<p>My D, currently a HS Senior, is committed to her college. She knows what dorm she will be living in and all. I’m planning to buy stuff for her dorm room by taking advantage of the Black Friday sales. Basic stuff like towels, bath mats (she will be in a suite), sheets and memory foam topper. Anyone else thinking like me and doing the same?</p>
<p>Waaaaaaaaaay to early to think about that here. Besides, I limit my Black Friday to pushing my mouse button - and Amazon’s already started. Except for the Whole Foods steak deal they have every year.</p>
<p>No, don’t do it. There will be sales that are just as good, and her preferred color will change six times between now and August.</p>
<p>I agree^^^! Deals on linens are not usually that great on Black Friday. You will get similar prices closer to the school year. I’m also an internet-only Black Friday shopper.</p>
<p>And her color choices may change, or her and roommate might decide on color choices, or MANY factors could change between now and then. I would definitely wait.</p>
<p>Wait.</p>
<p>Wait. </p>
<p>Just wait. </p>
<p>The items I wanted, the color scheme, and my layout changed two weeks before move in day. Everything had to be returned and swapped out. Can’t do that with a purchase made over 8 months prior.</p>
<p>I was just looking for something at Target last week that I had seen during August. No luck. Apparently the “dorm stuff” is only really out in August. I’d wait.</p>
<p>Black Friday is not a linen shopping day…think electronics. You might be able to pick up cheap college apparel from sport authority or dicks. </p>
<p>This website has a reasonable calendar of the best time of year to buy stuff. </p>
<p>[The</a> Best Time to Buy Anything During the Year](<a href=“The Best Time to Buy Anything During the Year”>The Best Time to Buy Anything During the Year)</p>
<p>If your kiddo likes flannel sheets (like mine do) there were great sales when stores were clearing their winter stock. We bought then. We bought remaining linens when we dropped S off at school. 1.5 years later, S gave D his old sheets and we bought her the rest when we moved her in to school.</p>
<p>Two things - if you’re going to buy anything now because you just can’t resist a good price, only buy non bedding/bath linens for the many reasons stated above. However, if you KNOW for sure that she will have to provide things like a coffee maker, or micro fridge and those are on sale, I think it would be reasonable to get those things. </p>
<p>Also, if you buy everything now, you will leave less options for those who wish to get her graduation gifts; many people like to give gift cards for Bed, Bath and Beyond, and similar places in order that the matriculating student will use them to get things for their dorm room. So I’d definitely wait, unless it’s for things like I mentioned above that you know she will need and they’re on sale.</p>
<p>And if she has a roommate, it is very possible they will want to at least coordinate their dorm room “stuff”. We found the daughter did that. The son didn’t!</p>
<p>I would wait also. There is a far better selection come spring/summer. Plus every year they come up,with new and different dorm “stuff”. And as noted, friends and relatives might like to give her things (e.g. Our kids both got really nice towels) for graduation gifts…or gift cards to BBB and Target.</p>
<p>There is NO WAY I would battle crowds on Black Friday for dorm things. No way.</p>
<p>I did buy a dorm fridge early. I was looking on CraigsList and saw an almost new fridge for $40. It was a steal so I grabbed it. We waited for everything else. My most recent college freshman is a boy- he did not care what his dorm room looked like and took a bare minimum of things. Much easier than shopping for a girl!!!</p>
<p>If you buy items, especially plug in ones, check the housing website to be sure it’s approved. My D’s college did not allow coffee makers, microwaves. Some schools also have micro-fridges to rent…a nice idea for some…</p>
<p>S would not even let me hang a curtain. D would certainly not have wanted his sheets though! I’m in the wait list. There are so many sales and cute “dorm” things out in July and August. I am hoping D puts a little more thought into the decoration of the college dorm room.</p>
<p>Having no idea what types of things to get my hard-to-shop-for brother, he got a lot of college-related things from relatives for Christmas, like a microwave, towels, etc. But he was never going to be concerned about the aesthetics of his room, and it was mostly a consequence of lack of other ideas. If you’re just looking for deals on college related things, wait until summer rolls around.</p>
<p>Some campus housing COMES with microwaves, some don’t allow any appliances, including microwaves, so it seems best to wait until the details about housing and actual campus the student will be attending emerge, closer to April/May or summer.</p>
<p>I believe the OP’s son does know his college and dorm situation. Still…for all he knows, his roommate already has a microwave or fridge. And my guess is he does not know his roommate.</p>
<p>I would wait. There are many friends and relatives who will want to give college things as graduation gifts…or even Christmas gifts. If you buy it all on Black Friday, what will be left? </p>
<p>Plus as noted above, Black Friday is really about electronics. </p>
<p>And as my husband says…everything that is on sale for Black Friday will be on sale, and maybe even for less, sometime after January.</p>
<p>I don’t do Black Friday but it’s occurred to me to look at laptops that may be on sale (online) for D, for Christmas (but really for college).</p>
<p>I actually just ordered a new laptop yesterday. I ended up being unable to resist the $235 discount on the Thinkpad I have had my eye on for awhile!
In general, though, the two best times to buy things like computers are the holiday season (pre- and post-Christmas sales) and summer.</p>
<p>If the point is to purchase dorm room things as a Christmas present (rather than doing Christmas, high school graduation, AND dorm room purchases separately), then waiting until after December does not make much sense. Speculation, but I thought that was what the OP was trying to do.</p>