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.
Sure, the Nintendo Wii is great and all, but we're guessing that a kid in China who tried to extort $1,400 from his parents by "kidnapping" himself and demanding a ransom after they refused to buy him a "Nintendo computer" was probably a little too infatuated with the popular white gaming console 
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tekkii said 2:15PM on 8-04-2008
He would be in the emergency room having my foot removed from his ass !
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soxfan said 2:44PM on 8-04-2008
He would not see another birthday/Christmas for the rest of his life.
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Dave said 2:49PM on 8-04-2008
That 'lil S.O.B.!!....The parents should dis-own him!...Sell his a$$ to a slave ship!
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susan said 2:59PM on 8-04-2008
Man or boy, which is it? If it was a young boy at least you have to admit it was very ingenius of him to think up the elaborate scam...LOL
If it was a man, he needs a life and his parents should let him stay in jail!!
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Tashia Payne said 3:43PM on 8-04-2008
He would be disowned
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Seminole said 5:54PM on 8-04-2008
No, I think he has been "owned"
tammy said 4:49PM on 8-04-2008
I have to say that there is a problem with children these days. I would had never even dared say no to my parents yet, we have kids telling parents what to do and parents afraid to discipline their children. These wouldn't be my kids, and do you know what needs to be done to those families that are on that stupid show about nannies??? They just need their butts kicked and told no and given a good old fashioned spanking!!! Our jails are full of idiots that were never told no, or told to go get a job, and it is mostly the parents fault.
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ScrappyPeanut said 5:05PM on 8-04-2008
What a little brat! That's the problem with kids today. They almost always get what they want from their parents, so when Mom and Dad finally say no, they kids go ballistic. For the love of God, and yourselves, don't be afraid to tell little Johnny and little Susie no once in a while. And please spank them from time to time when they step out of line. It may be difficult to do at first, but later on you'll thank yourself and the world will thank you too. If you don't, you just might end up with a brat with pulls some crap stunt like this, if not worse. Think about the little brat that hired a hitman... We should all be glad that it was an undercover cop. Could you imagine what would have happened had it been a real hired killer? *shudders* Kids need to be told no and give boundaries and lots of discipline. We grew up with being told no to each and every want and whim and we were spanked and we're just fine, so it stands to reason that today's kids will be fine too.
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YepIsaidit said 5:22PM on 8-04-2008
We have asked for it... We took common sense out of raising children, we let other people tell you to not disipline your kids when you knew that did not feel right, you knew the lack of respect was headed in the wrong direction. Now you have to deal with what you created.. On the other hand, I have teenagers that are not asked to do anything twice.. And would, to this day, consider the reprocussions of a stunt like that. We put in work before they were 10... have not had to go there since
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Constantine said 5:24PM on 8-04-2008
Probably got advice from Frank Sinatra Jr.
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Constantine said 5:26PM on 8-04-2008
If I were the parent, I'd buy the Wii and then ask the kid which poor kid's charity he chooses for it to go to.
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Kreed said 7:17PM on 8-04-2008
Man thats the one right there. Ask him whitch charity
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Marko said 6:00PM on 8-04-2008
man, kids these days will do anything to get what they want. If I was the parent, i'd spank that kid's a$$ to jail.
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Patrick said 6:13PM on 8-04-2008
All I have to say is this kid is lucky I'm not his parent
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Patrick said 6:34PM on 8-04-2008
I'm not a parent but if I were, this kid is lucky I'm not his. He wouldn't be able to sit for a week after I got a hold of him. Parents today are raising, awful, nasty, rude, mean, disrespectful creeps that are never told no and are never disciplined. People are sure to say that there have always been kids like this, and I agree. But the number of kids/teens that act that way seems to have risen. I see these little monsters running all over who get away with just awful things and their parents refuse to spank them or are afraid to do so. In my opinion a little swat isn't going to do anything to them except make them behave.
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cathy rohrscheib said 7:31PM on 8-04-2008
i can believe this happen we allow it . if they dont get somthing act out . one girl even accused her father of rape. sad . that girl should be so lucky never to experence it .they get in trouble in school.an the parent defends them .im scared of the future
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Sydney said 8:09PM on 8-04-2008
He is just glad my mom isn't his mom. She would beat till he bled, and then she would stop, and when she is ready do it again. I think kids have gone crazy these days. They don't know how lucky they are. I have had to indure many, many stories about what my mom had to do as a kid. I think that they wouldn't be able to do anything he liked again until he moved out the house, and then make sure he has a miserable kid. I can't believe how kids are so disrespectful and inconsiderate. They don't care who they hurt or anything. They don't have any sense.
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