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)
Joe Silva said 1:31PM on 2-22-2008
You will not believe how many scam artists contact me about winning money, being a beneficiary, a good between to get monies to USA, etc.
They come mostly from Nigeria, but have some from UK, Australia, Uganda, and others.
I am sure they got my email from those that sell them outright.
This past two months, I have had at least 30-40 which I then forward to my banking facility. I also sent many to the local FBI unit.
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Kent said 8:45AM on 2-23-2008
I use my cell phone for one thing, making phone calls. I don't text message. I don't e-mail. I don't use the internet. I don't even take pictures (that's what a 33mm SLR camera is for).
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Doug said 8:35PM on 2-23-2008
I've won several lotteries in Nigeria (16.5 mil so far) Ain't the internet great?
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Nancy Mantz said 12:01AM on 2-25-2008
I see I am not the only one winning all those 3rd
world lotteries. I didn't keep track but starting in early January through the first week of February, I received no less than thirty of these
letters from "scambags." While annoying, I have derieved some entertainment from them - specifically the butchering of the English language. The best(?) one I read started out addressing me as "urgent beneficiary." And it just got more bizarre and convoluted from there.
How dumb do these people think we are to fall for this garbage?
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Fred Patterson said 5:39PM on 11-01-2008
unfortunately, nancy, there are still many people who respond to these lottery scams and end up losing tons of money... and too, the loss of one's self respect... which leads to hiding one's identity by not reporting such a loss... people need to ignore these scams and they will eventually go away or report them until some authority can find and prosecute the scammers... but, in the end, new and more compelling scams will be devised to tempt the greed within us... same reason why people go to las vegas casinos even though most know that they have little chance of winning... seems the emotion of greed is so much stronger than the power of reason...
Mary said 9:29PM on 6-05-2008
How about from Canada, I received a check in the mail saying that I won a lottery in Canada, I knew it was too good to be true! I took it to my bank and the Customer Service guy said "this is fraud.... "
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