We're officially only weeks away from one of the biggest shopping events of the year: Black Friday.

There's still about a month until the shopping holiday officially starts, but deals start to roll out much sooner than the Friday after Thanksgiving. How much sooner, you ask? Try right now. In fact, our deals experts have already been tracking price drops for the past two weeks.

That doesn't necessarily mean you should start frantically adding deals to your cart, but it does mean that it's good to head into the mega-sale event with a plan. From knowing when sales from retailers like Amazon and Best Buy start to knowing which products will likely go on sale to preparing your own shopping list, we've got you covered on everything you need to know ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

This year, Black Friday falls on Nov. 27. While retailers often start featuring their best markdowns on Black Friday itself, there are plenty of early deals worth shopping in the lead-up. Most retailers' official sales do start before the actual day, so shopping strategically ahead of time can save you from missing out on a deal entirely (or dealing with the chaos the day after Thanksgiving).

The mega-retailer just wrapped up its October Prime Day sale , but naturally, it's also getting in on the Black Friday action. While Amazon hasn't released official sale dates yet (it's still in the final days of the Holiday Beauty Event ), last year's Black Friday sale started over a week before the official day.

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