Sure, Sam's Club is a great place to go when you need a vast bag of Doritos, a six-pack of khakis and a John Grisham novel. But when Black Friday comes along, it also serves up some worthy deals on TVs, laptops and a bunch of other devices — some of which may rank among the better deals of 2018.
Like at Costco, you need to be a member to take advantage of Sam's Club's deals. (Technically, nonmembers can still buy stuff, but they'll pay an extra 10 percent.) An annual membership costs between $45 and $100.
In terms of inventory, Sam's Club offers a pretty conventional mix of clothing, housewares, furniture and electronics. Its Black Friday offering for 2018 is strongest in the TV and laptop categories.
Notably, Sam's Club will sell (online only) the 55-inch Vizio M-Series 4K TV, highlighted below, for $450 starting on the morning of Thanksgiving. It's also bucking the venerable Black Friday trend of clearing out older PCs and laptops with aging processors — most of Sam's Club's deals on PCs feature contemporary machines running Intel's newer eighth-generation CPUs.
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Sam's Club stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day — but Black Friday deals will launch at SamsClub.com starting at 12:01 a.m. ET on Nov. 22. Doors will reopen at 7 a.m. local time on Friday, Nov. 23.
As always, remember the caveats:
- CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page.
- Sam's Club's special prices will be available through Nov. 25 or until supplies last.
- We linked to the current listing at the retailer's website when one was available, but sale pricing won't be available until the respective sales begin.
55-inch Vizio M-Series, model M55-F0: $450 (save $150)
Sarah Tew/CNET
Though the 55-inch Vizio M-Series can't compete with the TCL 6 series on picture quality, at this price, it's nevertheless the superior value. And it's the least expensive TV we'll recommend for Black Friday 2018 to have scored at least an "8" for picture quality.
Deal available online only.
See at Sam's Club Read the CNET review
75-inch Samsung 4K TV with Xbox One S for $1,280 (save $230)
Though we haven't reviewed this particular Samsung 75-inch TV, it's probably not as good as the Vizio P-Series. Still, if you're looking for a cinema-scale gaming experience and starting from scratch, this is a pretty decent deal — as long as you don't need absolute peak picture quality.
Note: Sam's Club Plus members are eligible for 3x cash rewards on this deal.
15.6-inch HP Pavilion laptop with Core i3 and 2TB hard drive for $400 (save $200)
If you're more concerned with storage than performance, Sam's Club's deal on this 15.6-inch HP laptop is among the best we've seen this year. For $400, you get an eighth-gen Intel Core i3 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a ridiculous 2TB hard drive. Very solid.
15.6-inch HP Pavilion laptop with Core i5 and 1TB hard drive for $550 (save $150)
You can get similar configurations for less elsewhere, but Sam's Club members are eligible for the extended two-year warranty that comes included with this one. A solid lineup of specs: eighth-gen Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of DDR4 SDRAM and a 1TB hard drive.
17.3-inch HP laptop with touchscreen, Core i7 CPU, 2TB hard drive and optical drive for $650 (save $250)
This enormous HP laptop is absolutely loaded. You get a 17.3-inch HD touchscreen, a high-end Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM (plus 16GB of Intel Optane), a 2TB hard drive and — what's that now? — an optical drive. Sam's Cub also throws in two years of extra warranty protection.
Note that Sam's Club is also selling a less expensive variation of this machine with less firepower and no touchscreen for $450.
Bose SoundLink Bluetooth On-Ear headphones for $100 (save $60)
Sarah Tew
These are compact and comfortable and deliver excellent audio quality. Our only qualm has been the price, but this deal mitigates that. Equivalent to the pricing we're seeing elsewhere.
See at Sam's Club Read the CNET review
Fitbit Versa, $150 (save $50)
Josh Miller/CNET
Sam's Club has the same deal on this smartwatch as many other retailers. The Versa has a comfortable, sleek design with a color touchscreen, a heart rate sensor and a battery that will last you days at a time. And it's compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
See at Sam's Club Read the CNET review
iRobot Roomba e5 for $250 (save $100)
A compelling price on a Wi-Fi-connected robot vacuum that is rated for 90 minutes of use per charge. Supports Alexa and Google Assistant.
Black Friday 2018 deals in each category
Black Friday 2018 deals for specific devices
Black Friday 2018 deals by store
Black Friday 2018: CNET's complete coverage
Apple iPad 2018
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