8 tech deals before, during and after Black Friday: GoPro, Tronsmart, Samsung and more

John Cusack

November 25, 2015

I’m scared and appalled about Black Friday at the same time, but the shopping spree is inevitable when so many manufacturers, resellers, retailers, e-commerce platforms and stores bombard everyone with attractive deals. Everywhere I click on the internet, I find myself confronted with tailored tech deals and I can’t help but bookmark them, hoping I would take advantage of them one of these days. Today, I  realized that quite a few have piled up and I decided not to participate in this year’s shopping spree. That being said, I compiled 10 tech deals that  you shouldn’t miss this year, ahead of Black Friday. Seeing as most deals on the date are not that great, I think it’s good to shop ahead.

1. Adorama’s Holiday Sale: Adorama is holding their own tech deals ahead of Black Friday, putting up thousands of products for rebate and discounted prices. What’s neat is that they offer free expedited shipping, a neat rewards system which you can save with some more and easy extended returns. The retailer added a lot of new products to their Holiday Sale this year, out of which a few are pretty interesting. For example, you can buy the Samsung Gear S2 for $259, which is a pretty decent offer, considering the free shipping and all. If Adorama is your favorite photography gear provider, you’ll be happy to know they also have amazing instant rebates on DSLR cameras and kits. You can check out their DSLR rebates page here and pick from the multitude of models they’ve on sale. If I would buy that Nikon D3300 I’ve been eyeing for the last few months, I would save $200 according to the site. I think that’s less, but it’s still some saving.
2. Amazon’s GoPro Hero+ deal: One of Amazon’s deals this week involves a GoPro Hero+ LCD deal which you need to add to your cart. The action camera actually costs $244 and comes with free shipping, so it’s one of the best deals I’ve come across on Amazon recently. You can add the GoPro Hero+ LCD to your cart and you’ll be happy to do so. I’ve always wanted a GoPro, especially since I got a bike to travel around with around the city. An action camera nowadays can be a very good investment, especially for outdoorsy people. Dashcams are a good idea, too. All these deals are making me want to go shopping. This particular one would have saved me $180, since GoPro’s price for the Hero+ LCD is about $425.
3. Coupons from Android Police: Tronsmart is having a big coupon spree on Amazon this week and the good folks at Android Police managed to aggregate all the coupons you can use. Tech deals aren’t usually expected to be about accessories, but chargers are a must for everyone these days and their cost adds up, without us even realizing it. If you’re keen on saving a bit on car chargers and desktop charging ports, check out the Android Police page to see all the coupons you can use. Note that coupons that they’ve gathered are valid for U.S., UK, Canada, Spain and France only. I could have saved $15 on chargers this year, but I’m not doing this.
4. NVIDIA Shield TV: Android TVs aren’t the most popular things to have around, but when it comes to gaming, Nvidia knows what it’s trying to do. Although I’m not particularly a fan, this year’s Nvidia Black Friday deal would have been (it might still be) the perfect gift for my boyfriend. On Black Friday, you’ll be able to knock $50 off the Nvidia Shield Android TV (which comes with its own controller) and get a free remote control to really be able to gloat about it. The problem with this deal, and why I’m wary of it, is that it’s in stores. Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, Gamestop and Micro Center are going to kick off the deal on Thanksgiving. According to the company’s announcement, the deals will still go through Saturday and will be available on Cyber Monday as well on the Nvidia shop, Newegg, Amazon and NCIX. This deal might save me $50, if my PS3 finally gives up (nah, PS4 I’m looking at you).
5. BangGood’s drone and quadcopter sale: The Chinese retailer has a lot of cheap prices for drones, quadcopters, helicopters, cars, robots and other toys, either for stuffing stockings or putting under the tree. Prices start as low as $8 and you get a massive selection to pick and choose from. I’m new to this drone thing, but I really like those cheap hexacopters. I think I’ll ask my mom for one as a Christmas care-package. You can check out all the sales over at the promo page and you can read more about the tech deals here. I could estimate saving about $40 with this deal, if I were to cave. Also BangGood’s Xiaomi Power Bank discount is also drawing me in, I’m really fed up with the 7000 mAh I already own – it’s been acting up. The Xiaomi Power Bank has 20000 mAh…. and costs $38…. It’s an acceptable exception from the rule.
6. Nest Black Friday deals: If you’re thinking of turning your home smart and take advantage of all the comforts automated home management has to offer, these tech deals should speak to you. Nest’s Black Friday deals are a good place to start, although an expensive and high-quality place. You can now buy the Nest Learning Thermostat and the Nest Protect for $50 off if you order from the company’s own shop. If you go by way of Amazon, Sam’s Club or Best Buy, you will get a $50 gift card with your purchase of either of these Nest home improvement gadgets. The Nest Cam is also going to be $30 off at Nest and most online stores. Saving $30 or $50 is nice, but it’s not going to make me look for my credit card.
7. Motorola’s Cyber Monday deals: Once Black Friday weekend is done, more shopping awaits on Cyber Monday, because everyone wants your money! Anyhow, part of Motorola’s Cyber Monday deals have been revealed by the company. You can buy the Moto X 2nd gen 64 GB version for $299, if you access it through Moto Maker. Pay attention when customizing, though as your price might end up being higher. The Moto G 2nd gen also gets a massive discount and you’ll be able to buy it for only $99 in the Motorola shop. The original Moto 360 will also be discounted to $150, but that’s hardly interesting anymore since other shops are already selling the smartwatch for less. The Moto G and X deals are pretty neat, though. Not convincing enough, but if Motorola broadens their discount list on Cyber Monday, I might rethink this year’s shopping strategy.
8. Cheat with StealEngine: One neat reddit user created a search engine named StealEngine created specifically for situations like Black Friday. It works like a discount aggregator showing you the best deals from all around the web for the products you searched for. I would recommend this app when searching for accessories or smaller tech deals. You can even show off your loot on a dedicated page if you score a great deal. You can save your searches in a wishlist so that Stealengine can keep you up to date if discounts go live for the products you’re interested in. Make sure to check the date of each deal though, as the site keeps a lot of archives.