'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
The kids are back in school, the pools are closing, and that can only mean summer is coming to a close. With summer's end, however, comes the final summer event of the year: Labor Day.
If you've been holding off the entire season for some great deals on major purchases like appliances or outdoor pieces, now is a great time to pick them up, as retailers are clearing away stock. We've searched the internet far and wide for deals to save you cash on your next big splurge. Be sure to take a look at our picks for best Labor Day deals below.
Must read:
Perfect for a large living room, the 65-inch TCL UHD Roku TV has a sleek metal finish that can be mounted on a wall or set up on a TV stand. With FullView, you'll get edge-to-edge TV viewing, and you can enjoy beautiful picture with the Ultra HD resolution. In addition to these great features, you can expect voice control with Google Assistant and Alexa and even use the Roku smart app on your phone as a remote. Best of all, it upscales to 4K UHD images on-screen.
For new subscribers or for those that allowed their subscription to lapse, HBO Max is offering a year of the streaming service for 40% off the original price. You'll be able to watch hits like "House of the Dragon" today and "The Last of Us" when it drops early next year. Create multiple profiles for your house and control what your kids are watching with parental controls. You'll have to prepay for one year.
This cordless string trimmer can cut up to a 12-inch row of grass and help clean up bits that you miss while mowing your lawn. It comes with an included battery that can run for up to an hour on a single charge.
Whether you forgot to pick one up during back-to-school deals, or if you just moved and need a new streaming device, the Amazon Fire Stick 4K is the best device for you. The small device plugs into HD and 4K UHD TVs. It also works with select Prime Video and Disney+ titles to provide Dolby Atmos to your viewing experience. It also supports Dolby Vision, HDR, and HRD10+. It's not hands-free with Alexa, but you can press the Alexa button on the remote and use it to pull up your favorite shows via voice command.
The lowest price we've seen was $25 during Prime Day.
A customizable fridge is one thing, but a smart customizable fridge like this Samsung Bespoke model is another level of innovation. In addition to the Samsung SmartThings app, which allows you to monitor the temperature remotely, the adjustable panels can appear as chic stainless steel gray or more vibrant hues. An Autofill Water Pitcher feature automatically refills with filtered water, and you have the option to infuse it with your flavor preferences.
More: The best refrigerators of 2022
Get dust-free and allergen-free floors with the iRobot Room j7 vacuum. The handy smart home tool can clean while you're away and create personalized cleaning suggestions for your home. The vacuum uses Genius Technology and PrecisionVision Navigation to recognize objects like cords, socks, and shoes while working. With Voice Assistant, you can ask it to spot clean messes.
More: The best lawn mowers of 2022
If you're a metal detector hobbyist or looking to get into the hobby, the Bounty Hunter TK4 metal detector is a great option. It features an 8-inch waterproof coil, and it can detect small objects up to 6-inches deep and larger objects up to 2-feet deep. It uses three modes of operation and can distinguish between certain metals to narrow your search preferences. Plus, the interface is easy to read and control. For those who prefer a lightweight metal detector, this one weighs only 3.7 pounds.
This year, Labor Day will be on Monday, September 5.
This is a great question because it really depends on the retailer. If you're looking for a major appliance, you can expect those to ramp up closer to September 5 -- usually one week before, which would be around August 26.
However, there are multiple factors at play this year. First, there are still groans and moans in the supply chain among other results of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, a lot of stores ended up purchasing items in bulk, and with people still spending, albeit less, they have extra inventory that they need to get rid of. That's where the savings come in. While they usually start sales around August 26th, we expect them to start as early as today as encouragement for shoppers to purchase.
In the past, we've seen Labor Day deals extend up to a week after the holiday, so you can expect the deals to last through September 12. Anything after that is not guaranteed.
If you've been holding out on a major outdoor purchase or just appliances inside the home, this is a great holiday to purchase those items. A lot of outdoor items will be discounted, since retailers are trying to clear out their stock for the seasonal product shift.
The same goes for appliances. This is one of the best times of the year to invest in a new stove or a new smart refrigerator because they want to clear out current stock for new inventory. The next time consumers should look for good smart appliance deals is Veterans Day, and after that, Presidents Day.
We comb the internet across multiple retailers and take into account a multitude of factors. First, If the product is less than 15% off, it is usually not a good deal. There are exceptions to that, such as Apple products, which are very popular but not usually on sale. Our general rule of thumb is that it has to be at least 15% off.
Additionally, we check over the past six months on any item we think it's a great deal to make sure that you truly are getting a great deal. Anything that has been price-gouged to appear like a deal, where they raise the price a few days before and drop it back down to the "deal" the day of, has not been included on this list. We want to make sure that you get the best deal for these items.