If you're thinking about buying discounted Apple products on Black Friday, check the serial number first

Crystal Cox/Business Insider

• Electronics often go on sale around Thanksgiving for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
• Most of the biggest Black Friday deals are usually on older models of devices.
• To see what model you're getting, always be sure to check the serial number before purchasing.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be a great time to buy heavily discounted Apple products - this year's best deals include Apple Watches up to $180 off, and as much as $300 off iPad Pros.

But with discounted Apple products, and tech gadgets in general, there's one caveat: Oftentimes, companies will discount older models rather than the latest thing.

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In the case of Nintendo's Black Friday deal, for example, the company is discounting the older version of its wildly popular Switch console instead of the latest model.

Buying an older model isn't necessarily the worst thing - it can be an easy way to save, and sometimes, improvements to new devices can be incremental and not worth the extra money.

Still, you'll want to get the most for your money, and luckily, there's an easy way to check: look at the serial number.

As Wirecutter noted on Twitter Tuesday, it's always a good idea to check the serial number of a device before buying, and it's doubly important during peak sale times, like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

When it comes to Apple products specifically, retailers will generally clarify which Apple Watch edition they're selling, but products like iPads can be a little trickier. If you're looking at this 10.5-inch iPad Pro from Walmart, for instance, you'll see that it's on sale for $699, down $300 from the original price.

Walmart

But, before you drop $700, you should know what model you're buying. Scroll down to a section that will usually be called "specifications." There, you'll find the model number, which tells you this is a fifth-generation iPad from 2017.

Walmart

This iPad is still a great deal, and now you have more information about exactly what you're getting. Once you've confirmed that you're getting the correct model, go ahead and take advantage of those Black Friday deals.