Thanksgiving in the US is coming up in a few weeks, a perfect time to see friends and family members whilst eating pumpkin pie. The day after thanksgiving is Black Friday, a day that has become famous around the world for one-day only crazy sales.

But is Black Friday really worth the hype? Can you really score some awesome deals if you wait the whole year for this one special day?

I’ve been thinking of heading to the US from Ecuador for a week or so to take advantage of Black Friday. Whilst the sales are not my only excuse to buy a plane ticket, it’s a very tempting reason to manipulate my dates. But how much could I really save during Black Friday?

This time last year I was in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles for both Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I didn’t visit the shops at all. The day after Thanksgiving we went to the beach instead. Like so many others, I’ve seen the crazy You Tube videos of American people losing their shit to buy something at a super discounted price. But whilst I was in the US for Black Friday last year, there was no craziness, no massively long lines to get super discounted goods.

Yes department stores slash prices on some items, but what benefit you receive really depends on what you’re buying. There certainly seem to be some big savings on large items like televisions and refrigerators, and smaller savings on clothing, electronics and cookware. To me the day seemed very similar to every Christmas sale that happens everywhere in the world.

So what’s the hype for Black Friday? Is it just because Americans go a little crazy at their local Walmart and it ends up on You Tube?

Flights to the US around Thanksgiving and Christmas are expensive and I’m trying to decide if the trip is worth it. From what I’ve seen of Apple and other large companies that traditionally offered very good Black Friday discounts, over the past few years they’ve reigned their offers in. Now it’s just free postage, or maybe $25 off their selected product, not exactly something to lose your mind over.

But if your Thanksgiving day and Black Friday shopping didn’t provide enough excitement, the online world now has Cyber Monday. The first Monday after Thanksgiving, online stores offer supposedly super discounts as well. Savvy shoppers can possibly find discounts online both before and after the holiday weekend. Again I guess it depends what you’re looking for.

For now, I’ll keep watching the online sites and flight prices and decide if I’ll head to the US again this year, but I’m more interested in Cyber Monday. As someone who lives and works online, this is a sales day I can get behind.