Updated Nov 6, 2026
How can you tell if the Black Friday laptop really dropped in price?
Compare today’s price with the history of the last month.
Saw a laptop "on sale" and suspect the price went up beforehand?
See the discount mathStep 1 of 7
How the fake discount works
The "before" price is whatever the store says it was.
Three common ways a laptop can look cheaper than it is: the price goes up in the days before Black Friday and returns to normal with a "discount" label; the crossed-out "was" price is a value the laptop never really had; and the ad compares one version with another of the same name, like the 8 GB of RAM one with the 16 GB one. None of them shows up if you only look at the store page on the day.
What takes all three apart is the price history: the price of the same laptop, in the same version and from the same seller, day after day.
Step 2 of 7
The laptops with the highest score in each price range
The highest score up to each price, with today's price.
Up to $2,000.00
The highest score among 76 laptops up to $2,000.00.
- score 8.1
$1,719.00
No history yet
Up to $6,000.00
The highest score among 111 laptops up to $6,000.00.
Step 3 of 7
The Radar’s yardstick: the 30-day median
Today’s price against the middle price of the last month.
The Radar records the price of each laptop every day. To decide whether a drop is real, it compares today’s price with the median of the last 30 days from its own price history, from the same seller. The median is the middle value, so a price spike the day before doesn’t pull it up. The math:
drop = (30-day median − today’s price) ÷ 30-day median
Only what stays below of that median is called a discount. The store’s crossed-out price doesn’t enter the math. A change of seller doesn’t count as a drop either, because it’s a different price, from a different place.
Step 4 of 7
If the history is still short
With no history, the Radar doesn’t call it a discount.
To confirm a discount, the laptop needs at least 14 days of its own history on the Radar. Before that, the page shows today’s price and a note that the 30-day median is still being built, without the word "discount". The same goes for the "find" label and for the list of laptops that dropped in price.
That means that near Black Friday, the list may be shorter than the advertised deals. That’s on purpose: we’d rather show little that’s true than a lot that’s doubtful.
Step 5 of 7
Watch out for the laptop version
Different RAM and SSD change the price.
The same model is often sold in several versions, with different RAM and SSD, and the name barely changes. A "discount" that compares the price of one version with another isn’t a discount. The Radar shows the RAM and SSD of each version next to the price.
Before buying, check in the specs: the model number, the amount of RAM, the SSD size and the processor. If any of them differs from what you saw before, it’s a different product.
Step 6 of 7
Five steps to check a laptop
You can do it in two minutes.
- Find the laptop’s page. Each model has its own, with the price chart and the verdict of the day.
- Look at the chart line, not the store’s badge. Is today’s price below the line of the last 30 days?
- Confirm the full version. The model number, RAM, SSD and processor all count: the 8 GB and the 16 GB with the same name are different products, with different prices.
- Check the seller. A price from an unknown seller isn’t worth comparing; the Radar only uses trusted sellers.
- See the final price at the store. Shipping, delivery time and warranty change the math, and the final price is the one at the store.
Step 7 of 7
Where to see the laptops that dropped
Three Radar pages, all dated.
| Page | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Real discount | Laptops with today’s price below the 30-day median |
| Black Friday laptops | The same calculation, with the laptops grouped by brand, price range and use |
| Laptops that dropped in price | The biggest drops of the week and the month |
Each list shows the collection date and hides anything that doesn’t have enough history yet.
How we read the discount
- 216laptops in the catalog
- 06/11price date
The Radar compares today’s price with the median of the last 30 days of its own history, from the same seller, and only calls it a discount if it falls below it. With less than 14 days of history, the laptop appears without the word "discount". Catalog of 06/11/2026: 216 laptops, median price of $1,155.00.
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| History used as the yardstick | 30-day median, from the same seller |
| Minimum history to confirm | 14 days of its own history |
| What doesn’t count as a drop | change of seller and the store’s crossed-out price |
The best by price range
Next step
See the laptops that fit your criteria
Each point is a new laptop, by price and spec score.
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth waiting for Black Friday to buy a laptop?
Not always. Compare today’s price with the median of the last 30 days for the laptop you want: if it’s already below, waiting may not pay off. The Radar keeps this history every day and never promises the lowest price.
How can you tell if a laptop discount is real?
Compare today’s price with the median of the last 30 days from the same seller. Only what falls below it is a discount. The store’s crossed-out "was" price doesn’t count. On the Radar, the laptop’s page shows the chart of this history.
Why doesn’t the Radar show a discount on some laptops?
Because there isn’t enough history yet: the Radar only confirms a discount with at least 14 days of its own history. Before that, the page shows today’s price and a note that the median is still being built, and the discount list doesn’t include it.
Does the laptop price really go up before Black Friday?
In some cases, yes, and that’s why the Radar compares against the median of the whole month and not the price the day before. A spike of a few days doesn’t change the median, and a drop that just returns to the normal price doesn’t show up as a discount.
Does the Radar promise to find the lowest price?
No. The price is the lowest from a trusted seller that we collected on that date, and the final price is the one at the store. The Radar shows whether the price is below its own history; it doesn’t promise there’s no lower price somewhere else.
Read next
Where the numbers come from
The rule is the 30-day median of the Radar’s price history, from the same seller, with a minimum of 14 days of its own history to confirm (RADARDENOTEBOOKS.blackFriday.regua). The day’s catalog comes from the check. The guide doesn’t depend on a campaign date.
The guide helps you decide and doesn’t recommend a laptop for you: the final price is the one at the store, and the spec score doesn’t measure real-world performance or durability.
Data from Nov 6, 2026.