UPDATE: May. 13, 2024, 1:00 p.m. EDT This post has been updated with details on upcoming Drops between May 15 and May 17, including the Bissell Little Green Max Pet carpet cleaner, Roomba 694, and SCUF Envision Pro controller.
When it comes to shopping, a scarcity mindset is just as convincing as that one friend who always enables you to buy something you don’t need. It’s why there’s often a timer breathing down your neck from the corner of the screen during a sitewide sale. It’s exactly why Amazon’s invite-only Prime Day deals and Black Friday deals popped off, and why Walmart lets Walmart+ members get their hands on new groups of big shopping event deals hours before the general public can.
And it’s probably why Best Buy conveniently announced Best Buy Drops just ahead of the holiday shopping season. We’re pleasantly surprised that Drops turned out to not just be a holiday treat, though — it has solidified its spot as the middle tab of the Best Buy app, and we’ll certainly be taking advantage of this unique shopping hack as long as Best Buy will let us.
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Best Buy Drops is a shopping hack dedicated to giving shoppers a heads-up about upcoming high-profile items and deals in categories like gaming, cheap TVs, fan-favorite toys and merch, high-profile hair tools, kitchen gadgets, and more dropping at Best Buy in the next week. As long as you have the Best Buy mobile app, you can preview what’s coming on what day so that you’re ready to click “add to cart” when the item or deal goes live.
If a Drop is currently live while you’re on the app, a status bar showing the percentage of inventory that has been claimed can give an idea of how fast you need to act. Once inventory for a certain Drop is gone, it’s gone.
Credit: Screenshot / Mashable
The Drops tab also keeps a list of past Drops, which have included a limited-edition PlayStation 5 Marvel’s Spider-Man bundle, Pokémon Squishmallows, a super cheap 50-inch TV, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Even if you missed these, you at least have an idea of what similar items could pop up in the coming weeks. To look ahead, check the upcoming tab.
For extra cushion, you can opt-in to Drop Alerts for an extra reminder right before the drop of a product you care about goes live. Joining My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total will unlock even better discounts on Drops than what the general public is getting.
What’s dropping at Best Buy May 15 through May 17
Best Buy is only revealing the names of the upcoming products — not their actual Drop prices — in the Drop preview tab, so any prices listed below are the current price of the said product as it is on Best Buy’s site pre-Drop. Drops go live around 11 a.m. ET on the specified day (usually a string of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in any given week), and inventory is typically fully claimed by 5 p.m. that day.
Dropping: May 15
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If your version of spring cleaning involves tackling the big to-dos that you put off during the rest of the year, upholstery is a good place to start. The Bissell Little Green is a clutch portable cleaner that everyone should have on hand, though the one featured here was designed specifically for pet parents dealing with both stains and odor. Bissell claims that the Little Green Pet Max has 30% more powerful suction than the Shark StainStriker.
The Bissell Little Green Max Pet retails for $139.99, so we’re hoping to see it hit $89.99 with a $50 discount.
Dropping: May 16
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The Roomba 694 is the cheapest Roomba to be featured in a Drop so far. Several years old now, the 694 isn’t the best at anything. However, for homes that just require light daily upkeep, it’s a decent, affordable option, complete with the street cred that comes with having a Roomba.
Best Buy currently has the Roomba 694 on sale for $249.99 over its MSRP of $274.99, though it’s Amazon who is setting the standard for whether or not this Drop will be worthwhile. Amazon frequently has the same 694 model on sale for $179.99, so that’s the price Best Buy will have to beat. Though if you’re looking for the best cheap robot vacuum under $200, we’d suggest to be patient and sang the Shark RV2300 or Eufy L60 instead — both are often on sale for $199 and offer smart mapping, which the Roomba 694 does not.
Dropping: May 17
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It’s not a sin to prefer PC gaming but secretly miss the feel of a handheld controller. Corsair’s solution is the SCUF Envision Pro, a wireless gaming controller solely for PC released in Oct. 2023. The Envision Pro is reminiscent of Sony’s beloved DualSense design on its face, but offers several PC-specific components like five programmable G-keys and an RGB light strip.
The Envision Pro is already on sale for $149.99 ($30 off) at Best Buy, so a $50 to $70 discount is probable for its Drop.
