Ask HN: What did you buy or considering buying this Black Friday?
I'm personally considering pulling the trigger on the 15' Macbook Air M2 to replace my current 15' Macbook Pro Intel
99 comments
Absolutely nothing.
I did check the status of my IRA RMD's, to make sure they were scheduled by end of year, and feeling the need for some fresh air, went out and lopped a lot of mostly dead brush that was hiding a magnificent 30 foot tall (or more) Manzanita tree's trunk. I sent some photos to my family.
I don't like crowds, in person or online. My mom introduced me to "Walden" by Thoreau at an early age, and hence to Transcendentalism. Thoreau wrote a translation of the Lotus Sutra, I later found out.
Sometimes, the best things are already there, just hidden.
I did check the status of my IRA RMD's, to make sure they were scheduled by end of year, and feeling the need for some fresh air, went out and lopped a lot of mostly dead brush that was hiding a magnificent 30 foot tall (or more) Manzanita tree's trunk. I sent some photos to my family.
I don't like crowds, in person or online. My mom introduced me to "Walden" by Thoreau at an early age, and hence to Transcendentalism. Thoreau wrote a translation of the Lotus Sutra, I later found out.
Sometimes, the best things are already there, just hidden.
It's Buy Nothing Day. Didn't buy anything.
Buy buying nothing, I bought slightly more runway to spend more time on my projects and with friends.
I respect your self-restraint
Is it? If you need something you would have got it already. If you don't then you're just wasting money.
It's more like a lack of self-restraint - not holding back beforehand.
It's more like a lack of self-restraint - not holding back beforehand.
> If you need something you would have got it already
Not necessarily, it’s common for people to wait for Black Friday for big purchases.
Not necessarily, it’s common for people to wait for Black Friday for big purchases.
> Not necessarily, it’s common for people to wait for Black Friday for big purchases.
That's my point though - if you can and do wait you don't actually need it. Like unless you're in some financial hardship or other edge case...
E.g. would you wait 6 months without a TV so you can buy it on Black Friday? If you can do that you don't need it. It's a nice to have.
That's my point though - if you can and do wait you don't actually need it. Like unless you're in some financial hardship or other edge case...
E.g. would you wait 6 months without a TV so you can buy it on Black Friday? If you can do that you don't need it. It's a nice to have.
I’d guess that most big purchases are replacements for things people already have. E.g. the washing machine I bought earlier this month replaced my 20 year old washer that was starting to fail.
I probably could have kept the old machine working for a few more months so technically didn’t need a new washer, but if I’d waited until the old one actually died and then bought a replacement I’d likely have paid a lot more.
It seemed much more rational to just keep the old one until the next big sale and then replace it.
I probably could have kept the old machine working for a few more months so technically didn’t need a new washer, but if I’d waited until the old one actually died and then bought a replacement I’d likely have paid a lot more.
It seemed much more rational to just keep the old one until the next big sale and then replace it.
Depends. It can be something I need, but it makes sense to wait a few months to save a few hundred bucks. 20% on a nice TV can be 200-300€.
I see your point, but with your definition you never « need » anything except for food, water and healthcare, which is true to some extent but not a very useful definition for everyday use.
I see your point, but with your definition you never « need » anything except for food, water and healthcare, which is true to some extent but not a very useful definition for everyday use.
Samsung frame TV, they're about 33% off this week from the typical price.
I know it has mixed reviews with the tech crowd but everyone I know that's gotten one for primarily aesthetic reasons loves it. I have an open floor plan apartment with not a ton of wall space, so I'm optimistic it will be a good way to have a TV when needed without making the TV such a focal point of the room. I'm also looking forward to getting exposed to new artwork in the shuffle mode.
I know it has mixed reviews with the tech crowd but everyone I know that's gotten one for primarily aesthetic reasons loves it. I have an open floor plan apartment with not a ton of wall space, so I'm optimistic it will be a good way to have a TV when needed without making the TV such a focal point of the room. I'm also looking forward to getting exposed to new artwork in the shuffle mode.
