5 Black Friday deals I’m most excited about — and I just bought one

Deals
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Black Friday deals come in all shapes and sizes

(Clockwise starting from top center) An LG C2 TV, Persona 5 Royal, the Spin-Clean Vinyl Record Washer Complete Kit and a SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD next to a Tom's Guide Black Friday graphic.
(Image credit: LG, Atlus, SanDisk and Spin Clean via Amazon)

Everybody shops for Black Friday deals differently, so I thought I should give you some insight as to how I'm looking at the field this year. Why am I so confident about why my method is worth knowing? I've been covering Black Friday deals for six years now, and pay close attention to how prices dip and rise.

Also, this year I've actually put together a checklist of things I want that is pretty (at least for me) wide ranging. I'm trying to snipe a deal on the best OLED TV, one of the best video games of the last decade, a speedy external hard drive upgrade I need to make, a skincare product that saved my face recently and one analogue gadget I've already bought.

So, here are the five Black Friday deals I can't stop thinking about (four of these products are already on sale, one is a product I hope gets discounted).

LG C2 55" OLED 4K TV: was $1,996 now $1296 @ Amazon

LG C2 55" OLED 4K TV: was $1,996 now $1296 @ Amazon
Our pick for the very best OLED TV, the LG C2 is a bright and colorful set, with strong scores on our tests for color accuracy, color gamut and brightness. Oh, and it provides solid upscaling to 4K with LG's Alpha 9 Gen 5 Processor 4K.

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I have wanted this TV ever since its predecessor, the LG C1, got discontinued. It's now only sold by vendors with less-than-confirmed reputations. It's got four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K at 120Hz, plus each port also supports variable refresh rate and auto-low latency modes. This is perfect for me because I've got both a PS5 and an Xbox Series X, which need those future-forward ports and fast image rates.

My only problem? The 55-inch LG C2 OLED may be $700 off its list price, but it's been at that price since the last week of October. And I can remember when the C1 was at $1,096, and I was waiting for it to go down further (it never did). 

Sure, that price was in May, right at the end of its life, but having watched the C2 stick at $1,296 for weeks now makes me feel like a price drop for Black Friday is possible. If it's still at that price come Cyber Monday, I may just have to suck it up and buy it at that price. I'm more than tired of the burn-in I've done to my older LG OLED TV.

The 55-inch LG C2 OLED 4K TV is down to $1,296 on Amazon right now

SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD: was $459 now $149 @ Amazon

SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD: was $459 now $149 @ Amazon
It's amazing how time can chip away at the price of storage. This external SSD comes recommended to me by a professional who's always shooting video, so I know to trust it. Yes, I know it's a hard drive, but some of the best Black Friday deals can be found on products you don't necessarily find exciting or alluring — but on products you need (more on that below).

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I don't want to buy a new external drive, but I know I need one. I've gotten more and more into using one of my older laptops as a Plex server, but I know that chaining it to 7200rpm external drives is not how stable streaming goes. That's why the above 2TB SSD, which offers much faster read and transfer rates, is on my radar.

And this is just the right size for me, as this drive would replace my dual 1TB drives I have for my archives. Going off of CamelCamelCamel's price history, we can see that this drive has only been this affordable since late October, and in the $200's during that same month, with this all time low being a relatively recent price.

The SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD is down to $149 on Amazon right now

Persona 5 Royal (PS5): was $59 now $29 @ Amazon Switch releaseXbox release

Persona 5 Royal (PS5): was $59 now $29 @ Amazon
One of the best games of the last decade got better with Persona 5 Royal, and its re-release is most notable for Switch release, and its Xbox release — and both are also on sale (It's even on GamePass).

Persona 5 Royal is an instant-classic Japanese Roleplaying Game where you control high school students who are exposing the greedy and selfish manipulative adults committing huge crimes in Tokyo. And you do so by going into their minds and defeating their inner selves to make them confess. It's also a high school life simulator. I've played it twice (once in Persona 5, the second time in Persona 5 Royal, and loved it both times).

Insert quote hereYes, I could start P5R on GamePass, but nothing stays on GamePass forever, and this game is so long that I want to own it.

I know I'm going to play Persona 5 Royal again, because it's basically like comfort food to my brain — plus, I've never completed the Strength confidant. But after trying it on Switch, which I feel annoyed that I spent full-price on, considering it's already $29 at GameStop, I'm ready to admit that I'm not sticking with that platform. Its 1440 x 820 (docked) and 960 x 540 (undocked) resolutions are too low for a game I'm already familiar with at 1080p — and one I know I'll spend 120+ hours on. 

So, I want to own either the PS5 or Xbox Series X versions (which are in 4K, unlike their 1080p previous-gen versions) — and I want them at $20. First off, this upgraded re-release should have been discounted (or free) for those who own the original. $20 is the price I'll settle for because that's the price many video games go down to during the holiday season (even shortly after their release). Even I know I've already spent too much (time and money) on this game already. I think of Persona 5 Royal as one of those games or movies you keep buying with each re-release, but if I'm going to pay for it again in the same season, I'm trying to get it as cheap as possible. Yes, I could start P5R on GamePass, but nothing stays on GamePass forever, and this game is so long that I want to own it.

Persona 5 Royal for PS5 is $29 on Amazon right now, Persona 5 Royal for Xbox One and Series X/S is also $29 on Amazon right now, and Persona 5 Royal for Switch is $29 at GameStop right now

Spin-Clean Vinyl Record Washer: was $70 now $59 @ Amazon

Spin-Clean Vinyl Record Washer: was $70 now $59 @ Amazon
This one's simple, no big spiel needed. I need to clean a vinyl record or two, and this is the kit that one of my colleagues uses and recommends. While other vinyl record cleaning tools also offer liquid solutions, this kit actually holds the record in place, making it easy to perform the task. Oh, and I just bought it.

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Mighty Patch: $11.69 per 36-pack

Mighty Patch: $11.69 per 36-pack
This deal isn't actually a deal — yet, but one I'm hoping happens. I can seriously vouch for these blemish patches (also called pimple patches), as one of these saved my chin during this past week. But since I can run through a lot of these in a quick amount of time, I am hoping that we could see a discount on these patches.

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Henry T. Casey
Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.