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)
Tiffanny said 7:35PM on 4-19-2008
I used to shop at this site because they had no issues with price matching. Especially since they were generally 20-30% higher than the rest. It was nice to have your items at a slightly cheaper price, plus they would arrive the next day. Since they no longer offer this service, they have lost me as a customer.
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Mary Marin said 12:33AM on 4-20-2008
I used to shop at Zappos all the time. In fact, I went to Zappos for all my shoes because they had better deals than going to a store in person! With free shipping, returns accepted for one full year, no taxes and overnight delivery-----Zappos rocked!!!! Then the sales sections started to dissapear. First, the section for all shoes for $29.95 was terminated. And then the sales in general started to slip. A sale price became $100.00. Sale prices went up to over $100.00 for most shoes!!! Now, I never go to Zappos. Why bother? I won't get my shoes overnight, and they will be very expensive anyway when I do get them. I don't know who changed Zappos, but it was a HUGE mistake. Now I go to Shoebuy.com or other sites that are now what Zappos once was.
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LeeAnn said 8:36AM on 4-20-2008
I have shopped many many times at ZAPPOS.COM and NEVER even once have I been disappointed or overcharged. The Shoes I purchased for myself and my husband was "designer" brands and way less than what we would have paid in a Department or Speciality Store. Their additional information on the shoes was always helpful in determining a perfect fit. We have never had to make a return on our purchases, but one time my cousin by her own error ordered the wrong color and they sent out the replacement pair immediately for no extra charge so that she would have it the next day as we were leaving on an extended trip out of country and Zappos paid for the return of the wrong color shoe. Other family members and many friends are also repeat ZAPPOS Customers and that is because of selection, quality, price and their wonderful customer service.
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LeeAnn said 9:01AM on 4-20-2008
AFTER POSTING HERE, I WENT TO ZAPPOS.COM AND ORDERED TWO MORE PAIRS OF SHOES. HOWEVER, I WAS CHANGING SOME INFORMATION AND CONTACTED CUSTOMER SERVICE AND YOU CANNOT SAY THAT THIS COMPANY HAS LOUSY CUSTOMER SERVICE. NOT ONLY DID I GET SHOES I HAVE SEEN FOR TWICE THE PRICE AT SPECIALITY STORES, BUT ZAPPOS DID "UPGRADE" ME TO OVERNIGHT SHIPPING FREE OF CHARGE. SO IT APPEARS THAT DESPITE THE "SO CALLED" CHANGES, THEY ARE STILL CUSTOMER ORIENTATED.
Brad said 2:36PM on 4-20-2008
This is pretty sweet...if you have a Discover Card, you can get 10% cashback by going through the shopdiscover website...pretty sweet to essentially get 10% off everything.
This could, however, end up being like when Amazon tried to do groceries...it just didn't work. They might be stretching themselves too thin.
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