You find the TV you have been waiting for at $150 off in mid-November, two weeks before Black Friday on Friday, November 27. Buy it now and the same set could be cheaper on the day itself. Wait, and the deal could be gone.
Whether buying early is a gamble depends almost entirely on where you shop. Best Buy and Target will refund the difference if their own price drops later in the season. Amazon and Walmart have not announced a holiday price guarantee, so there the return window is your only safety net.
Here is how each of the four big US retailers treats an early purchase, and the return deadlines that apply to gifts and electronics bought from early November to New Year's Eve.
When Black Friday 2026 sales start at Walmart, Best Buy and Target
The early events are staggered, and our full Black Friday 2026 sale calendar has every date. Walmart's Early Black Friday Deals run Thursday, November 12 through Sunday, November 15, opening on Walmart.com at 12:01 a.m. ET. Its main Black Friday Deals event follows from Monday, November 23 to Sunday, November 29, with stores joining on November 27 at 6 a.m. local time.
Walmart+ members get first access to the hottest deal drops at 12:01 a.m. ET on November 12 and again on November 23. Whatever is left opens to everyone 24 hours later. Cyber Monday deals then run online from Monday, November 30 to Wednesday, December 2.
Best Buy's Black Friday Doorbusters and Deals start Thursday, November 19 and run for 10 days, through Saturday, November 28, with early deals refreshed every Friday before that. Target ran its Early Black Friday sale from November 5 to 7 and, as of November 8, had not dated its Black Friday week. Both chains, like Walmart, keep their stores closed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26.
Best Buy price match: what happens if the price drops after you buy
Best Buy has the longest safety net of the four. Under its Holiday Price Match Guarantee, products bought between October 30 and December 31 can be price matched through January 15, 2027. If a laptop you bought on November 10 drops further during the November 19 doorbuster run, you can claim the difference.
There are limits. The guarantee matches Best Buy's own current price, not Amazon's or Walmart's, and it does not cover items sold by Marketplace sellers on BestBuy.com. It is most useful on the big-ticket categories where Best Buy discounts in waves, such as the one-day OLED TV deals it has already run this fall.
Returns are generous too. According to Best Buy's holiday calendar, most purchases made from October 30 through December 31 can be returned through January 15, 2027. My Best Buy Plus and Total members get until January 31, 2027.
Target's holiday price match runs through Christmas Eve
Target's version is shorter but covers the busiest weeks. Buy something at Target from November 1 onward and watch the price. If Target's own price drops on or before Thursday, December 24, its price match policy lets you claim the lower price with proof of purchase.
Like Best Buy, Target only matches itself. The lower price has to be on Target.com or in a local Target store, and clearance or closeout items are excluded. Target coupons and Target Circle bonuses also cannot be combined with a price match, so a coupon deal and a later price drop do not stack.
Amazon and Walmart Black Friday deals: no price guarantee, so check the return window
As of November 8, Amazon had confirmed only the calendar. Its Black Friday FAQ gives November 27 for Black Friday and November 30 for Cyber Monday, without a start date for its main sales event. In 2025, its Black Friday Week began on Thursday, November 20 at 12:01 a.m. PST and ran through December 1.
What Amazon has set is the return deadline. Items bought on Amazon.com between November 1 and December 31, 2026 can be returned until January 31, 2027, according to an Amazon announcement to its sellers. The same notice says the extended window will now apply every year. Amazon's usual return conditions still apply.
That long window is the practical answer to the early-buy dilemma at Amazon. An early purchase is not final until the end of January, which gives you time to compare it with the Black Friday price. It is also worth using the price history on a product page, since the crossed-out price on a deal is often not a price anyone actually charged.
Walmart's holiday announcement covers dates and Walmart+ perks, but no price guarantee. Treat each of its three events as a separate deal, and check the return window printed on your receipt for electronics before you buy in the November 12 sale.
Holiday return deadlines for Apple products, phones and electronics
Apple gear gets a shorter window at both Amazon and Target, and it is a common gift. At Amazon, Apple-brand products bought in November and December must be returned by January 15, 2027, two weeks before everything else.
Target's holiday shopping fact sheet sets its holiday return clock running on Saturday, December 26 for purchases made from November 1 to December 24. Electronics and entertainment, excluding Apple and Beats, keep a 30-day window that ends on January 24, 2027. Apple, Beats and unlocked or prepaid phones get 14 days, which means they must be back by Friday, January 8, 2027.
That shorter deadline matters if an iPhone, AirPods or an Apple Watch is under the tree. A gift opened on Christmas morning has barely two weeks at Target before the return window closes.
Should you buy early for Black Friday 2026 or wait
Buy early at Best Buy and Target if you see a price you are happy with. If the same item gets cheaper at the same store before the cutoff, January 15 at Best Buy and December 24 at Target, you can claim the difference. That makes their early sales close to risk-free, as long as you keep the receipt.
At Amazon and Walmart, buy early only for items that are hard to find or that you need before the holidays, and keep the box sealed until Black Friday has passed. Your fallback is a return, not a refund of the difference.
Before checking out, write down two dates for anything bought as a gift: the last day for a price match and the last day for a return. Most of those deadlines land between Christmas Eve and the end of January, but for Apple products bought at Target the return deadline arrives on January 8.
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