Black Friday 2026: the prices before the sale
“60% off” is measured against a list price the seller picks, which means it cannot be wrong and cannot be checked. What can be checked is what the thing costs per unit — per battery, per load, per roll — and what it cost before anyone called it a sale.
Baseline recorded August 23, 2026 across 60,064 live listings in 44 categories, and re-recorded every week from now to November. Come back in the sale and the difference will be in the right-hand column.
| Category | Listings | Typical, August 23 | A genuinely good price | Since baseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🔩 Screws, bolts & fasteners | 32,052 | $0.328/piece | $0.144/piece | first reading |
| 💊 Supplements | 7,779 | $0.214/capsule | $0.133/capsule | first reading |
| 🪷 Ayurvedic skin care | 6,505 | $0.202/ml | $0.090/ml | first reading |
| 🌿 Ayurvedic hair care | 4,119 | $0.089/ml | $0.059/ml | first reading |
| 💇 Hair extensions & wigs | 1,914 | $2.09/g | $1.50/g | first reading |
| 💐 Fragrance | 1,807 | $1.90/ml | $1.25/ml | first reading |
| ✨ Skincare | 1,637 | $1.44/ml | $0.600/ml | first reading |
| 🧴 Hair & body | 982 | $4.67/fl oz | $3.12/fl oz | first reading |
| ⌚ Watches | 899 | $250/watch | $200/watch | first reading |
| 💄 Makeup | 316 | $1.66/ml | $1.29/ml | first reading |
| 🛁 Body care | 254 | $4.40/fl oz | $3.37/fl oz | first reading |
| 💅 Nail polish | 220 | $0.833/ml | $0.810/ml | first reading |
| ☕ Coffee pods (K-Cups) | 157 | $0.635/pod | $0.549/pod | first reading |
| 🔋 Batteries | 150 | $1.06/battery | $0.669/battery | first reading |
| 🦴 Dog treats | 89 | $8.16/lb | $4.28/lb | first reading |
| 🪒 Shave & beard | 83 | $5.87/fl oz | $3.07/fl oz | first reading |
| 🍫 Protein bars | 70 | $1.78/bar | $1.40/bar | first reading |
| 🧴 Deodorant | 66 | $2.32/oz | $1.49/oz | first reading |
| 🗑️ Trash bags | 63 | $0.215/bag | $0.184/bag | first reading |
| 🚿 Bathroom vanities | 59 | $10.97/in | $10.83/in | first reading |
| 🧺 Laundry detergent | 53 | $0.210/load | $0.142/load | first reading |
| 🍼 Baby care | 53 | $0.497/diaper | $0.375/diaper | first reading |
| 🪥 Toothpaste | 46 | $1.37/oz | $0.781/oz | first reading |
| 🪒 Shaving & grooming | 45 | $2.50/cartridge | $1.70/cartridge | first reading |
| 🍽️ Paper plates | 44 | $0.110/plate | $0.089/plate | first reading |
| 🛍️ Food storage bags | 44 | $0.100/bag | $0.053/bag | first reading |
| 🖨️ Printer ink & toner | 44 | $0.071/page | $0.044/page | first reading |
| 🧻 Toilet paper | 43 | $0.444/100 sheets | $0.288/100 sheets | first reading |
| 🧽 Dish soap | 43 | $0.245/fl oz | $0.166/fl oz | first reading |
| 🔌 Smart Plugs | 41 | $23.37/plug | $17.57/plug | first reading |
| 📄 Office & copy paper | 40 | $0.016/sheet | $0.013/sheet | first reading |
| 🔥 Antacid & Heartburn | 39 | $0.260/tablet | $0.111/tablet | first reading |
| 💊 Pain Relief | 38 | $0.061/tablet | $0.049/tablet | first reading |
| 🐾 Pet food | 38 | $1.56/lb | $1.23/lb | first reading |
| 🛢️ Motor oil & fluids | 38 | $7.19/quart | $6.39/quart | first reading |
| 🐱 Cat litter | 36 | $0.964/lb | $0.781/lb | first reading |
| 🫧 Dishwasher pods | 28 | $0.323/pod | $0.237/pod | first reading |
| 💧 Dehumidifiers | 23 | $4.44/pint/day | $4.00/pint/day | first reading |
| 🧾 Paper towels | 21 | $2.27/100 sheets | $1.76/100 sheets | first reading |
| 🤧 Allergy Relief | 20 | $0.193/tablet | $0.061/tablet | first reading |
| 🔌 EV charging cables | 18 | $9.43/ft | $7.50/ft | first reading |
| 🐕 Dog waste bags | 18 | $0.029/bag | $0.021/bag | first reading |
| 😴 Sleep Aid | 15 | $0.098/dose | $0.075/dose | first reading |
| 🤒 Cold & flu relief | 15 | $0.266/dose | $0.128/dose | first reading |
How to use this in November
Take the pack you are looking at, divide the price by what is actually in it, and compare against the baseline column. A pack that lands under the “genuinely good price” column is a real deal whatever the sticker says; a pack at 60% off that still lands above the typical column is a list price being marked down to normal.
The right-hand column fills in from the second weekly reading onwards — today is the first, and printing 0% for it would be a claim we have not measured.