Labor Day deals are coming in strong, but let’s be honest: the holiday technically has nothing to do with shopping. However, that’s not stopping stores from trotting out weekend sales in honor of — and I’m quoting Wikipedia here — “the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the United States.” So yes, you can thank workers’ contributions to society by scoring 30% off a duvet cover.
If you’re hunting for Labor Day deals on big-ticket items like TVs, laptops, or kitchen essentials, there are a few things to know before you click “add to cart.” Below, we’re breaking down the best offers live right now, plus some tips on how to tell if what you’re seeing is actually a good deal.
And because timing matters, we’re also keeping an eye on what’s coming next: Apple’s annual September event (hello, new AirPods and Watches) and Amazon’s October sale, both of which will keep the discounts rolling well past Labor Day.
Table of ContentsBest Labor Day sales
Amazon
If you don’t like that feeling of having something wedged in your ear and don’t need active noise cancellation, these buds are the way to go. How are they different from the previous generation? The shorter stem gives them a cleaner look, and the new quick-press controls mean no more fumbling to pause your tunes or take a call. Plus, they fit better and stay put, so you won’t have to keep adjusting them while you’re at the gym or running to catch the train.
“I decided to upgrade from my AirPods 2 and I’m impressed!” a happy listener wrote. “Sound quality is great! Wow! They don’t feel like they’re going to fall out of my ears and [are] very comfortable.”
Amazon
More than 10,000 Amazon shoppers snapped up these earbuds in the past month, so calling them a customer favorite might just be an understatement. They come with more features than you may expect given the tiny package: active noise cancellation, transparency mode, USB-C charging and a snug, customizable fit.Â
“The noise cancellation amazed me,” said this shopper. “I have a window A/C unit to cool my office and when I put these in, I thought it turned off. It took me two or three times of taking them in and out of my ear to realize the headphones were eliminating the sound.”
Related: Apple AirPods Pro 2 review: Excellent earbuds with game-changing new hearing features
Amazon
The newest iPad is an ultra-light, thin tablet that’s powerful enough to replace your laptop for most tasks but slips into your bag with room to spare. With a spacious 11-inch Liquid Retina display, you’re swiping and scrolling in vibrant color and sharpness that makes any screen that came before it feel like an old tube TV. It’s also our pick for the overall best iPad for most users.
If you’ve got a habit of toggling among a dozen apps, streaming videos and replying to messages simultaneously, you’re in for a treat. This iPad is ready to keep up with whatever you throw its way. And if you’re into gaming, the graphics capabilities mean you can play even demanding games without dropping a frame.
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Whether you’re poolside with a true crime podcast or holed up in the library cranking out a term paper, these stylish headphones get the job done. At 50% off, they’re just a couple bucks shy of their all-time low. They pair seamlessly with Apple devices, run for up to 40 hours per charge and are as portable as they are comfortable.
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This updated version of the MacBook Air features the latest generation M4 chip, meaning you’ll get a much more powerful computer with everything else you love about the Air, including its outstanding 18-hour battery life and gorgeous 13.6-inch screen.
Save $200Â | Lowest price ever
Amazon
Thanks to AirTags, I can track my bags from drop-off to the plane to the luggage carousel. And even when the worst happens, and my bags end up in Orlando when I’m in Michigan (true story), I know where they are and how to find them.
“First, we bought one Apple AirTag for my husband’s wallet. Then we bought a second one for his car keys,” said this repeat buyer. “Now, we have a four-pack, which is cheaper, for our golf bags and checked roller bags.”
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The 2023-released SE has everything you need, from trackers for your heart rate and steps to crash detection, and nothing you don’t, so if you’ve been waiting for an Apple Watch to go on sale, this deal is for you.
“The durability is outstanding. I was a bit careless and forgot the watch in my pants when I was doing laundry,” said a forgetful fan. “Luckily, after a 40-minute wash and a 50-minute dry on high heat, the watch worked perfectly fine.”
Amazon
This souped-up smartwatch has a titanium case and comes with different colored loop bands (depending on which option you choose). It has a larger face than standard Apple Watches and functions as a fitness tracker, GPS and more. The best upgrade for me is battery life. You’ll get up to 36 hours, 72 if you’re in low battery mode.
