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 5 of 6)
marion said 11:23AM on 1-15-2008
shai,YOU AM A ASS!
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marion said 11:25AM on 1-15-2008
shai says:
You know what it's always someone somewhere with comments that don't mean anything to the next person. How can anyone blame whatever one the next person. All comments are aimed at Bush. And really I've never cared about him or his sperm donor. All three Bush men are selfish and rude. It's gonna always be a blame somewhere. If it's like that than the government needs to ask that RICH family that helped Bin Laden's ass escape back to his home. Ask them for more money, ask them to make a new deal with the devil and kill more U.S. soldiers and citizens so that they won't have to distribute any extra coupons and then maybe they won't have to be so scared that they won't have to lose about $2 to $5 dollars out of their bank accounts. Don't forget people we are the lab rats that scurry around the globe to keep up with the Jones. You can't beat crooks at their own game, because if anyone says anything wrong about them then we won't have to worry about buying a box. You'll be able to watch tv for free. You'll be able to watch it without complaining about a cable bill.
DUMB -SS
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Doris said 11:27AM on 1-15-2008
I wonder why the gov't is so involved in this. Perhaps they see this as a way to sneak into our how and moniter what we are watching and when we are watching.
directv's definetion of an upgrade is less chanels for more $
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Kim said 11:36AM on 1-15-2008
Congress and the government spend money sinfully in every administration. I am SO sick of EVERYTHING this President does being puked all over. For God's sake - the complacency. Do you realize we have not been attacked since 9/11? There are things that are going RIGHT with the government. Talk about a nation looking at the glass half full. What a bunch of cynics. As for the digital tv - the government is not regulating how you watch tv. Digital is what is being bought. It's the way the market it going. PEOPLE are buying digital. And ya know what? When people are spending their money, that means good economy. The government is recognizing which way the market is flowing and trying to keep the economy running smoothly. Yes - there are homeless people - God bless them. I'm a tax paying, charitable organization donating, doing community service good with my Brownie troop kind of person and the government is helping middle class American's out- like myself - economically which they are also there to do.
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Jim said 5:59PM on 1-16-2008
JR, I don't know what radio station you heard this on but it's wrong. The converter box is simply a tuner that allows you to receive the new digital transmission of free over the air broadcasts. I converts this signal to the old format that your current TV can handle. There is no charge and the only thing you will get is a clearer picture on your TV. I have one connected to an old TV with simple rabbit ears and get a perfect picture. The only problem with it that I can find is you either get the channel you want, with a perfect picture, or you get no picture at all. No more ghost images or snowy picture!
As for the rest of you people, get a life!
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Dave said 11:44AM on 1-15-2008
Yes Daphne, you're right - the Bush administration is far too liberal. It's those darn right wingers that are responsible for moral decay and kids calling each other those kind of names. When Quayle questioned decaying values on t.v. he was ridiculed, now it's the Republicans fault for what's being shown there - a little consistency PLEASE?
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lighthousecog said 11:53AM on 1-15-2008
Yes Daphne, you're right - the Bush administration is far too liberal. It's those darn right wingers that are responsible for moral
decay and kids calling each other those kind of names. When Quayle questioned decaying values on t.v. he was ridiculed, now it's the Republicans fault for what's being shown there - a little consistency PLEASE?
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Paula said 11:56AM on 1-15-2008
Jim-THANK YOU! That's what I thought too. It's just a box that converts a regular TV so that it can read digital. Nothing more and nothing less. And as far as I know, it wont be monitored.
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anna said 11:59AM on 1-15-2008
is this change necessary?
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tsdennison said 12:02PM on 1-15-2008
Was this national forget to take our meds day???
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Tammy said 12:11PM on 1-15-2008
When are we going to realize that WE have the power to change any and all of the mess we're currently living in? All we have to do is take a stand instead of sitting in front of our televisions b*tching about the "state of things."
Do you want a solution? THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Get rid of the d*mned tv. Force them to bring the cost of cable and satellite service down so that EVERYONE can afford it. TURN IT OFF!! By doing so you'd also force retailers to drop tv prices. I know..that's too much like work, right? Life without tv...OH MY GOD!
My gas bill hit $600 a month last year. Without gas I had no heat. Piedmont Gas cut my service off at 6pm on a friday evening with it fifteen degrees outside. They refused to give me an extension or let me do a "payment arrangement." They said I could make a payment arrangement if "the bill was current"...wtf is that? Then why would I need a payment arrangement or to get on the budget plan??? They already had $700 of my money that I had to put up as a deposit! I had a baby in the house...and then I really got p*ssed off. Now? I have wood stoves in my house and YOU should too! In the worst of times I could find SOMETHING to burn to stay warm. If I couldn't afford electricity I could still cook and have hot water. Imagine if everyone did that? These gas companies would lower their prices or go under.
They raise the prices of everything because they know we're going to sit here, take it and pay it.
It's a bad example but...how long would it take to get a pack of cigarettes for a buck if everyone who smokes refused to buy cigarettes for a week? How many days of staying away from gas stations do you think it would take to bring theoil companies to their knees and the price of gas back down to a reasonable cost? IT CAN BE DONE.
Turn the lights off..buy candles and oil lamps. Use those fireplaces for WOOD instead of a conversation piece. Difficult, yes I agree. Necessary, without a doubt. This is happening BECAUSE WE ARE LAZY. People are losing their homes at a staggering rate. I've almost been one of them twice in 18 months because of escallating utility and food costs. How much is a gallon of milk?? WAKE UP! People, a hundred years ago our grandparents survived without cell phones, cable, gas lines and electricity. We think we can't because we tell ourselves we can't and those big companies raising their prices every day of the week love for us to think we can't live without their goods and services at ANY price.