Our living room is made of windows and direct sunlight is a nightmare for most TVs. We don't wish to cover our windows every time we watch a show or kick on the nintendo switch, as we like having a house with tons of light and windows :)
We LOVE our frame TV. Its anti-glare is awesome. The samsung nagware and UI suck, but I've not found anything nearly as good.
We LOVE our frame TV. Its anti-glare is awesome. The samsung nagware and UI suck, but I've not found anything nearly as good.
it's a nice TV, though I prefer the video quality of LG screens. Samsung's tv OS though is better than LG's in general, although it could be much better. Enjoy it :-)
My friend has one, it looks great
I went on slickdeals.net to see if there was anything worth picking up and I was interested to see that a lot of the “most popular deals” were actually various discounts for services or digital goods. The rest were deals for smallish electronics accessories (chargers and such). It’s possible that website has built a profile on me and was showing me what it thinks I’m already interested in, but nonetheless it struck me that people don’t really go after material goods the same way they used to. Perhaps “Black Friday” doesn’t really work when there isn’t the opportunity to upsell on other items after the person is already at the physical store.
I also went to Costco to pick up regular food type stuff and was surprised to see it relatively empty (I expected to have to do battle over my 2 dozen eggs and etc). Even employees seemed to be surprised at the low turnout. Free alpha on consumer sentiment I guess?
I also went to Costco to pick up regular food type stuff and was surprised to see it relatively empty (I expected to have to do battle over my 2 dozen eggs and etc). Even employees seemed to be surprised at the low turnout. Free alpha on consumer sentiment I guess?
Black Friday is a stupid "holiday" that only drives people to buy more shit that they don't need. So nothing.
Apologies for the harsh response. It's not directed towards you. I went on walks around a suburb I live in for two years, and the number of garages PACKED FULL of absolute crap was astounding (usually while having two cars parked right in front of it, usually partially or entirely blocking the sidewalk). When I think of Black Friday, I think of that.
Apologies for the harsh response. It's not directed towards you. I went on walks around a suburb I live in for two years, and the number of garages PACKED FULL of absolute crap was astounding (usually while having two cars parked right in front of it, usually partially or entirely blocking the sidewalk). When I think of Black Friday, I think of that.
New case to carry a Starlink Dishy around internationally.
https://nanuk.com/products/nanuk-960 ($100 off for Black Friday)
Special edition coffee from a roaster I was introduced to.
https://www.modest.coffee/product/2023-special-collector/
(just happy with these products, no affiliation, not compensated in any way)
https://nanuk.com/products/nanuk-960 ($100 off for Black Friday)
Special edition coffee from a roaster I was introduced to.
https://www.modest.coffee/product/2023-special-collector/
(just happy with these products, no affiliation, not compensated in any way)
Nice looking case! I got the OEM starlink travel case ($250) and was quite pleased with it. Even has backpack straps, though I'm not going far from the vehicle with starlink.
I really like the design and style of the OEM case you mention, I just didn't feel comfortable checking it as checked baggage. Needed something that could take a beating as cargo (I also bought the foam and shaped it for the dish and base). Thank you for the recommendation.
Tons of close calls.
Nearly bought a portable monitor for cafe coding; it's just so great that there's a huge variety of panels being packaged & made available at decent prices now! 2k 16" 500 nit >60Hz HDR was my goal, and it was hard finding parametric matches. Just gonna put that idea on the shelf again, but it's excellent to see how much more is available.
Almost bought a "solar generator" to run some electronics off & feel good about, but sizing feels off. I need a signficant power station to feel ok running a potentially 600w+ computer, but then the station could handle more solar, but then I don't have enough ways to use all that power day to day. It feels weird. I wish I had the years to artisinally handcraft power systems for this all. It bugs me that 48v or wide-Vin DC power supplies aren't available to consumers; everything would be so much cooler if they were.
I did end up buying a couple hundred feet of cheap st38 string lights for patio space. And some small cheap 20w Neewer lights (rgb62), with their app control, to complement some bigger lights I use. And some better videography clamp mounts and magic ball arms, which among other things I want to use to mount my 360-degree camera onto my bicycle with, on a very extended arm for some spacy floaty ride around the city videos with. Bought a 512GB Samsung Pro Ultimate SD card for said camera. Finally bought the Premio Apagard toothpaste (nano hydroxyapatite) that I've been idling about. Bought some chai and some tea candles. Bought a Matter smart plug to dabble with.
