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)
Rson said 11:54AM on 12-07-2008
some of the wording in your warnings is so bad they actually looked like scam messages...who's doing the editing for these?
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DarkLight said 12:52PM on 12-07-2008
Wording is OK... This is an informal blog
CARL said 1:45PM on 12-07-2008
JUST WAIT TILL THE SPAMMERS DISCOVER THE ON-LINE PAYROLL COMPANIES....
SteveM said 12:59PM on 12-07-2008
Why didn't AOL mention the AOL billing scam? It looks very real, with AOL Logos, you click on an AOL address provided by the Email. Tells you your credit card not working and wants you to re-enter all your credit card info D.O.B. mothers maiden name, ect. within 24 hours. PS they've known about it for over three weeks now, told AOL help desk over the phone and thru IM sent it to AOL.
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Dixie said 1:18PM on 12-07-2008
Watch for a scam that says the FBI is trying to get a hold of you. If you are not used to email scams and open this it looks official but first of all the FBI would come to you directly not contact you through email. The email goes as far as to put the picture of the head of the Washington office on the email letter even directs you to the FBI site. But if you look at the email who or what sent it it is an unofficial email address. Beware of this scam. Tells you that you have millions of dollars that was deposited in the Bank of America account in your name and to clear your name from illegal transfers call the FBI. First of all who the heck would be that stupid in the first place LOL.
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Mira said 1:23PM on 12-07-2008
Look at this one I got! No logo, no ID..nothing.
Dear:
We take great care to keep your personal information secure. As part of these ongoing efforts, we are notifying you that the computer you use for online bill payment may be infected with malicious software that puts the security of your computer's contents at risk. This letter will help you determine if your computer is actually infected and advise you how to fix the problem and protect yourself against future risk.
The malicious software affects some but not all customers who accessed online bill payment on Tuesday, December 2, 2008. For a limited period of time, some customers were redirected from the authentic bill payment service to another site that may have installed malicious software. Your computer may be infected if all of the following are true:
You attempted to access online bill payment between 12:30 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. Eastern time (GMT -5) on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, and
You were using a computer with the Windows operating system, and
You reached a blank screen rather than the usual bill payment screen when you attempted to navigate to online bill payment, and
After reaching the blank screen, your computer's virus protection program did not tell you via pop-up or other messaging that malicious software was detected and quarantined.
If all four of the conditions above are true, your computer may be infected. We have arranged with McAfee, the world's largest dedicated security technology company, to provide you with an assessment of your computer's hard drive and remove any malicious software. Please contact us at 877-800-4864 for further instructions. We will also offer you both advice and free services that can help you mitigate any risk you may face as a result of this incident or other everyday exposures you may encounter.
We value your business and your trust, and we apologize for any inconvenience this recent incident has caused.
Thank you.
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Jane said 2:36PM on 12-07-2008
I just got 2 scam emails - they must think we are too busy during the holiday season to check things out. I got the one with CNN and just deleted it. The next one was one telling me I had money and just email a fedex address and then send them $120. and
they would send my package. I kept that - also emailed it to one
of the "Report scam" sites. Also filled out a report to them. It's
sad to think even one person is fooled by these crooks.
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Eshoes said 2:23PM on 12-07-2008
I sell things on eBay and recently had a very upset customer ask me why I had written her asking her to wire transfer the money to Spain! Someone had made a very real looking email and included all the information about our transaction! I had another seller warn me about this before with high dollar amount transactions. Beware of paypal scams like this or emails asking youto provide your info to update your account!
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o.kruetzmann said 2:10PM on 12-07-2008
If these people need to reach me, they can call. I don't give any info like that teh internets. :)
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o.kruetzmann said 2:13PM on 12-07-2008
Whoops...I don't give information like that OVER teh internets.
My bad.
DarkLight said 5:06PM on 12-07-2008
It's OK to give any info over teh intertubes if you're careful enough
You know, they can also scam you over the phone.
That's exactly what's going on in Mexico (where not everyone has access to the tubes): http://sparksmex.blogspot.com/2008/08/cell-phone-scams.html
That example is of a cellphone scam, but they target any phone, and there are alot of scams of several types (including ones that gather information about you, to later threat with kidnapping).. I've "chatted" with those scammers (hey, the more time they spend with me, the less they will spend with someone more likely to fall for it)