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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lisa said 9:31AM on 9-11-2008
Yummm count me in! Can you get extra cheese?
Reply
amandandme197 said 11:17AM on 9-11-2008
These have been around for at least 4 years
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Jill said 12:12PM on 9-11-2008
This is why Americans are so overweight. Yup, just what we need, a vending machine that is dispensing overprocessed highly caloric and fat filled pizza. I have such a hard time with my weight, I would love if any of the vending machines where I work dispensed one ounces pieces of cheese, great fruit, 100 calorie packs or a portion of turkey breast on tasty whole grain bread....or a whole wheat bagel that is not enormous with reduced fat cream cheese....a girl can dream right?
I'm a mother of 3 that recently lost a lot of weight. My best tip is to eat Breakfast! I feel it helps me to make smarter decisions all day. If I don't eat breakfast as I want to save calories, I usually end up pigging out later in the day and making poor food choices...like vending machine pizza (oh my!) I also think that flax seeds are huge in helping with weight loss. I find that cereal is not as filling as flax andyogurt.
I have the same breakfast every day. I recently lost 30 pounds
following the weight watchers program http://www.weightwatchers.com
and I now just am more watchful every day of what I eat. I have a
banana low fat yogurt with golden roasted flax for breakfast every
day. It is filling, keeps me regular and tastes fabulous. My Weight
Watchers leader recommended fitflax to me and it definitely helped the last 10 pounds to melt off. It is a flax and chia blend and I think I read about it in O mag. They also listed a code to get 15% off. The site is
http://www.fitflax.com and the code for 15% off is FIT15
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MikeW said 5:54PM on 9-11-2008
"I have the same breakfast every day." being the operative phrase. Variety is the spice of life my friend.
Billy Bear said 2:08PM on 9-11-2008
This isn't new
Movie theater off Union Square in NYC has had machines like this for years.
Also have French Fries ( you can watch them cook.)
Hot Chicken Wings
Pannins
Now lets find something that is new, or is TombStone Deep Dish pizza an advertiser of SWITCHED
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Johnny Storm said 5:47PM on 9-11-2008
Jill,
1. Its not the government's job to be the food police. Stop blaming society for you being a Fattie. Lose the weight before you lose your husband (if you have one).
2. Stop selling your crap on Engadget. go do that at fattie dot com, Fattie
3. If I want processed goodness out of a machine that's none your d@mn business...and I would give my left testicle for that french frie vending machine.
4.Fattie
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Ali said 2:49AM on 9-12-2008
If you are so upset about needing healthy food choices, why don't you pack the food from home that you suggested, instead of blaming society for your weight problem?
Reply