What to Buy and Not to Buy in October

During October, shoppers can expect to find bicycles, bicycle helmets and other bicycle related products at great prices. With the cold weather approaching, October is when retailers promote some of their lowest bike prices of the year.

Love your bike, but need new tires? October is a good month to do comparison shopping to find a good deal on a new set.

As humans move indoors to escape the cold temperatures, products that thrive outdoors go on sale. If you have been waiting for good prices on camping gear, October and the first of November will be your best time to buy.

As the temperatures drop, so do the prices on fans and air conditioners, however, if you wait until the winter merchandise has hit the selling floor, you might not even find these items.

Stores often warehouse air conditioners starting around the beginning of November, so if you want one on sale, October is likely your best time to buy.

 October is the month that the newest models of laptops, computers, and personal electronics start showing up in stores in preparation for the big winter holiday selling season.  The older models are priced to sell quickly to make room to showcase the new models.

If an older model that you find has not been hit hard with the markdown pen, be firm and ask for a better discount.

October is also a good month to find super cheap reconditioned and open-box hardware for the same reason that the stores need the space.

If you are looking for the latest in personal electronics, skip shopping in October unless buying the older models at a savings of around 20 percent appeals to you.

If the lawn equipment you used over the summer began giving you problems, it might be worth it to replace it during the October sales.

According to Consumer Reports National Research Center push mowers that are reaching the four-year mark are not usually worth fixing, and the same goes for self-propelled mowers that have been around for five or more years.

Need a new pair of garden gloves? Time for a new wheelbarrow? How about a new bird bath? October is usually the best month to shop for decent discounted garden supplies and lawn care products.

Have you become deaf to the sound of your alarm clock? If so, October is the month when Daylight Savings Time ends and also the time that alarm clocks, smoke detectors, and batteries get special attention, usually in the form of decent promotions. It is about the only time you will see any real price movement on this type of merchandise.

October is the month that prices on jeans drop to as low as 40 percent off on some styles. The selling cycle on jeans begins in July, builds to a peak in August for back-to-school sales, and gets the first wave of markdowns in September and final clearance in October and November.

Over the next four weeks, the temperatures start to drop for many of us, and it will be dark before most of us even get home from work. What this means for anyone wanting a new grill is that they should expect to find super prices in most areas of the country.

As you begin to shop you might find that stores' inventories seem low, so make certain to ask if the store has any models hiding in the store room.

Stock up on late summer and early fall produce this month and enjoy good prices on apples, oranges, lemons, cranberries, artichokes, beets, broccoli, pears, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, parsnip, potatoes, ​spinach and yams. Love warm pumpkin soup? Watch the prices on pumpkins start to fall towards the last week of the month.

If you want to find a good deal on a new pair of boots, October is the worst month to shop. Wait until the Black Friday sales or after the holidays are over, and the warmer temperatures are starting to return to find the brag-worthy rock-bottom prices.

Tools are usually sold at regular price throughout the year except as a promotion during the Christmas holidays. If you are hoping to snag a good deal on a new nail gun or drill, try checking out the Black Friday sales events at your local hardware stores.

You might think that while October sales are slow, it would make sense to do some haggling to get a good price on diamond jewelry, but you will likely be disappointed. This goes for expensive perfumes, high-priced lingerie, pricey outerwear and anything that remotely resembles a luxury gift item. Your best bet is to wait for all the promotions that will come screaming at you after Thanksgiving and throughout December. At that point, let the haggling begin!