“Not only is this thing a beast with battery life, [but] I am finding more features that I didn’t even know it had,” a shopper marveled.
$779 at AmazonWhat to expect from Labor Day sales in 2025
You’ve probably already seen a lot of back-to-school sales. Many of these morph into Labor Day sales; very often they’re exactly the same, just with different names.
The month of August is changing the landscape of the streaming video market, with the imminent debut of new ESPN and Fox streaming services hitting soon. Concurrently, we’re seeing some notable streaming deals and bundles, including Sling TV’s new day-passes, starting at just $5. It’s no coincidence this is all happening just ahead of the college and NFL football seasons, when viewers are aiming to make sure they can watch their favorite teams. So keep your eyes peeled for similar offerings in the days to come.
Although it hasn’t been announced just yet, Apple’s annual product-launch event is expected in early September. We fully expect new iPhones and Apple Watches, and maybe even new AirPods, too. So if you’re taking advantage of various pre-Labor Day Apple deals, just note that a new set of “latest and greatest” are likely imminent in several categories.
Labor Day shopping tip #1: Remember that the ‘List Price’ isn’t always what it seems
Here’s an example of a no-brand robot vacuum, new to Amazon, that debuted with — in my opinion — an artificially inflated list price (here listed as the “typical price”). This model has nowhere near the features of a $600 vacuum; rather, it’s equipped like a $130 one. (Rick Broida/Yahoo)
Labor Day shopping is no different than regular shopping: Seek out the best savings before you pull the trigger. But what constitutes savings? There’s the list price, aka MSRP (“manufacturer’s suggested retail price”), which is the default price set by the manufacturer. But if you’re shopping the likes of Amazon and Walmart, you may encounter third-party sellers. And because those third-party sellers have complete control over the prices shown for any product, they can artificially inflate the list price in order to make the discounted price seem more substantial. Not every seller does this, of course, but it does happen.
For example, there are a lot of no-brand robot vacuum cleaners available at Amazon. A common strategy there is for the seller to assign the product a very high list price, at least for a few weeks, then sell it for considerably less — making it seem like you’re saving more than you are. Meanwhile, competing models are all priced around that same “sale” price, but seem less attractive by comparison.
Amazon has attempted to mitigate this issue on some products by instead listing something it calls the “typical price.” Per Amazon, that is “the median price paid on Amazon in the last 90 days, [excluding] prices paid by customers for the product during a limited-time deal.” It’s a nice idea, but it doesn’t seem to preclude some third-party sellers from pulling the same inflated discount game, even on name-brand products.
Take this 15-inch HP laptop sold by “Tropical Lightning Tech.” It has a list price from that vendor of a whopping $4,500. It’s currently listed as “78% off,” or just under $1,000. Sounds great until you investigate further. That $4,500 price is an illusion: While it’s not a bad price for Core i7 laptop with a ton of RAM and 2TB of storage, there’s no way anyone should ever have been paying anything north of, say, $1,200 for it.
A little common sense is applicable here: If you’re seeing something advertised as 70%, 80% or even 90% off, chances are good it was never really selling for that higher price to begin with. And if it was, it definitely wasn’t worth it.
So, given that the posted discounts don’t always line up with reality, how can you determine if a deal is really worth buying? That brings us to tip #2.
Tip #2: Check every deal’s price history
Knowledge is power, and there’s no better knowledge you can have during Labor Day than a product’s complete price history. Thankfully, a couple of free tools let you pull back the curtain and see exactly that.
Why is this so important? Two reasons. First, as discussed above, you can see if that deal is really a deal or if the discounted price is the “always” price. Second, you can eliminate that sense of urgency from your shopping, because if a product has been discounted like this before, chances are good it will be again.
The tools I recommend for this: CamelCamelCamel (so named for the animal’s humps, which go up and down — just like prices) and Keepa. Both will show you detailed price-history charts, including the lowest and highest prices on record. (And both work only with Amazon. Try Honey if you want a tool that works with other retailers.)