Nearly bought a portable monitor for cafe coding; it's just so great that there's a huge variety of panels being packaged & made available at decent prices now! 2k 16" 500 nit >60Hz HDR was my goal, and it was hard finding parametric matches. Just gonna put that idea on the shelf again, but it's excellent to see how much more is available.
Almost bought a "solar generator" to run some electronics off & feel good about, but sizing feels off. I need a signficant power station to feel ok running a potentially 600w+ computer, but then the station could handle more solar, but then I don't have enough ways to use all that power day to day. It feels weird. I wish I had the years to artisinally handcraft power systems for this all. It bugs me that 48v or wide-Vin DC power supplies aren't available to consumers; everything would be so much cooler if they were.
I did end up buying a couple hundred feet of cheap st38 string lights for patio space. And some small cheap 20w Neewer lights (rgb62), with their app control, to complement some bigger lights I use. And some better videography clamp mounts and magic ball arms, which among other things I want to use to mount my 360-degree camera onto my bicycle with, on a very extended arm for some spacy floaty ride around the city videos with. Bought a 512GB Samsung Pro Ultimate SD card for said camera. Finally bought the Premio Apagard toothpaste (nano hydroxyapatite) that I've been idling about. Bought some chai and some tea candles. Bought a Matter smart plug to dabble with.
* Pixel 8 to replace my Pixel 3, which doesn't get security updates. I was happy with my Pixel 3, but trading in my Pixel 3 gave a 50% discount, on top of the Pixel 8 discount. I figure Pixel 3 trade ins won't be so generous in future, and Pixel 8 is an outlier in Android update support (2030!). 570 AUD.
* Thinkpad t480s from EBay, who had a November discount. I had no laptop! 300 AUD.
* Electronics tools/consumables from Aliexpress. 100 AUD?
No video games. I'm having fun playing my backlog on the Steam Deck.
* Thinkpad t480s from EBay, who had a November discount. I had no laptop! 300 AUD.
* Electronics tools/consumables from Aliexpress. 100 AUD?
No video games. I'm having fun playing my backlog on the Steam Deck.
I got the 7a to replace my 4a5G. Only got a measly $47 off lol
> I'm personally considering pulling the trigger on the 15' Macbook Air M2 to replace my current 15' Macbook Pro Intel
I made this jump when the M2 MBA came out. It’s amazing. The only thing you’ll miss about the Intel MBP is the built-in white noise generator.
This year, I bought some GaN bricks and USB-C cables. Prices were somewhat better than normal but not amazing.
One trick for getting more out of Black Friday is stacking an Amex offer (I used a $20 off $100 at Untuckit) with retailers’ sale pricing.
I made this jump when the M2 MBA came out. It’s amazing. The only thing you’ll miss about the Intel MBP is the built-in white noise generator.
This year, I bought some GaN bricks and USB-C cables. Prices were somewhat better than normal but not amazing.
One trick for getting more out of Black Friday is stacking an Amex offer (I used a $20 off $100 at Untuckit) with retailers’ sale pricing.
Throw in Rakuten to triple stack some stores
I searched ali express for a peristaltic pump for $1.50. Then I bought it on Amazon Prime for $7.00. Because I want to actually receive it.
haha, I don't know what peristaltic is, but I'm happy for you!
It's basically a rubber hose, and rollers that squeeze the hose to push liquids through. The motor runs the rollers.
Also means that the liquids don't touch the motor.
Also means that the liquids don't touch the motor.
I tried looking and comparing deals on budget battery powered lawn tools (mower, string trimmer). Greenworks looked to be the most affordable but there was just so many different models that the choice overload made me give up. I didn’t want my entire holiday eaten up by shopping.
(If anyone has recommendations on what features actually matter on these things and what to get, I’m all ears.)
(If anyone has recommendations on what features actually matter on these things and what to get, I’m all ears.)
