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 22)
ali said 5:25PM on 2-27-2009
so what
whatsittoya said 2:18PM on 2-26-2009
Just remember---your kids are the ones to pick your friggin' nursing home.......and there are some nasty nursing homes out there. I believe in Karma---so, what goes around, comes around. Stupid people!
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Eileen said 4:26AM on 2-27-2009
I swear on my children's lives I went to school and grew up with a Rusty Rench.... My father was a tool and die maker and good ole Rusty got most of my Dad's tool after he passed away because you guessed it.... he was a tool and die maker... Rusty Rench Gainesville, Fla. super super nice guy too
Kristin said 9:30AM on 2-27-2009
My friend's cousin's name is Guy Butts III. That means there's 3 of them! Poor fellows....
Heather said 10:46AM on 2-27-2009
There was a community leader in our town named Harry Baals (pronounced "balls"). There is actually a street named after him now! Why on earth???
Monica said 11:04AM on 2-27-2009
I worked as a nurse tech at a local hospital in the baby nursery, and sometimes had to take the baby's first picture. Imagine our surprise when I had to type in the computer "Ah-blessin Ta'Cherrish," and the siblings name was "Lovely Iz'Unique," good ol Louisiana names!! We just couldn't believe it!
ME Ritzy said 2:00PM on 2-28-2009
I think all parents should....before they name their child....go around with a name tag on that says "Hi my name is________"
and put in the full name you want your child to have. Do this for
3 months and see what your child will have to put up with. THEN
and only then make your choice of a name. Just comon sense.
me ritzy
Jacob Koehler said 2:19PM on 2-26-2009
Yeah, my friend's name is shirley knots (surely not). I always tell her she's gonna marry a guy with the last name scott and be shirley knot-scott haha.
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ashley said 3:39PM on 2-26-2009
I went to school with a kid named Harold Kuchey (pronounced coochie), and he went by harry, so it was Harry Coochie. But he was the principle's son so nobody ever made fun of him.
dennis said 4:10PM on 2-26-2009
i always thought the worse name for a guy would be '' harry balls'' or harold bouls, thats a made up name but i did go to school back in south dakota over 20 yrs ago her name was pamela i gaye, so her initials were P I G so people would call her a gay pig, what remarkable about this gal is that she was the nicest and sweetiest and kindest gal i have ever met.
Elizabeth said 4:26PM on 2-26-2009
A friend of mine, up until the very last minute, was going to name her son after his grandfathers - Harrison Richard ("Harry Dick"). Thankfully, she dropped both of those and instead chose Zachary Preston.
Kim said 12:49PM on 2-28-2009
I went to school with a guy named Harry Cox. Sad part.... he was Harry Cox the Third
Kate said 1:08PM on 2-27-2009
I recently went to a school play where one of the cast members held the unfortunate name "ImUnique." Poor girl. My father worked at a school with sibling students "lemonjello" and "orangejello."
luddite said 5:31PM on 2-27-2009
Hi "Kate" - Your Dad may have told you a little fib. The "Orange Jello" "Lemon Jello" thing is an urban myth from the 1980's. They were pronounced "orangello" and "lemongello." When I was a kid in Oklahoma, the myth was that a couple of twin, female teenagers (from another school) had those names. Pop is in trouble now!!
Michelle said 2:33PM on 2-26-2009
Yes, we also need think about the poor unfortunate people who come to the US from other countries and then get made fun of because of their names. Two in particular I remember are Asshole Patel- supposed to be Ah SHO Lee. Hmmmmmm not in NYC. The 2nd wasnt that bad Anushka Leison. We did have a lot of Butt jokes though. Sigh, kids can be cruel ........
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JenJen said 9:42AM on 2-27-2009
Wow! Poor guy!
Sharon said 10:58AM on 2-27-2009
I knew how that was supposed to be pronounced. A friend of mine had similar and they thought it was a joke (a child), so they asked for the parent & were told the name. :-(
Al said 2:39PM on 2-26-2009
Once I trained a 17 year old girl in my retal job and she had to request a customers' name and address, to give the cash refund.
The customer said, "I'da know". After 2 tries I intervened and siad, "Mam, were not trying to be difficult but this is company policy, prior to refunding your cash."
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Elaine said 2:44PM on 2-26-2009
In my little corner of New Mexico there were two different people with 'unfortunate' names- Snow White and Rigor Mortis. No kidding! Rigor was a cowboy and Ms. White was a teacher. Ms White moved to Alaska, and the last time I saw Rigor, he was on a horse trying to catch and rope a coyote. Ain't America great!
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jeano said 3:42PM on 2-26-2009
They went through phone records? I wonder how many people on there DIDN'T have their real name because it was so weird or changed their name to something weird as an adult to get attention? I'm not sure the phone records were reliable. I do, however, get a kick out of the strange names parents (especially so-called celebrities) come up with.
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