Has the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K been on sale before? When hasn’t it! This CamelCamelCamel price-history graph lets you see just how often it’s discounted and what the lowest price has been. Utterly invaluable information. (Rick Broida/Yahoo)
Now, the caveat here is that these price trackers will capture the same dramatic price fluctuations based on those sometimes-inflated list prices noted above. But for products with more honest price fluctuations, you can still save by waiting just a few days for the discount cycle to repeat. A great example: Amazon-branded products like the Kindle, Fire TV Stick and Echo Show. Checking their price histories, I know that they go on sale with almost clockwork regularity (typically once per month). And unlike during Prime Day and Black Friday, Labor Day isn’t likely to yield the lowest prices of the year. If this isn’t the best time for you to make a purchase, you can always wait for a bigger, better discount.
To use these tools, you can either search for a product (or copy/paste an Amazon product link) on their respective sites, or install their desktop browser extensions, which make searches much faster and easier. Prefer to shop on your phone? Keepa has mobile apps for Android and iOS.
Tip #3: Set up price-drop alerts
If there’s a product you’ve been eyeballing but don’t want to have to keep checking to see if it’s on sale, there’s an easy, automated solution: Create a price-drop alert so you’ll get notified if and when that product hits your desired amount.
CamelCamelCamel and Keepa both offer this feature, a great secondary benefit to using them. Here’s an example of what that looks like in the former, with Apple AirPods Pro 2 as my desired deal:
With CamelCamelCamel’s browser extension, you can easily add a price-drop alert for any product. Just enter your desired price and email address, then click Save Price Watches. (Rick Broida/Yahoo)
Obviously, this needn’t be limited to Labor Day; I use price-drop alerts all the time. As long as you’re not in a rush to buy whatever it is, this is the way to make sure you get exactly the discount you want.
Tip #4: Don’t automatically assume Amazon has the best deal
This may come as a shock, but there are other stores out there. Best Buy, Target, Walmart and other retailers often run competing sale events during Labor Day, matching and sometimes even beating Amazon’s prices.
Indeed, I think we’re all a little hard-wired to believe that Amazon always has the best deals, but that’s not always the case. Before you pull the trigger, especially on a large purchase, it’s worth taking a minute or two to do some price-comparison shopping.
And if I can hop onto my little soapbox for a moment, don’t forget to check out local stores as well. Especially bookstores, which can offer a browsing experience and customer service unmatched by Amazon. Some even have loyalty programs or other discounts that might get you close to Amazon pricing.
Tip #5: Follow Yahoo’s Labor Day coverage (duh)
I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that Yahoo will be monitoring and sharing all the best Labor Day deals in all the different categories: home, health, kitchen, tech and more. We have teams of experts (I mean it, literal experts!) scouring Amazon and other stores for the latest and greatest buys. So if you haven’t already, bookmark Yahoo Shopping and Yahoo Tech as your jumping-off points for Labor Day 2025.
FAQsWhen is Labor Day 2025?
The holiday falls on the earliest possible date: Sept. 1, 2025. Labor Day sales are likely to start as soon as mid-August, and kick into high gear by the start of Labor Day weekend: Friday, August 29. Once the holiday weekend ends, the sales do, too.
Will tariffs affect Labor Day deals?
Confused about the Trump administration’s tariff plans? Join the club. Tariff rates seem to yo-yo from week to week, making the impact on consumer prices tough to gauge. In the tech space, we’ve begun to see evidence of price hikes on items like Xbox and Nintendo game consoles, high-end Japanese camera brands and some Sonos speakers. That said, with the largest China tariffs pushed out another 90 days, we’re still seeing many familiar deals on things like Apple products persist — at least for now. How long it will last (or not) is anybody’s guess, but you could be forgiven for jumping on a good deal while it’s still available.
What items are most commonly discounted during Labor Day sales?
I asked ChatGPT this question and got… the same answer that I already knew from experience. Mattresses, appliances, outdoor grilling gear and furniture, electronics, clothing, home decor and back-to-school items are all expected to be on sale during the Labor Day season. Put another way: If you’re looking for pretty much anything, it’s likely to be on sale later this month.
Carrie McCabe contributed to this story.
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