Act fast on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday deals

Bad news if you were planning on staying home this Thanksgiving: the best deals are on Turkey Day.

Janice Lieberman, a consumer analyst with DealNews, isn't saying you should leave your dinner table and run out in the middle of the pumpkin pie, but you should pay attention to the ads on Thanksgiving because they will have the best-quality deals, some of which are online.

Thanksgiving Day is all about the electronics. Think laptops, tablets, video games, and televisions. Janice says TVs are at their lowest prices of the year.

She is seeing 4K TVs under $200, but they're often smaller brands so do your research.

Check that all the features you want are there. Is it a name brand? Does the brand have a good rating?

Is this the television that you need?

If you take those TVs and electronics home and open the boxes, you'll often pay a 15-percent restocking fee. So be sure you have the right one before you open it up.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great shopping days, too.

Black Friday is the best day for smartphones, which don't go on sale that often throughout the year.

Janice says you'll see more deals on Samsung and Android phones than you will on iPhones, but some previous-generation iPhone models will also be on sale.

She advises against shopping at Apple stores, which rarely have sales.

You'll find better bargains online at Amazon or in stores such as Best Buy or Kohl's.

So far, Walmart is the only store we found offering any kind of deal on the iPhone X. Walmart is giving a $300 gift card with a two-year iPhone X activation.

For Cyber Monday, think about small kitchen appliances. Toaster ovens and coffeemakers will be dirt cheap.

Clothing and shoes will also be on sale.

And a surprising sale category on Cyber Monday is travel. Janice says it's a great time to book travel at a discount, particularly hotel deals and packages. Very few people think to book travel on Cyber Monday.

No matter what day you shop, make sure you check in on social media. A lot of retailers will be offering special deals on Facebook or in their apps.

And if you see a great deal this weekend, act fast. These are not the kinds of sales you can mull over because the inventory won't last.