I bought a Beelink mini PC to replace the cloud VM that hosts a few things for me. I'm tired of resizing my little EBS volumes, and want to store more data. At the discounted price, I should be saving money in about a year with substantially better specs... not including the cost of my time in figuring out backups and all that nonsense.
Some more Renogy solar panels, because I live off-grid in an RV.
And then some Lectric e-bikes, to use up all that extra electricity.
And then some Lectric e-bikes, to use up all that extra electricity.
Do you roof mount them? How do things go this time of the year, assuming you're in a winter hemisphere, regarding portable-tier solar?
I did this maybe 12 years ago in a very small RV for 18 months. I found during winter I needed to be sure I drove around a bit more to charge up my batteries.
I did this maybe 12 years ago in a very small RV for 18 months. I found during winter I needed to be sure I drove around a bit more to charge up my batteries.
I have 800W of roof-mounted solar panels, and I just got two 200W Renogy "suitcase" panels. All of these feed a 400aH 12V battery bank. Summer energy generation was pretty solid, and I went a max of about 8 days using just the 800W roof panels without having to top off with the generator. Now, in the fall, I'm in Quartzsite, AZ, and the 800W flat-mounted panels were are getting me a few days before needing to run the generator for at least a few hours. Adding the extra 400W of portable, direct-able solar panels did the trick, and I'm staying fully charged on sunny days (which is most days here).
Nothing. Thanksgiving weekend is my favorite holiday time because the focus is on hanging out with family and not buying anything except food and maybe experiences.
In the spirit of the original post, though, there are a few items on my list of things to consider buying because I want them, but nothing pressing.
In the spirit of the original post, though, there are a few items on my list of things to consider buying because I want them, but nothing pressing.
My shoes were worn out so I bought new shoes. And my left mouse button wore out so I bought a new mouse. And my legs are worn out so I bought a theragun. (Those were bought earlier this week, actually, but 2/3 were on sale). Today I bought some groceries.
The corporations say "buy!", we buy on command.
It's like the Force.
It's like the Force.
These are the droids you’re looking for, now at reduced prices!
I fall for marketing tricks so easily...
* Celestron 15x70 binoculars. I planned on getting them anyway and they were 30% off.
* Glasses. Earlier in the week I broke one pair and then another pair spontaneously broke last night.
* Glasses. Earlier in the week I broke one pair and then another pair spontaneously broke last night.
Desktops been acting weird lately. Built it in 2017 so bought a new nvme drive with enclosure. Gonna clone and swap it out, hopefully the odd issues get sorted out
HP G9 600 mini to run proxmox in my pretend homelab. You can add non heterogenous memory and add in a second 10gbe nic. Then upgrade the nvmes.
They’re really discounted on the hp site right now. Tempting…
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-elite-mini-600-g9-deskt...
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-elite-mini-600-g9-deskt...
I worked on https://saas.blackfriday featuring 40+ deals of marketing, SEO, sales, CRM, dev, product, and business software.
Deals vary from extended trials, extra credits, discounts to lifetime plans. Ending soon.
Trail running shoes.
nice! Sounds like you'd buy them anyway, so might as well use the discount.
Logitech G502 Hero wired mouse on sale for $30 at Lenovo to replace a dying Razer. I heard it's a good mouse and I hope I will like it.
The skates and the side grip both fell off mine. A far cry from the old G5 I had that lasted 10 years. These new logitechs demand you install software and they barely last a year for me
I have had that Logitech mouse for ages (and the predecessor) and love it.
Does that mouse by any chance not make too much noise when clicking? Need to find one desperately.
this G hub software is pretty bad tho, am i missing somthing, i cant seem to tell it to write to the deivce i only want 900 dpi, on whatever im using. its either a snail or a rabbit.
What OS are you on? Most my experience with ghub is windows. I think I have 4 dpi stops set and it's typically defaulting to the lower middle one - unless I'm gaming.
I believe there's options to have the mouse run in device mode (settings stored there, but I think the features are more limited) or via ghub where the settings might be stored on the computer. I'd need to dig in again though to remember, I've not touched it ghub settings in a while.
