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.
File this under bad parents -- a woman in Virginia Beach, Virginia has been jailed for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, thanks to a rather tasteless video she posted on MySpace.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 17)
Susan said 12:34PM on 12-18-2007
What a loser. Merry Christmas, asshole.
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ascatal said 12:44PM on 12-18-2007
id file this on under bad parent and what and idiot as well wtf was she thinking? well maybe not that last one as she could not have been thinking! I hope that child has been taken away from here and put in foster care as any one who would do what she did is an unfit parent
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VICTORIA said 1:32PM on 12-18-2007
She got what she deserves. I hope she loses custody of her child permanently. No child deserves to be raised by an idiot like this woman.
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erica said 2:16PM on 12-18-2007
She looks like a meth head. People that do drugs are not in the right frame of mind. If she would tell/let her small child smoke a cigg, god knows what else she would let her or make her do. This is a very serious situation. Let's hope child welfare workers in her city are smart enough to get this child away from that woman.
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Marianne said 3:02PM on 12-18-2007
They need to charge her with child neglect and child abuse, and take the toddler away from her and place this child in loving and caring hands. People like her raise these children in this manner where these kids don't know better and grow up to be just like her or even worse. We need to take these sicko's off the street PERIOD....
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Marianne said 9:45AM on 12-21-2007
This woman needs to go to jail for child neglect and child abuse and take this inocent child away from her. She is a nuisance to society and a terrible person.
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Steve said 8:19PM on 12-18-2007
And this is WHY I do foster care. To take care of children when idiots like this some how figure out how to give birth to helpless children. I hope she rots in jail.
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Susan said 8:44PM on 12-18-2007
Well, it's obviously true, you just can't "fix" stupid....
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Why we need birth control said 9:01PM on 12-18-2007
dumbass
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Bill said 10:34PM on 12-18-2007
the video is fact so yes it should be used to put this "Biggest Loser" behind bars and lose her kids.
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Chewy Daniels said 2:32AM on 12-19-2007
I don't see what is wrong with this. I mean, I smoked when I was three, and I came out fine.
I mean, these damn republican nazis are so strict these days. Let the kids have a little toke.
C'mon, it's not like she was making the kid smoke pole!
We should all smoke together, and dance beneath trees. The world would be a much more glittery place!
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Cybil said 4:25AM on 12-19-2007
Chewy??? You must be off your rocker. Maybe you did smoke when you were 3 and...who says you turned out "fine"? Obviiously you did not! Anyone who thinks that forcing a child to smoke cigs at 2 is ok is not "fine". They are just plain ignorant. Smoking is against the law for anyone under the age of 18 and anyone who gives or sells a minor cigarettes can be arrested and subject to fines! NOT TO MENTION the fact that smoking is bad for your health and can cause several serious diseases. I personally have watched aomeone die of lung cancer and the last thing in this world that I would care to watch is someones poor defensless child die of lung cancer because their PARENT was stupid enough to FORCE the child to smoke a damn cigarette! Get a brain. Things aren't like they used to be when you were a kid!
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Cybil said 4:28AM on 12-19-2007
And by the way??? Who took the video and why are they not in jail??? Same sentence in my opinion. Jail time baby!
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JBJG said 7:37AM on 12-19-2007
dumbass!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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JBJG said 7:39AM on 12-19-2007
i would like to shove a cigarette up that womans a$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Daniel Gaunt said 9:41AM on 12-19-2007
I personally think that just smoking near a child is child abuse so this is just horrible. This chav should never be allowed near a child again. hope the little girl gets a better life now at least!
http://r.yuwie.com/naturistdaniel
http://drrockisback.spaces.live.com/
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@#$%&! said 1:32PM on 12-19-2007
This is why kids should get taught about birth control early, and why some of the little blighters ought to have it made mandatory in their useless, ugly, worthless little lives.
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dan said 4:57PM on 12-19-2007
Hey there, K maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to do, but here are some FACTS, believe'em if you want. Sandy is a good friend of mine and she's a wonderful( YES I SAID IT) wonderful person . She loves her kids VERY much, and would NEVER condone "contributing to the delinquicy of a minor". Yup, for sure she didn't think this through... VA Beach police came to her and her man's place with a 'no-knock' warrant, (that's great for a child's welfare, if you're a parent, think abouit it)... I'm 38 years old, I have pics of me as a baby holding beer bottles and cigs., uh hello!!! if any of you people want to hate on someone you don't know, thinkk about this, How many times in your life have you done something and said afterwards, OMG, I wish I could take that one back? For the the record, CPS was there when they kicked the door in, the social worker there told the police that this case was unfounded. All this hype is the result of 1 sleazy sensationalist reporter for a local TV station...Judge not lest you be judged youself...
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Catherine said 4:52PM on 12-19-2007
The most awful thing about this story is that she will probably get
that little girl back. Most states don't have the resources to worry
about such a "minor" infraction.
It's horrible when one bothers to find out how many of these kids are
given back to the same monsters they were taken away from. Some over
worked and underpaid state worker decides the parent is all of a
sudden more capable now for whatever reason, and a child is shoved
back into a hopeless situation.
It should be criminal. Our government lets children and the elderly
slip through the cracks.
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dan said 8:06AM on 12-20-2007
Oh yeah, BTW, The headline on this is TOTALLY Misleading, the 2 year old was filmed with a cigarette and light er in hand, NOT smoking it!!!! Hello people wake up and stop believing all that "spin" put on things, just for web traffic....
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