Every November, threads appear in r/amateurradio asking the same question: should I wait for Black Friday? Every July around Prime Day, the same thread. The answers people give are usually based on vibes and one or two personal experiences.
We decided to look at the actual data.
Using Keepa — a tool that has tracked Amazon price history on millions of products since 2012 — we pulled two years of pricing on the most popular ham radio gear categories. What we found is specific, actionable, and in some cases genuinely counterintuitive. For the principles behind reading these charts, see how to read a ham radio deal first if you haven’t already.
The short version: it depends heavily on the category. Major radios mostly ignore Prime Day and Black Friday. Accessories reliably don’t. And some products follow patterns that have nothing to do with either sale event.
How We Read These Charts
Each chart below comes directly from Keepa and shows 730 days of Amazon new-item pricing. The orange/red line is the Amazon-sold price. Troughs are price drops; peaks are price increases. Prime Day falls in mid-July each year; Black Friday falls in late November.
One important caveat: Keepa tracks Amazon’s price on items sold directly by Amazon. Third-party sellers fluctuate differently and are not reflected here. Ham Radio Outlet, GigaParts, Radioddity, and BridgeCom have their own sale calendars and are not captured in these Amazon charts.
Major HF Radios — They Don’t Care About Prime Day
Icom IC-7300
The IC-7300 is the best-selling HF radio of the past decade, and its pricing behavior is worth studying.
What you’ll notice immediately: the IC-7300’s Amazon price is remarkably stable with periodic jumps and drops that have no obvious relationship to Prime Day or Black Friday. The drops that do occur — typically $50–150 off list — are Icom-initiated price adjustments that happen when they quietly update MSRP or when Amazon runs a temporary promotion.
What this means for buyers: Don’t wait for Prime Day or Black Friday specifically for the IC-7300. The better strategy is to set a price alert at your target price and buy when it hits — which could happen any time of year. We’ve seen it drop in March, May, and September with no sale event attached.
Yaesu FT-60R
The FT-60R is one of the oldest active handheld designs in ham radio, and its price history reflects a mature product.
The pattern here is a slow, gradual drift — occasionally a meaningful sale price appears, but it’s not tied to the major sale events. Yaesu does not participate in Amazon promotional events the way consumer electronics brands do.
What this means for buyers: The lowest price on a Yaesu FT-60R from Amazon will appear when it appears. Waiting for Black Friday will likely result in waiting indefinitely. Ham Radio Outlet and GigaParts are better sources for Yaesu discounts — HRO in particular runs their own sale events.
Xiegu G90
This one tells a different story.
The Xiegu G90 shows long-term price decline driven by competitive pressure. As new portables have entered the market, the G90’s price has gradually compressed. The drops here aren’t sale events — they’re market repricing. You can see this pattern across many Chinese-manufactured amateur radios as they age in the market.
What this means for buyers: If you’re considering a G90, the trend is your friend — the price is likely lower today than it was 18 months ago, and may continue to fall. Buying at a Black Friday “sale” price this year might be roughly equivalent to buying in March next year during no sale at all.
SDR Receivers — Stable, with Exceptions
RTL-SDR Blog V4
The RTL-SDR V4 is a textbook example of a price-stable product.
The RTL-SDR Blog V4 launched at $39.95 and has held that price with very little movement. RTL-SDR Blog controls their Amazon listing tightly and doesn’t participate in promotional pricing. The occasional small dip is a Lightning Deal or coupon — not a sale event.
What this means for buyers: Just buy it when you need it. There’s no meaningful Black Friday discount on the RTL-SDR V4 and there likely won’t be. The $35 launch price you may have seen mentioned in older guides is historical.
Budget HTs — Constant Fluctuation, Small Windows
Baofeng UV-5R
The UV-5R is chaotic. That’s the most accurate description of its price history.
The UV-5R listing changes frequently — different SKUs, different pack configurations, different sellers getting the buy box. What you’ll see in this chart is more volatility than almost any other ham radio product. The price can swing by $5–10 in a week with no sale event whatsoever.
What this means for buyers: For the UV-5R, the best strategy is to buy when you see it at a price you’re happy with, because the next time you check, it may be higher or lower with no predictable logic. Prime Day and Black Friday produce some dips, but they’re not reliably the lowest you’ll see all year. The Quansheng UV-K5, which costs the same and does considerably more, has shown more stable pricing behavior — see our UV-K5 vs UV-5R comparison for a full breakdown.
Accessories — This Is Where Sale Events Actually Matter
Nagoya NA-771 Antenna
Now here’s where the picture changes.
Accessories behave differently from radios. The NA-771 is a high-volume accessory that Amazon promotes aggressively. You can see the characteristic pattern: modest everyday pricing, with sharp dips during Prime Day (July) and Black Friday (November) that represent genuine discounts, often 20–35% off the normal price.
