Traditionalists might balk, but the holiday shopping season is already underway. Skeptical? Head to your local department store and you'll be inundated by Christmas trees and ornaments. Bargain hunters, though, know that the real deals are more than a month away.
Black Friday, traditionally, is when retailers truly slash prices. Early birds can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off of their holiday bills. Switched.com checked with a few elves, who gave a sneak peek at what you can expect deal-wise this year.
Blu-ray Players and Movies: Blu-ray is shaping up to be the biggest door buster of this year's Black Friday. de Grandpre expects at least one retailer will offer a Blu-ray player for just $49. Look for bargains on Blu-ray films as well, with last year's hit titles (such as "Iron Man") to fall as low as $5.
Laptops: With the proliferation of Netbooks this year, it's never been easier to find affordable portable computing, but Dan de Grandpre, CEO of DealNews.com says it will get even cheaper on Black Friday. Look for well-equipped Netbooks to sell for $199 – and basic 15" laptops to go for as little as $249.
HDTVs (Pretty big): The holidays are typically the best time to buy a new TV – and Black Friday is the time to do it. If you're looking for a normal sized set, you're in luck. Piper Jaffrey analyst Mitch Kaiser says he expects to see 32-inch LCD sets for as low as $299. GottaDeal.com is estimating 37-inch plasma and LCD sets will fall to $399 or less.
HDTVs (Really big): Need something bigger? How about a 46-47 inch LCD set for $599 – a 25 percent savings? Or a 52-inch LCD for $999? Dealnews says you can expect both. Plasma deals will be a little harder to come by, but a 50-inch set should run roughly $899.
HD Camcorders: You've wanted to shoot your child's school play in HD for a while, but haven't been able to spring for the pricey camcorder. This might be the year. Low-end, flash-based 720p models could drop as low as $60 (though you won't be able to zoom with those). Expect a high quality 1080p HD camcorder for $349.
GPS: While navigation systems have dramatically expanded their reach this year – even making it onto the iPhone – there's still a market for car-based systems. Dealnews predicts you'll be able to find a no-name entry-level system for $49, while a Garmin or Tom-Tom brand will be as low as $69.
Digital Picture Frames: Showcasing your digital pictures consistently gets cheaper. This year, skip the 7-inch screens and focus on the 8- or 9-inch ones, which should be available on Black Friday for as little as $30.
Monitors: Computer monitors might not be the sexiest of gifts, but they're usually welcomed with open arms – and they'll be cheap this year. Name brand 22-inch LCD models may go for as low as $99, while 24-inch models will drop below $150.
Memory: Don't know anyone who needs a monitor? External hard drives are always popular, since they're an easy way to back-up data. Dealnews expects a 1TB drive to fall as low as $49 this year. Gottadeal is looking for 8GB flash drives to hit $15.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jamie said 11:20AM on 7-12-2007
I am a customer service rep and i have worked for some very large companies, the key word is service. Also I have called their CS dept 4 and 5 times in a row trying to get someone here in the states who i could understand. I argued with a woman in their Cs because she kept telling me I was xcallimng from outside of the USA. I was on a freeway in Indiana?????? Last I I checked they are still part of the country. The solution was to turn my service off until I got back to Florida????
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Dot said 11:31AM on 7-12-2007
I "fired" Sprint for their rudeness, ignorance and clear violations of law. Next step after my log of facts is complete is contacting my attorney. If more people stepped up, Sprint would sink into the hole they're putting themselves in quicker.
Verizon is my new carrier and they're great.
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don said 11:35AM on 7-12-2007
If the "insider" comments are true, does it strike anyone else as odd that this would ONLY be a problem for Sprint and not the other carriers? Seems to me that this was a cost-cutting measure, plain and simple and let the customers be damned. I guess we'll see the For Sale sign on Sprint sooner than expected.
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Kim said 10:38PM on 7-12-2007
I wish more companies would start to do this. I have worked in Customer Service for years and it just seems like the more you complain the more you get. 99% of the complaints and the people that complain have no valid reason or it's something SO minor that it's just ridiculous that they are even complaining about it. The sad part is the old saying “It takes one person to ruin it for everyone”. So If I complain about something valid, with out raising my voice or demanding to talk to a supervisor, I won’t get anything done for me. As soon as I start getting mad and difficult the red carpet gets rolled out. This is just wrong! We should refuse service to people like this and stop the madness!!
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Jim said 12:55PM on 7-12-2007
Your comments: Its interesting that so many of us get so upset at so little. Its a matter of ego .. simply wanting what we want .. when we want it. It doesn't matter wheather it's Sprint, or Jane and John Doe .. 50 years
from now as Jesus Meets The World Press we may come to realize that we all suffer from illusions of want that are not real.Click on www . JesusMeetsThePress . com when you have the chance .. and awaken to a new and loving light source.
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william marvin said 9:55AM on 7-18-2007
i am new to computers again after 20 yrs without one. i bought a nice laptop and it seems that most of my softwareneeds me to be online to work properly. so after some pricing investigation i bought the sprint merlin wireless modem, & promptly was charged a $150 dollar deposit,$55 for the aircard, taxes & other fees brought the out the door fee to over $260 before 1st month service charges,& taxes. before i got my first month's bill my service was shut off for non-payment of bill, then i started having problems with the card itself(technical)& had to call their service dept, their technical dept. their solutions were to disable my external ports 3 times, re download all the software 34 megabytes worth, 3 times, they still shut off my service when it was paid for, insulted me, & when i went to the store i was told that the aircard was obviously defective and for $55 i could have a new aircard & this only after75 days ofservice. i was asked if i had insurance on the card (why should i need insurance? only against theft?) they refused to replace the air card, irefused to buy another air card, and then they told me i would either have to pay for the rest of my contract without the card or be in breach of contractfor an additional $150. on top of this now my computer needed repairs caused by their service dept.,they refused to pay for said repairs. now my $150 breach of contract bill is in a collection agency, iam being constantly harrassed my phones e-mails, voice-mails are alwaysfull of sprints collectin ageny phone calls, that i can't even turn on my phones, & i feel that if they would 've replaced their obviously defective device and paid for the repairs their tech staff caused this wouldn't be happening, adios sprint, your poor service & profits 1st cost you this customer
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