The September weeks between back-to-school shopping and early holiday deals can be either tempting or a trap.

Labor Day holiday weekend sales aside, September is an absolute dead zone for shopping. The September lull has been the one retail constant since the recession hit in 2008 and was, with few exceptions (1995, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2016), the rule since roughly 1992. People are too preoccupied with the new school year, the new football season, their new homes or a new season of house maintenance and cleanup that they pay no mind to vacant stores and the please for foot traffic.

End-of-summer sales, Labor Day sales and the final back-to-school sales all melt away fairly early in the month, and there are still weeks to go before even the most liberal of holiday return policies will cover anything you buy. You might see some seasonal discounts as the leaves change color and folks consider putting their lawn furniture away for the season, but this is just the kind of quiet spell that lures consumers into a false sense of security. If traffic and demand are low, sellers probably want to cut you a deal, right?

No. Those winter holidays are coming quicker than you think, and a slow third quarter won't mean much if it's followed by a high-volume, deal-addled fourth. Even October sees some early holiday deals, which is why you see retailers clearing floor space in mid-September and club retailers like Costco and BJ's moving holiday items onto the floor around the same time.

For those who simply can't resist heading into the fray during a down month, the folks at DealNews have a few post-Labor Day suggestions for you. Don't expect miracles, but the offerings aren't all as meager as this dead retail month would lead you to believe.

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Editors' pick: Originally published Sept. 6.

Worth buying: 32- to 55-inch televisions

Black Friday is less than three months away, but your needs don't always align with the holiday shopping schedule. Those 32-inch televisions are basically college dorm sets, and DealNews points out that they sold for as low as $100 last September. In fact, a third of the 32-inch sets listed last year were among best deals of the year on televisions that size. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, half of 55-inch sets see their best prices in September. In fact, 4K televisions that size bottomed out at $350 last year.

Find them on Amazon here

Don't buy: Appliances

We fell into this trap while buying a washing machine last year. Home Depot discounted appliances up to 30% on Labor Day, which is a fine deal when your washer breathes its last in the middle of a cycle a week before. However, Home Depot offered the same items from 40% off once Black Friday came around, which is a huge difference when you're buying a washer-dryer pair or a whole set of kitchen appliances at once. Last year, just 12% of appliance deals were among the best of the year, which makes the month a gamble on that front.

Worth buying: Last-generation iPhones

The days of the subsidized smartphone are gone, which makes sales on smartphones particularly enticing when you can get them. The iPhone 8 is coming and won't be cheap, which mens the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are about to get a deep discount. In August, DealNews saw a refurbished 128GB iPhone 7 fall to $514.99, while a refurb iPhone 7 Plus fell to $550 (both units were unlocked). September will bring deeper discounts on the 7 and older models, as Apple knocked $100 off the price of the iPhone 6 right before the new version was released last year.

Find them on Amazon here

Don't buy: Any new iPhone

Early adopters aren't the most fiscally prudent individuals. However, the margin for error is getting slimmer as folks are already predicting a $1,000 price tag for the iPhone 8? Did you miss the part where we told you that the previous generation is going for half that price? Unless this year's upgrade includes the cure for a debilitating disease, you can wait until the first discounts hit in November... if not longer.

Worth buying: Cruise and airline tickets

The good news is that 20% of the best deals on cruises come during September. Meanwhile, last year, both JetBlue and Frontier Airlines dropped the price on 1-way domestic flights to just $28, while return flights were as low as $80.

The bad news? September is smack in the middle of hurricane season, which means you're taking your chances with a cruise that may never set sail or a flight that will leave you stranded at the airport. Good luck.

Worth buying: Coffee (but wait)

National Coffee Day is September 29, which means a whole lot of freebies. Now, we wouldn't tell you to hold off if this day just involved Starbucks, Peet's, Dunkin' Donuts and others handing out free cups. Considering that Starbucks slashed prices on bags of beans during last year's event, you might want to hold off if you're considering stocking up.