Every Black Friday, retailers lure shoppers in the cold, predawn hours to wait in long lines with the promise of one-day-only deals that can't be beat. And every year, a good number of those shoppers ask themselves, 'Is this really worth it?'

The answer, it turns out, is often no.

An analysis of this year's most-touted Black Friday deals by The Wall Street Journal and price-data firm Decide Inc. found that many of the bargains advertised as 'doorbusters' were available at lower prices at other times of the year