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)
Janice said 2:58PM on 11-18-2008
I purchased it for my son, it's great! The best part is as a parent I don't have to worry about inappropriate language.
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Brent Schmidt said 3:37PM on 11-18-2008
You mean StrKer, right?
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karilynn said 7:19PM on 11-18-2008
no... its stryPer - they are an old-school christian rock band that began in the 80's "big hair" phase (I work in a christian book store.... lol).
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Sol Rosenberg said 7:41PM on 11-18-2008
As an atheist I am very offended by this load of junk. Christian Rock is an oxymoron. There is no room in rock and roll for religion. We rockers want our sex and drugs and you can keep your prayer to yourselves!
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Stricken with love said 8:31PM on 11-18-2008
Offend an atheist is an oxymoron.
An impossibility, since God doesn't exist, to you, then none of the Christians should be of any concern to you.
You must look more closely at your defining belief system. flawed that it is,, It only comes out laughable when you make comments that you are offended and Christians should keep their prayers to themselves.. THAT;s an impossibility for a Christian. as defined by our code of beliefs. Which you might want to know, also brings about great joy...
DarkLight said 8:36PM on 11-18-2008
Funny, I am on the other side.
And I agree.
I do believe in God, but I hate religion. (No, God and religion are not the same thing)
Why do I hate it? Because of this utter crap, exactly.
You can't mix advanced life with low life. Mixing religious lyrics with heavy music is like mixing matter with antimatter.
Just plain stupid.
I don't know who's more stupid, if atheist idiots like sol rosenberg, or that silly people who think they can get away with mixing something with it's antisomething. Flawed logic on both sides.
Ed said 8:22AM on 11-19-2008
If more Christians acted like you seem to be acting there wouldn't be so much dissension between believers and non-believers. Believe it or not, more non-believers have a problem with the folks who like to pretend that they're going to heaven while everybody else goes to hell because they picked the right dead guy to worship and the rest of us didn't than have any sort of beef with the concept of God in general. Most of them probably still wouldn't believe the same things that you do, but they'd be much more likely to keep their opinions to themselves. By the way though, it's pretty hard to hate something that you don't believe in, I think your confusing hating religion with hating God.
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cheezasaurusrex said 3:17AM on 11-20-2008
Yes, god created music. Just like he created the spoon, the automobile, and Michael Jackson. All things created from "human ingenuity". Sure, I won't argue with you if you said that god created humans, animals, plants, and geological hogwash; just don't claim that he created human inventions. If it wasn't there when humans first arrived on the scene, then big man upstairs wasn't responsible. I don't think he was responsible for anything, really, but that's a whole other topic.
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