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 2)
Joe said 7:11PM on 2-04-2008
companies selling or distributing personal information need to be shut down permanently.
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Joe said 7:11PM on 2-04-2008
companies selling or distributing personal information need to be shut down permanently.
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ajm33771 said 7:42PM on 2-04-2008
they should've been shut down a long time ago. the cause for them shutting down is probably having been sued multiple times for screwing people over with the information made available without regard to privacy concerns.
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mike said 8:03PM on 2-04-2008
companies should have to refund all the incomming minutes too we need a class action lier or congress to do something about this
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Future Plaintiff said 8:07PM on 2-04-2008
The problem here is that once your information is out on the web, that's it. No return, no do over, no get off the list, it's out there for the world to find forever. Even if it has been removed from their site it is still on the web. I have found home phone numbers ("unlisted") of mine from years ago still showing up on multiple websites.
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Bret said 8:15PM on 2-04-2008
Good. I am glad those assholes can't sell our private cell numbers. Can at least ONE THING be sacred?
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Sal DiGiacomo said 9:50PM on 2-04-2008
From an earlier article:
" complaints over the convoluted opt-out process (which involves mailing or faxing in a copy of your drivers license), and the threat of legal action by Verizon Wireless, Intelius has decided that perhaps now is not the best time for its cell phone directory."
-Hmmm...
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grvdm said 11:21PM on 2-04-2008
If this trend continues someone will be able not only get your cell number pupblished which will cascade to these thieves to get copies of your driver's license and which very easily give them your social security nuber and steal everything you have in the bank. I usually do not beleive in restrictions however in this case Congress should pass laws restricting this type of abuse which would proliferate hackers.
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Mike said 11:18PM on 2-05-2008
This outfit needs to be stomped on hard as an example to other e-ripoff artists. We need a code, something like *86 to use on unwanted calls. Hit *86 and the caller pays both ends. That would fix the problem right quick.
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grvdm said 11:36PM on 2-04-2008
This shows that BIG BROTHER is trying to watch what they didn't watch before 911.
Wanting these powers are unconstitutional and should be fought from every corners. This whole affair of the missing E-Mails smells very much like the NIXON era. Also did the missing E-mails refer to oil revenues or Haleberton business ????? I hope history will eventually show the sad history of the past eight years.
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Karen said 1:32PM on 2-05-2008
Glad to see that there is a crackdown on these sorts of companies. Many industries are getting hit hard. Just learned that a cell phone company VOCE just called it quits as well.
http://voceclassaction.com/?page_id=10
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Barbara said 6:35AM on 2-05-2008
Now - what about zabasearch.com?
Addresses for all the world to see. Even unlisted.
Affiliated with Intellius
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CHANESAW said 12:28AM on 2-05-2008
I think the officers and directors of Intellius should be convicted and sentenced to substantial prison time. These people are vile and without any redeeming qualities.
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Ricky P said 1:15AM on 2-05-2008
Yeah Well! It's alot of BS when your cell is called for serveys and other crapp as wanting donations and telemarketers and especially for those who are Pre Pay! Companies such as this need Haul Their Azzes!
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Sarah said 1:21AM on 2-05-2008
The new number for the Do Not Call List: 1-888-382-1222. Call this number from each phone you want blocked from telemarketers, etc. It takes a couple of minutes but is well worth the time to block all the unneccessary callers.
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Sarah said 1:34AM on 2-05-2008
They will also get off the phone quickly if you say, "I'm on the do not call list." That works fast. They hang up immediately. The number is 1-888-382-1222 to get on the Do Not Call List. You will have very few if any calls after you list your number on the do not call list. It really works.
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Dr. J said 1:44AM on 2-05-2008
It would be nice if any consumer can buy the cell number of Intellius CEO for $14.95. It would give the public the opportunity to let him/her know how they feel in the name of freedom of expression. He or she in turn can not complain, since the public would be supporting the very technology that he/she believes it serves the public.
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jim said 2:48AM on 2-05-2008
IT IS ALREADY HAPPENING. THERE IS AN EMAIL CIRCLING THAT THEY HAVE A $5000 UNCLAIMED PRIZE FOR A CELL PHONE. THEY WANT YOU TO ENTER IN YOUR MAILING INFORMATION AS WELL.
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Mike Sanders said 3:51AM on 2-05-2008
What a shameless and unpatriotic act of privacy!
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tempfate said 9:14AM on 2-05-2008
FuturePlaintiff you are absolutely correct, and unfortunately the to combat this is to be a practioner of misinformation. Of course the first thing you here is why are you doing that, what do you have to hide, that is far from the point rather that as a citizen living in a supposedely free country one has the constitutional right to be free of pursuit and invasion of one' personal life by business marketeers. The business of mining information is exploding so the only way to try and combat it is to practice misinformation. There are services out there Netzero' private phone was good, but they're shutting down, but Grand Central owned by Google is new and good, use a number you choose anywhere in the country and you have it forwarded to your private numbers or not. But this has to stop and maybe one way is to throw a monkey wrench in the system using misinformation.
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