Black Friday is back, and retailers are whipping themselves into a frothing frenzy in an attempt to grab your attention and your cash.
Whether you're shopping for Christmas gifts, upgrading an essential appliance like a fridge or clothes dryer, or looking to finally land that robot vacuum you've had your eye on, there's a feast of deals out there.
But in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, many of us are more careful about spending our dollars.
And while there are certainly products well worth snapping up for a bargain price, there are others worth dodging: retailers are known to use key sales periods to offload old or unwanted stock.
Along with excellent deals, there are also lots of duds out there
We've rounded up a list of products that failed to impress CHOICE's expert testers but are being spruiked at discounted prices in the Black Friday sales. Despite retailers screeching that these are "once in a lifetime deals", we recommend thinking twice before adding them to your cart.
On this page:
- The dud buds
- The not-so-hot air fryer
- The mattress that might keep you awake at night
- The vacuum that sucks
- The fridge that flunked
- TV tech fail
- The knife with a cutting review
- The cheap but not cheerful coffee machine
- A robo wrong
A rock-star aesthetic can't hide mediocre performance.
The dud buds
Marshall Minor IV earbuds
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 54%
- Sound quality score: 52%
- Recommended retail price: $230
Minor by name, minor by score. Despite their sleek looks, these dud buds don't have much going on where it counts.
They don't sound great, they're not comfortable, their battery life is poor, they don't clean up well, and their microphone isn't great quality… so, they're lacking pretty much everything you'd want in a pair of earbuds. Plus, while they aren't the worst performing earbuds in our test, they're the most expensive of the poor performers (and there are plenty of earbuds that cost the same or even less than these that come recommended by our experts).
These ear buds are the most expensive of the worst performers
In fact, the Marshall Minor III earbuds are so poor our experts could only list one good point: they have left and right inscriptions on each earphone so you know which ear to put them in. Congrats, that's the bare minimum, Marshall.
But with such ordinary sound quality and comfort, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference if you did put them in the wrong ear.
See the full Marshall Minor III review.
The Tefal twin air fryer falls down on a few fronts.
The not-so-hot air fryer
Tefal Dual Easy Fry & Grill XXL Air Fryer
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 68%
- Ease of Use Score: 60%
- Recommended retail price: $500
Although it's not the worst performing air fryer in our testing, it's not far off.
CHOICE's kitchen experts aren't surprised to see this model being offloaded by retailers in the current sales – that's because it's an underwhelming buy. In our air fryer hot-chip face-off, it scored a sad 65% which is bad enough, but where it really falls down is its design and ease of use. Our testers noted the controls were tricky to comprehend and that some parts of the air fryer were difficult to clean.
Although twin air fryers can be handy, our experts advise looking for one that has the same capacity in each drawer – unlike this model, which has different-sized baskets, which limits what you can put in the smaller drawer.
According to CHOICE's kitchen appliance queen Fiona Mair, the fact is, there are better air fryer models out there that offer more bang for your buck.
Read the full Tefal Dual Easy Fry & Grill XXL Air Fryer review.
The stuff of nightmares: This mattress loves soaking up sweat (and other liquids).
The mattress that might keep you awake at night
Art & Science Night & Day Adjustable Pillow Top mattress
- Choice Expert Rating: 60%
- Comfort score when new: 61%
- Recommended retail price: $1249
If you're tired of being swindled by salespeople offloading poor performing products, you'll rest easier if you avoid this mattress in the sales, no matter how cheaply it's being sold. It's the lowest scoring mattress in our tests, with our experts giving it an insomnia-inducing CHOICE Expert Rating of just 60%. (The best mattresses score 75% and higher.)
In fact, we couldn't come up with anything positive to say about how this mattress performed compared to others in our review.
Our body support testing showed that the comfort level of this mattress is not great to start with, and there's a noticeable change in both body support and firmness over time. That means it may become more uncomfortable over time.
We couldn't come up with anything positive to say about how this mattress performed
Nobody wants a smelly mattress, but this mattress will soak up sweat (and other fluids) over time, which can cause damage and odour build-up. It scored just 57% in our sweat repellency test. Ironically, the manufacturer promises that the "soft, bamboo blended fabric provides excellent moisture regulation".
The proof is in the testing though, and there are many mattresses in our review that cost much less and outperform this one. It's also interesting to note that another Art & Science mattress is one of the top scorers in our testing, which just shows that buying a product based solely on the brand can leave you disappointed – so make sure you check our reviews before you buy.
See the full Art & Science Night & Day Adjustable Pillow Top mattress review.
A flimsy failure of a stick vac.
The vacuum that sucks
Acerpure Clean Lite HV312-10W stick vacuum
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 41%
- Hard floor score: 10%
- Recommended retail price: $199
With plenty of stick vacs costing well over $1000, they're one of the most popular products to pick up in the sales. Many stores are offering discounts on popular brands including Dyson and LG, but don't mess up by reaching for this sucky contender.
We've seen one big-name retailer slash the price of the Acerpure Clean Lite stick vacuum by 50%, but it's no surprise that stores are finding it hard to offload this shoddy stick: we recently gave it a Shonky Award for being a flake-out failure on hard floors, for clogging up easily and for not delivering on many of its promises. It's definitely one of our stick vacuums to avoid.