I believe there's options to have the mouse run in device mode (settings stored there, but I think the features are more limited) or via ghub where the settings might be stored on the computer. I'd need to dig in again though to remember, I've not touched it ghub settings in a while.
A wireless charger phone mount for the car, about $23, barely counts as a purchase of any significance considering I bought a sushi takeout today for $27.
We in my house have enough stuff and nothing is needed. My kid went to the mall and got some perfumes and the like, but she complains that the “deals” this year are not deals; they’re just markdowns on markups.
We in my house have enough stuff and nothing is needed. My kid went to the mall and got some perfumes and the like, but she complains that the “deals” this year are not deals; they’re just markdowns on markups.
A waffle maker! I like waffles but I can’t make them at home — an obvious shortcoming :(. Please share recommendations!
Not a Black Friday deal, but I bought this waffle iron years ago and it has been a hit! Highly recommend, assuming you prefer Belgian style waffles.
https://costcocouple.com/waringpro-double-waffle-maker/
https://costcocouple.com/waringpro-double-waffle-maker/
Lenovo legion 5 gaming laptop https://www.microcenter.com/product/671267/lenovo-legion-5-1...
As others, nothing. Fuck consumerism.
Some food. Turns out it's a pretty good day to go food shopping because most people aren't thinking about buying food the day after Thanksgiving. No crowds at all at the Grocery Outlet.
I have been waiting for this thread! I am mostly after holiday gifts, including a Nintendo Switch controller for kids.
Most of the stuff, I'd like for myself never gets discounted to what I would consider affordable :/
Most of the stuff, I'd like for myself never gets discounted to what I would consider affordable :/
I bought the AirPods Pro but what I really wanted were updated AirPods Max
For real. I guess Apple decided they want a long refresh cycle for these. Perhaps they don’t want to upset their wealthiest customers, who drop $550 on headphones.
It’s also possible they’re going to release an updated version after the Apple Vision Pro comes out next year.
It’s also possible they’re going to release an updated version after the Apple Vision Pro comes out next year.
Beats Studio Pros with all of the Apple sound features are half off for Amazon's cyber Monday deal. Considering for one of my kids.
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A flashlight [1].
I did buy something last year on Black Friday, a Fender CC-140SCE guitar, but it had problems and I returned it. After I sent it back I realized that one of the problems it has should be, as far as I can tell, actually impossible and regretted not noticing that earlier so I could have examined it closely to see what the hell was going on.
Here is the seemingly impossible problem. Maybe someone here can figure out how this could happen.
On the first string all the notes were right except at the 13th fret. Here's what you are supposed to get at the 12th-15th frets and what you actually got:
If the fret is too low or another fret between that fret and the saddle is too high the string might end up suspended on a fret closer to the saddle, and so you get the note for that closer fret instead which will be higher.
Here's a diagram showing why I think this should be impossible for it to do what mine was doing [2].
Ignore fret 14 for a moment. For fret 13 to play a G it has to be below the dotted line labeled "G Line".
Now look at fret 14. It plays the correct note, F#. To do so it must be above the G Line.
But then when you play fret 13 the string necessarily has to go above the G Line to get over fret 14, and from there should pass above fret 15. It should play fret 14's note, F#, not fret 15's G.
We should then get on 12-15 E F# F# G.
If fret 14 were low enough for 13 to play G, 14 would have to be below the G Line, and so 14 would also play G, giving is E G G G on 12-15.
In general, no matter what is going on with fret heights, moving one fret closer to the saddle should never result in a lower note, and moving one step away from the saddle should never result in a higher note.
And thus I'm completely baffled by that guitar.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H1NTK82?th=1
[2] https://imgur.com/gallery/2NLkvgt
I did buy something last year on Black Friday, a Fender CC-140SCE guitar, but it had problems and I returned it. After I sent it back I realized that one of the problems it has should be, as far as I can tell, actually impossible and regretted not noticing that earlier so I could have examined it closely to see what the hell was going on.
Here is the seemingly impossible problem. Maybe someone here can figure out how this could happen.
