Just announced: Amazon finally dropped its Black Friday sale dates

After spending several weeks in the shadows while the other big retailers duked it out for the early Black Friday announcement spotlight, Amazon finally announced dates for its end-of-November schedule on Nov. 13: Amazon's Black Friday event will start on Thursday, Nov. 21, and run through (Cyber) Monday, Dec. 2, with new deals dropping every day.

As a refresher, actual Black Friday is on Nov. 29 in 2024. That two-week window for Black Friday shopping seems more than adequate until you remember that Best Buy, Target, and Walmart have been in their Black Friday bag since October, announcing their Black Friday calendars before Halloween and hosting early events on and off throughout November. Isn't it so casual and normal that a Black Friday event kicking off an entire week before Thanksgiving would still be considered late?

It's possible that Amazon chilled a little longer than the other retailers because it needed some extra time to regroup after October Prime Day, which happened barely a month ago. (Not that Amazon's ever been one to take a breather if there's money to be made.)

What will be on sale at Amazon for Black Friday?

This limbo period between Prime Day and the start of the sale on Nov. 21 doesn't mean there are no good deals at Amazon right now. Actually, the Prime Day that just happened provides some good intel on what record-low pricing we might see return (or be beaten) come the start of Amazon's Black Friday sale: MacBooks and the iPad Mini come to mind.

We're already seeing early robot vacuum deals, Fire tablet deals, headphone deals, and more live at Amazon in early November, including a handful of prices that match or beat record-low sale prices we saw in October for Prime Big Deal Days. In the press release, Amazon specifically mentioned these upcoming savings:

• Up to 55% off Echos, the 50-inch 4 Series Fire TV and 55-inch Omni QLED Fire TV, and Kindles

• Up to 50% off robot vacuums from iRobot, Roborock, and Shark

• Up to 45% off laptops from HP, Lenovo, and Acer

• Up to 45% off kitchen appliances from Cuisinart, Nutribullet, and KitchenAid

• Up to 40% off Dyson vacuums and air purifiers and up to 20% off Dyson hair care

The list goes on, but it's your expected heavy hitters. Check out our coverage from October Prime Day for more details on the brands and categories Amazon likes to focus on during big sale events.

What's the difference between Prime Day and Black Friday?

While much of the same stuff goes on sale for both events, the main difference between Prime Day and Black Friday is that you don't need to be a Prime member to access most of Amazon's Black Friday deals. (We can't promise that some discounts won't be under Prime lock, but the chances are much, much lower when the sale event isn't one Amazon made up for itself.) In fact, many Amazon purchases over a certain amount can still qualify for free few-day shipping — so if you can manage to not be such a last-minute shopper, you don't necessarily need to pay $14.99 per month for November and December just to get free shipping.

Toy deals and TV deals are two categories likely to pop off a little harder at Amazon for Black Friday than they did for Prime Day. Amazon will still prioritize its own Fire TVs, of course, but it's much more likely to throw other, more premium TV deals (like Samsung's The Frame) into the mix. Amazon did drop tons of record-low Lego deals during Prime Day, so expect those to make a return. Other toys in the spotlight (as mentioned by the press release) include up to 50% off Disney, Marvel, American Girl, Hot Wheels, Barbie, Fisher-Price, and Star Wars.

And remember: Prime Day might officially be Amazon's thing, but Black Friday is every store's thing. A lot of good deals at Amazon might exist (or be better) at another retailer, and other stores might have better deals selections in categories where Amazon has slim pickings.

Pro tip: Don't forget to check Amazon price history before buying

To confirm whether a deal at Amazon is "good" or not, you can paste the listing URL into Amazon price history tracker Camelcamelcamel to see how low that item's price has dropped in the past.

Cross-checking price history on Camelcamelcamel or the product's MSRP listed on that brand's official website is a smart habit to get into — Amazon has a habit of inflating some list prices to make discounts look much steeper than they are. Speaking of shopping cautiously at Amazon, all of our same tips about avoiding products sold or shipped by third-party sellers still apply (especially on big tech investments like laptops and TVs).