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25 best October sales on fall fashion, lawn tools and tech

Amazon’s Prime Early Access sale has come and gone but early Black Friday deals are already on their way.
While Halloween has yet to come, retailers are already beginning to offer early winter holiday deals.
While Halloween has yet to come, retailers are already beginning to offer early winter holiday deals.Kara Birnbaum / TODAY ; Amazon

Spooky season is finally here. And this year, Halloween-related activities are anticipated to return to pre-pandemic levels, with 69% of consumers saying they plan to celebrate the holiday, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. So that you can spend time perfecting your costume or hosting pumpkin carving parties, we have rounded up deals and discounts from retailers this month.

The first half of October brought several deals across major retailers: Target’s Deal Days event happened from Oct. 6 to Oct. 8, Amazon hosted an October Prime Day event on Oct. 11 and 12 and Walmart hosted a similar sale on Oct. 12 and 13. Now that these sale events have ended, these retailers are amping up their “early Black Friday” deals, sales and rollbacks. This is reminiscent of Oct. 2021, when retailers offered early access discounts due to widespread shipping delays and supply chain concerns in the leadup to Christmas. Shipping delays are not the only reason shoppers are hoping to buy early: this year, 44% of surveyed holiday shoppers are saying it’s better to shop for holiday gifts early as they worry inflation will impact prices later in the year, according to the National Retail Federation.

SKIP AHEAD Best October deals | What to buy in October | What to skip in October

With inflation still high and holiday shopping on the horizon, many are looking for discounts on items from early gift shopping to everyday necessities. To give you an idea of the best sales and discounts during the month ahead, we consulted retail experts on what’s worth considering, as well as what’s not worth shopping for right now.

Best October Sales

We chose the sales below because we think you’ll find them interesting — they typically include multiple deals and, of course, not every single product in a sale will be the best deal around.

Best October Deals

We rounded up the best ongoing deals on highly rated products Select readers have shown an interest in or that we think you should know about. We relied on price tracking tools like Honey and CamelCamelCamel to note the value of each discount.

JBL Vibe Wireless In-Ear Headphones

These in-ear headphones give you the option of listening and making calls with one or both earbuds with its Dual Connect system, which means you can leave one charging in case your battery life is low. The earbuds are powered by 8 mm drivers to provide deep bass and their battery lasts for up to 20 hours on a single charge, according to the brand. They come in blue, black and purple.

Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Coffee Maker

This single serve coffee maker enables you to make your coffee in three different ways: Nespresso pods, K-cup-like pods or coffee grounds of your choosing in a reusable pod (purchased separately). It has a 56-ounce water reservoir so you can make multiple cups from 1.35 to 14 ounces of espresso and coffee without refilling it, according to the brand. This Hamilton Beach coffee maker has a 4.5 star average rating from over 40,000 reviews on Amazon.

HP LaserJet Pro Wireless Black and White Printer

This printer has auto double-sided printing and an auto document feeder for scanning, according to the brand. It requires HP toner cartridges, an HP account and internet connection to operate and can support up to 10 users.

What to buy in October

While the discounted halloween candy won’t arrive until early November, this month still offers plenty of delicious deals. Vipin Porwal, consumer savings expert and founder of cashback browser extension Smarty, expects October to be a great time to save on clothing (especially denim), men’s shoes and women’s fashion.

Other major categories that will be on sale or clearance this month are yard and garden tools as retailers seek to clear their inventory. As retailers shift from lawn and patio gear to holiday-themed products and decorations, shoppers can expect deals on fire pits, outdoor heaters, gardening tools and other lawn tools to help with fall clean up. Historically, October has also been a good month to find discounts on summer sports,outdoor gear and apparel.

Shoppers are usually advised to hold off until Black Friday to shop high-demand tech, but there were some deals on new and in-demand tech during the October Prime Day event. Porwal advised that streaming TV and movie services may start their holiday discounts in October, and said to keep an eye out for bundling deals.

What to skip in October

If you did not find the tech deal you are looking for with the mid-month sales, Porwal said there will be a larger selection of deep discounts to snag in November. Additionally, experts usually advise against buying winter apparel in October and recommend waiting for better deals in the coming months.

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