Why is the cost of EVERYTHING so high...BECAUSE WE ALLOW IT!!!! This isn't about a converter box that you're going to be forced to buy or a government coupon that supposedly helps those less fortunate to afford it. If they were truly trying to help they'd leave the people using rabbit ears ALONE! When these millions of people buy converter boxes who benefits from it?
Here's another example of stupidity. They play on our good nature. FLEX-FUEL vehicles. I need to get one because it helps my environment, right? But...you have to be rich to afford one and this "corn based" fuel costs the same per gallon as crude based gasoline..why? Translation...in buying Flex-Fuel, instead of making the oil guy rich I'm making the Flex-Fuel guy rich. Our country is no longer built on hard work, equality and the good of 'everyman.' It's built on "hey, stop paying the oil giants..because I have a new scam and you can pay ME instead!!!"
Sorry, but I am sick to death of all this whining and complaining just for the sake of whining and complaining. Get up off your *sses and do SOMETHING to change it. If we fail, at least we tried, right?
Everyone blames Bush. Why? First of all, we elected him. We blame him because it's convenient. In the beginning we all blamed our parents. Our parents blamed the schools. Our schools blamed the government. Then we grew up and we blamed our boss. We blamed the IRS. We blamed Congress. We blamed our therapist or our spouse or our neighbors. Guess what folks? Bush can't solve problems for us that we ourselves cannot collectively solve. We do nothing and expect HIM to fix it for us?! How do you expect anyone to demand lower gas proces when you keep going to the pump paying $3.00 a gallon for it? You pay $4.00 for a gallon of milk. You pay $3.00 for a pack of cigarettes. You pay escallating interest rates, property taxes, utilities..and you PAY FOR AIR AT GAS STATIONS!!!!! It's time to take some responsibility for how our country got this way and stop sitting in front of our digital tv's whining about stupid sh*t like coverter boxes and rabbit ears. If we fix the hard issues the rest will work themselves out on their own.
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Lyn said 5:34PM on 4-18-2008
Tammy wrote: FLEX-FUEL vehicles. I need to get one because it helps my environment, right? But...you have to be rich to afford one and this "corn based" fuel costs the same per gallon as crude based gasoline
Just so you know, you don't have to be rich to get a Flex Fuel vehicle. My 2002 Ford Taurus (which I bought used) uses the ethanol fuel, and it does NOT cost the same is regular gasoline... in my area, it is typically 30 to 50 cents cheaper per gallon than regular gas.
Steve said 12:24PM on 1-15-2008
If the Government forces us to change the way we watch TV, then Government SHOULD pay for it. Otherwise, let the market decide!
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Paula said 12:25PM on 1-15-2008
OMG Tammy-what a tirade! But guess what--since this country is not COVERED with trees, what do you think would happen if we all had wood stoves and were clamoring for wood. We dont all have trees growing in our back yards that can be cut to burn all winter. I, personally, live in the desert (and YES, there are times when we need heat too) and wood is simply not an issue. can you imagine the 5Million people in the Phoenix area all clamoring for wood? What would the cost be> ASTRONOMICAL! Gouging is going to go on no matter what. Let me make a better recommendation to you. Learn what the laws are in your state about turning off utilities in the middle of winter. In most states it is ILLEGAL. go to google and type in LIHEAP and the state that you live in. See what you will learn.
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Paula said 12:26PM on 1-15-2008
OMG Tammy-what a tirade! But guess what--since this country is not COVERED with trees, what do you think would happen if we all had wood stoves and were clamoring for wood. We dont all have trees growing in our back yards that can be cut to burn all winter. I, personally, live in the desert (and YES, there are times when we need heat too) and wood is simply not an issue. can you imagine the 5Million people in the Phoenix area all clamoring for wood? What would the cost be> ASTRONOMICAL! Gouging is going to go on no matter what. Let me make a better recommendation to you. Learn what the laws are in your state about turning off utilities in the middle of winter. In most states it is ILLEGAL. go to google and type in LIHEAP and the state that you live in. See what you will learn.
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vickie said 2:06PM on 1-15-2008
Hey Tammy, Just thought I'd throw in there that ciggarettes are $5.00 to $6.00 per pack. :)
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Zac the Hoople said 2:22PM on 1-15-2008
Actually the converters don't apply to cable and satellite. Only BROADCAST
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Ricky whitten said 2:35PM on 1-15-2008
Big Gov.= Control freaks, Naziology. Can you defecate, or do you need to be watched. Nazi World Order.
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Dan said 3:01PM on 1-15-2008
LOL....wow, I didnt even think anyone still had rabbit ears. I cant imagine having rabbit ears again. The reception must be terrible unless you have one of those antennas that are as big as the Rockefellar Center Christmas tree. I got Digital HD. Its great!
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WILMA said 3:42PM on 1-15-2008
ALL YOU REPS SHUT YOUR MOUTH UP , AND THANK GOD BUSH WILL BE OUT VERY SOON. YOU VOTED FOR HIM SO OF COURSE YOU WILL DEFEND HIM NOW. BUT IN REALITY YOU ARE ALL EMBARRASSED YOU VOTED FOR HIM. WHEN THE DEMOCRATS TAKE OVER THIS YR. YOU CAN ALL GO AND MOVE FAR AWAY. I ALWAYS WANTED TO SAY THIS..I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!!
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