See the full Acerpure Clean Lite stick vacuum review.
This pricey, cult-brand Smeg FAB32RPB5AU fridge flunked CHOICE testing.
The fridge that flunked
Smeg FAB32RPB5AU fridge
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 43%
- Temperature stability score: 0%
- Recommended retail price: $3990
She may be cute with a stylish retro swagger, but this Smeg fridge is one of the worst products we've tested. CHOICE experts give it a frosty reception: it's the lowest scoring fridge in our latest expert fridge review, scoring a paltry 0% for temperature stability.
The temperature also isn't evenly distributed, with the top shelf section significantly warmer than the bottom. Between the sketchy temperature stability and warm patches, your food is likely to go off faster, adding extra dollars to your grocery bill – which many of us can ill afford in this cost-of-living crisis.
Between the sketchy temperature stability and warm patches, your food is likely to go off faster
One major appliance retailer is currently advertising a (supposedly) "HOT DEAL" - discounting over $500 off the eye-watering almost-$4000 price tag of this lukewarm cooling cupboard. But, CHOICE experts advise you to keep your cool. You're not getting much bang for your buck in terms of size or performance with this fridge, even if you do manage to grab a discount.
Read the full Smeg FAB32RPB5AU fridge review.
This screen might make you scream.
TV tech fail
Samsung 64-inch LCD TV (QA65Q60DAWXXY)
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 67%
- High definition picture quality score: 52%
- Recommended retail price: $1895
CHOICE experts, with the help of industry insiders, have found that Black Friday is probably the best time to buy a new TV. That's because, amongst other reasons, retailers will be discounting a wide range of models, and they'll have plenty of them in stock.
But remember that, alongside good-quality TVs, there are lots of mediocre models, including this Samsung TV that's at the top of our list of TVs to avoid buying.
High definition picture quality is underwhelming on this TV, and it doesn't even manage to deliver decent standard definition picture quality. (Our experts rated it just 'OK' for standard, and 'Borderline' for HD viewing.) The visuals aren't great, but neither is the sound: again, it's only OK and our testers noted occasional distortion during testing.
Samsung makes plenty of great TVs, but this model shows that even respected brands can sometimes create disappointing products – which is why it's best to always check our reviews before you shop.
Read the full Samsung QA65Q60DAWXXY review.
Not a cut above: This $200 knife doesn't justify its high price tag.
The knife with a cutting review
Mundial Kitchen Knife
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 60%
- Sharpness after blunting score: 54%
- Recommended retail price: $200
Knives are another product we often see heavily discounted during sales periods, but some deals just aren't worth it, no matter how you slice it.
Our experts had some cutting comments about this Mundial knife when we tested it for performance and sharpness (both initially and after blunting) alongside 14 others in our recent independent kitchen knives review.
Despite costing $200, it scored just 60% – that's less than some cheap knives from the likes of Ikea and Kmart. Also our experts noted it had a very high level of blunting after 100 strokes.
Read the full Mundial Kitchen Knife review.
Coffee lovers, avert your eyes.
The cheap but not cheerful coffee machine
Breville Nescafe Dolce Gusto Genio S Plus
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 46%
- Taste test score: 30%
- Recommended retail price: $149
At full price, this pod machine comes in just under $150, but it's being advertised by retailers for under $100 in the current sales. But, no matter how cheaply it's priced, we wouldn't recommend counting on this machine for your morning cuppa.
In our tests, it delivered poor-tasting coffee with a bitter flavour, watery mouthfeel and thin crema. Plus, its milk frothing abilities were just average, and the coffee temperature consistency was OK at best.
Our experts did find positives – it boasts customisable drink settings and is easy to clean and use. But these qualities can't atone for the bigger sin of bad coffee making.
Read the full Breville Nescafe Dolce Gusto Genio review.
Not only did it fail to mop the floor with the competition, this Electrolux barely mopped the floor at all.
A robo wrong
Electrolux UltimateHome 300 Robot Cleaner
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 46%
- Dirt removal from hard floor score: 82%
- Dirt removal from carpet score: 5%
- Recommended retail price: $699
We've spotted more than one major retailer advertising a 'top deal!' discount on this bot from well-known vacuum manufacturer, Electrolux. But our experts had few good points to share when we tested it. It's the lowest scoring robot vacuum in our review.
First, the positives: it has a physical remote and, if you just want a basic model without bells and whistles, it's actually decent on hard floors. Considering how expensive robot vacuums are, if you can pick it up with a heavy discount in the sales and you're not expecting a lot from your bot, then perhaps it might be worth it.
But it was poor at cleaning corners and edges, borderline at picking up pet hair and very poor at picking up dirt from carpet, scoring just 5% in this test. We also tested the mopping function on this bot and it missed most of the stains in the centre of our test area. There's not much point buying a gadget to do the cleaning for you if you have to clean up after it!
It was poor at cleaning corners and edges, borderline at picking up pet hair and very poor at picking up dirt from carpet
And although this model advertises up to 120 minutes of run time on a single charge, manufacturers calculate this figure based on the vac running on minimum mode. When we tested the battery life on its highest setting, it lasted just 25 minutes.
Read the full review of the Electrolux UltimateHome 300 Robot Cleaner.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
