer versions are available, but the one pictured in the circular is a closeout). Right now, it costs $100 at Sears and about $90 elsewhere, including Amazon.com. We discuss this model in our coffee maker report; these grinder/brewer combos just don't get good reviews. Amazon.com user ratings are lackluster, with a lot of complaints. And again, you only get the $59.99 price after a mail-in rebate.
The deal: KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer, $269.99
The catch: There's no doubt -- the KitchenAid Artisan is a great mixer; it's a Best Reviewed mixer in our report. The problem with this Black Friday deal is not the quality of the product -- it's the sale price. You can find the Artisan stand mixer for a similar price pretty much anywhere. Amazon.com sells it right now for $277 (and free shipping). And here again, you only get the Sears Black Friday sale price after a $30 mail-in rebate -- so you'll pay $299.99 at the register, the same price you'd pay today at Sears -- definitely not a very special deal.
The deal: Hamilton Beach waffle maker, 1-liter deep fryer or panini press: $19.99 each
The catch: The waffle maker goes for about $35 at other stores, but Amazon.com doesn't sell it and we couldn't find any reviews of it anywhere. In our waffle iron report, the Presto FlipSide gets the best reviews, but costs about $40. So the $19.99 Black Friday price seems good, but with zero feedback in reviews, we just don't know whether it works well or not. The deep fryer, identified here as a Hamilton Beach model, actually looks like a mistake; on Sears' own site, the product clearly says "Proctor Silex" on it. But it doesn't really matter -- it's the same company making both brands. As with the Hamilton Beach waffle iron, we couldn't find any reviews on this small deep fryer at all, not even on the Sears website, where it's currently priced at $35; it sells for just $27 at Amazon.com.
As for the panini press, reviews at Amazon.com are pretty good, and the sale price represents a decent discount from its regular price of $40 at most stores (including Amazon.com). The best budget sandwich press in our report is the DeLonghi CGH800, which does get better reviews but costs $25 more. Of the small kitchen appliances in the Sears circular, the Hamilton Beach panini press looks like the best bet -- a product that gets good reviews and represents a good discount.
In summary: Don't trust the circulars: Do your own homework
These products are just representative -- it's not that Sears is any better or worse than any other retailer when promoting Black Friday sales. And once the rest of the Sears circular makes its way online, there may be other items that are more worthwhile. As you can see, advertised "deals" -- whether in a Black Friday circular or any other advertisement -- aren't always much of a deal. But stick with ConsumerSearch -- for the next several weeks we'll be picking apart the holiday sales to separate the good from the bad. See something in a sales circular you're not sure about? Just ask us. Post a question to our FaceBook page, hit us on Twitter (@consumersearch) or write to us through our feedback page.