2017’s Best Back-to-School Sales & Deals

Back-to-school season is one of the busiest times for parents, which means less time to find the best deals and more savings passed up. To help parents with their shopping, WalletHub tracked offers from a dozen big retailers for the past year, identifying the biggest discounts through the end of September.

Listed below are WalletHub’s picks of 10 A+ deals, followed by the top offers in nice product categories such as “Apparel & Accessories” and “Computers & Phones.” You’ll also find each item’s sale price and discount percentage to show you exactly how much you stand to save.

Need a way to keep in touch with your kid? August is the cheapest time of the year to hook your kid up with a cell phone, so make sure to leave room in your budget for one this month if that item’s on your school-supply list.

Scroll down for all the best savings opportunities and money-saving back-to-school tips from experts. To learn how we found the deals, read our methodology.

Best 10 Cherry-Picked Deals

 

Items with Biggest Discounts in August vs. Rest of Year

Cell phones are discounted most heavily in August compared with the rest of the year.

Best Back-to-School Sales & Deals by Category

For a more in-depth look at the best deals for back to school, please select your favorite category below.

 

Apparel & Accessories

17 – Prices valid until August 05, 2017
18 – Prices valid July 30 – August 05, 2017
19 – Prices valid July 31 – August 26, 2017

Appliances

5 – Prices valid until August 20, 2017
6 – Prices valid until August 13, 2017
7 – Prices valid until August 23, 2017
8 – Prices valid until August 27, 2017
13 – Prices valid until September 06, 2017
14 – Prices valid until September 14, 2017
17 – Prices valid until August 05, 2017
19 – Prices valid July 31 – August 26, 2017
23 – Prices valid until August 15, 2017
24 – Prices valid until August 07, 2017

Computers & Phones

1 – Prices valid until August 18, 2017
2 – Prices valid until August 14, 2017
3 – Prices valid until September 30, 2017
4 – Prices valid until September 29, 2017
5 – Prices valid until August 20, 2017
6 – Prices valid until August 13, 2017
10 – Prices valid until August 17, 2017
11 – Prices valid until August 10, 2017
12 – Prices valid until August 31, 2017
18 – Prices valid July 30 – August 05, 2017
19 – Prices valid July 31 – August 26, 2017

Consumer Electronics

5 – Prices valid until August 20, 2017
11 – Prices valid until August 10, 2017
12 – Prices valid until August 31, 2017
15 – Prices valid until August 09, 2017
16 – Prices valid until September 03, 2017
17 – Prices valid until August 05, 2017
18 – Prices valid July 30 – August 05, 2017
21 – Prices valid until August 06, 2017

Consumer Packaged Goods

6 – Prices valid until August 13, 2017
12 – Prices valid until August 31, 2017
18 – Prices valid July 30 – August 05, 2017
19 – Prices valid July 31 – August 26, 2017

Furniture

6 – Prices valid until Aug. 13, 2017
7 – Prices valid until Aug. 23, 2017
19 – Prices valid July 31 – August 26, 2017
20 – Prices valid August 04 –13, 2017

Jewelry

26 – Prices valid until August 08, 2017

Toys

5 – Prices valid until August 20, 2017
6 – Prices valid until August 13, 2017
8 – Prices valid until August 27, 2017
11 – Prices valid until August 10, 2017
12 – Prices valid until August 31, 2017
16 – Prices valid until September 03, 2017
22 – Prices valid until August 16, 2017
25 – Prices valid until September 17, 2017

All Other Products

6 – Prices valid until Aug. 13, 2017
8 – Prices valid until Aug. 27, 2017
9 – Prices valid until Aug. 24, 2017
12 – Prices valid until Aug. 31, 2017
17 – Prices valid until August 05, 2017
19 – Prices valid July 31 – August 26, 2017
20 – Prices valid August 04 –13, 2017

Ask the Experts: How to Save on Back-to-School Shopping

It’s easy to overspend on back-to-school items without a clear budget and when prices are marked down at every store. But red tags don’t always amount to the best deals. For shopping advice, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What types of products are most likely to be discounted as part of a back-to-school sales period?
2. What tips do you have for finding the best back-to-school deals?
3. What back-to-school money-saving tips do you have for parents?

Methodology

In order to identify the best back-to-school savings opportunities, we surveyed the following 15 retailers:

 

Our editors then picked the 30 best deals and organized them into nine product categories, such as Electronics and Computers & Phones, to help shoppers easily find savings that match their needs.

In addition, we identified the best savings opportunities in August for the 16 item categories listed below by collecting the regular list price and discounted price of each item every day from July 1, 2016, to July 25, 2017. We then compared each item’s average discount in August with its average discount in other months. If its discount was highest in August, the item category was listed below as one of the best savings opportunities.

For price data, we referred to Amazon.com’s “Best Sellers” list. In each item category, we collected data only for items within a reasonable price range in order to avoid skewing our findings toward items that are likely too expensive for the average consumer.

Electronics

• TV ($300–$600)
• Digital Camera ($170–$340)
• No-Contract Cell Phones ($100–$400)

Appliances

• Refrigerator ($200–$1000)
• Dishwasher ($500–$1000)
• Washing Machine ($500–$2000)
• Ranges ($1000–$2500)
• Microwaves ($100–$200)

Computers

• Laptop ($450–$900)
• Tablets ($200–$500)

Jewelry

• Engagement Rings ($1000–$3000)

Sports

• Exercise Bikes ($300–$700)
• Treadmills ($500–$1200)

Baby Furniture

• Baby Crib ($200–$500)
• Strollers ($200–$500)
• Car Seats ($200–$500)

Sources: Data used to create the above lists were collected from the aforementioned retailers as well as SlickDeals, DealNews and offers.com.