On the first string all the notes were right except at the 13th fret. Here's what you are supposed to get at the 12th-15th frets and what you actually got:
12 13 14 15
E F F# G <-- should be this
E G F# G <-- this is what it actually was
If the fret is too low or another fret between that fret and the saddle is too high the string might end up suspended on a fret closer to the saddle, and so you get the note for that closer fret instead which will be higher.
Here's a diagram showing why I think this should be impossible for it to do what mine was doing [2].
Ignore fret 14 for a moment. For fret 13 to play a G it has to be below the dotted line labeled "G Line".
Now look at fret 14. It plays the correct note, F#. To do so it must be above the G Line.
But then when you play fret 13 the string necessarily has to go above the G Line to get over fret 14, and from there should pass above fret 15. It should play fret 14's note, F#, not fret 15's G.
We should then get on 12-15 E F# F# G.
If fret 14 were low enough for 13 to play G, 14 would have to be below the G Line, and so 14 would also play G, giving is E G G G on 12-15.
In general, no matter what is going on with fret heights, moving one fret closer to the saddle should never result in a lower note, and moving one step away from the saddle should never result in a higher note.
And thus I'm completely baffled by that guitar.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H1NTK82?th=1
[2] https://imgur.com/gallery/2NLkvgt
Nothing. Trying to go more and more minimal these days
Got DJI Pocket-3. In terms of apps, purchased Recut ( auto-video editing app) and Usermaven ( Mixpanel Alternative ) with their lifetime plans.
I bought a new splitting axe, because my hatchet wasn't quite enough to keep up with the wood needs camping in the mountains during winter.
Where I live (Australia) a music store is offering a decent discount on the Akai MPC Key 61. I'm trying to resist the urge though.
Bought this very thing from Best Buy. A MBA 15 16/512 combo for $1449 which I think is as good as it gets with Apple.
IPA wipes and air duster to hopefully get my 2-month-old MacBook Pro’s enter key unstuck from an unfortunate drink…
I bought a hot water recirculator. I'm curious how it'll work out, and hope that it won't leak!
Don't you need to have the plumbing in a loop? Not something you just buy. You have to put in a return line back to the water heater.
I hoped for a deal on the google pixel 8 pro, but the only thing they offered were $100 Google Play Credits
Nothing. I've avoided all black friday shopping for years, even routine grocery shopping.
A really bright LED light (190W) to help with winter and spending so much time indoors working.
Stuff for kitchen renovation. Sink, faucet, range hood.
Edit: And some durable medical equipment for my mom.
Edit: And some durable medical equipment for my mom.
Rice cooker.
best life enhancing product i've gotten recently
are those better than an electric pressure cooker?
Do electric pressure cookers cook rice?
I mean do they switch off/warm mode correctly when the rice dries up, like a rice cooker, or do you have to time it?
I mean do they switch off/warm mode correctly when the rice dries up, like a rice cooker, or do you have to time it?
oh right, it doesn't autodetect on the models i've seen, so that is one thing to think about, but it has seemed pretty forgiving. just remember to 1:1 the water since it's sealed
if you're asian or whatever and make rice 10x times a week then a dedicated device is probably a good idea but if not then i'd think twice before getting something mechanically similar to but not as capable as a pressure cooker
if you're asian or whatever and make rice 10x times a week then a dedicated device is probably a good idea but if not then i'd think twice before getting something mechanically similar to but not as capable as a pressure cooker
Yes I hate the proliferation too - these pressure/multicookers must have a temperature sensor, and so all the program needs to do is switch to a 'warm mode' when the temperature exceeds 102-3C, ie that's when all the water has evaporated. Tempting to buy one and hack around with it.
My understanding is that it doesn’t really save time unless you’re cooking brown rice (and doesn’t make tastier rice in any event).
New WiFi 6 router bc my previous one was about 6 years old and started crashing
I renewed my AlgoExperts, and photoshop subscriptions for a lot less.
Sled. Not on sale. Just happened to be near the store today.
A new pair of tramping boots (hiking boots to Americans).
I bought an Axe: Council Tool Wood Craft.
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vinniepukh(1)