What this means for buyers: If you’re shopping for accessories — antennas, adapters, cables, cases, batteries — Prime Day and Black Friday are the real deal. Stock up on consumables and accessories during these windows. This is where the “wait for the sale” advice actually holds.
The Unofficial Rules That Emerge From the Data
After two years of price tracking across dozens of ham radio products, some clear patterns emerge:
Rule 1: Major brand radios (Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood) don’t sale on Amazon. Their pricing is controlled by the manufacturer and tied to authorized dealer agreements. The brand-meaningful discounts happen at Ham Radio Outlet and GigaParts during their own promotional events, not on Amazon.
Rule 2: Chinese-made radios and SDRs trend downward over time. Baofeng, Radioddity, Tidradio, Quansheng, Xiegu — these products face ongoing competitive pressure. If you’re not in a rush, the wait-6-months strategy often works better than waiting for Black Friday.
Rule 3: Accessories do go on sale during Prime Day and Black Friday. Consistently. Cables, adapters, antennas, programming accessories, tools — these follow conventional retail sale patterns. Build a wishlist and hit it hard in July and November.
Rule 4: The best prices aren’t always on Amazon. Radioddity, BridgeCom, and TIDRadio run their own promotion calendars with flash sales, clearance events, and coupon codes. HRO runs a major annual sale. GigaParts has frequent promotions on specific categories. The best price on a given radio often comes from a direct retailer, not Amazon.
Rule 5: Keepa price alerts beat calendar shopping. Rather than waiting for a specific sale event and hoping your target item is included, set a price alert at your target price and buy when it triggers — wherever in the year that happens to be. This is almost always a better outcome than calendar-based shopping.
What to Do Right Now
The most practical takeaway: figure out what kind of thing you’re buying before deciding whether to wait.
For a major HF radio like an IC-7300, FTDX10, or IC-7610 — don’t wait for Prime Day. Watch the price, set an alert, and buy when it’s right.
For accessories you know you’ll need — antennas, adapters, ferrite chokes, programming cables — buy them in July or November. You will save real money.
For budget HTs and Chinese-market gear — buy when the price is at a level you’re comfortable with. The next “sale” is unpredictable, but the general trend is downward, which works in your favor if you can wait.
HamDeals tracks prices daily on everything in our catalog. Set up a price alert for any deal on the site and we’ll email you when it hits your target — no waiting for the calendar to cooperate.
Frequently Asked Questions: Ham Radio Sale Seasons
Do Icom, Yaesu, and Kenwood radios go on sale for Black Friday?
On Amazon, almost never. Major brand HF radios have fixed MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) agreements with authorized dealers and rarely appear in Amazon sale events. The real Black Friday deals come from specialty retailers: Ham Radio Outlet, GigaParts, and DX Engineering run their own promotions that often include manufacturer rebates stacked on top of sale prices. The Icom IC-7300 has historically appeared in the $899–$999 range during November at HRO with rebates applied.
Does Amazon Prime Day have ham radio deals?
Yes, but only on specific categories. Based on two years of Keepa price data, the categories that reliably discount during Prime Day include: RF accessories (antennas, coax, connectors), entry-level SDR equipment, and third-party Chinese radio brands. Major Japanese brand transceivers do not participate in Prime Day pricing. Budget HTs like the Baofeng UV-5R fluctuate so frequently that their “Prime Day price” is often indistinguishable from routine volatility.
When do Nagoya and similar antenna accessories go on sale?
Nagoya antennas (NA-771, NA-320A, and similar) reliably discount during Amazon Prime Day (July) and Black Friday/Cyber Monday (November). Sale prices are typically 20–35% below normal street price. Setting a Keepa price alert at 20% below current price on the NA-771 is a reliable way to catch these windows without monitoring manually.
Is Hamvention Week a good time to buy ham radio gear?
Yes, especially for mid-range and high-end equipment. Hamvention (held annually in Xenia, Ohio in May) is the industry’s largest event, and manufacturers and dealers consistently run promotions timed to it. Ham Radio Outlet, GigaParts, and DX Engineering all run Hamvention sales — sometimes with sitewide discounts or free accessories included. If you are planning a significant purchase, May is the second-best buying window after November. For a full framework on reading any deal, see how to read a ham radio deal.
What is the best way to get notified when a ham radio drops to its lowest price?
Two tools work best: Keepa (keepa.com) for Amazon purchases, and signing up for newsletters from Ham Radio Outlet, GigaParts, and DX Engineering directly. Keepa lets you set a target price alert on any Amazon listing and will email you when the price drops to your target. Dealer newsletters often include exclusive coupon codes and early access to rebate promotions that do not appear on Amazon at all.
73 de HamDeals
