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)
T.B. said 4:18PM on 3-05-2009
I recently had my personal information compromised while purchasing an item off of EBAY thru my Pay Pal account.
At that moment I envisioned someone sitting on the Beach in the Buff, in Freaking Tahiti ,with a nice cool Martini in hand, while being fanned by a Cabana Boy and lauging all the way back to the states. : 0
Thankfully I caught it due to my CC company sending me purchase notices on line. I called immediatlly to inform them I had not just pruchased $1056.00 with of whatever, nor did I purchase $256.00 from East Bay, nor did I purchase $278.00 Tennis shoes on line.
I also contacted all three companies as did my CC Company. I have still not received a full report yet but I can bet you this is the same Phishing scam . Buyer beware of on line Purchase.
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thomas said 4:40PM on 3-05-2009
in any time ,i dont know why there isnt harsh punishment for people who prey on others with any type of scam.if you ask me if a person gets caught running a scam why dont they give him life in prison period.but the way the crrection facilities work here in the usa the people get arrestedf put in jail,go to the prison library read up and get more of an education on how to scam people also they get to use the computer internet tools in the correctional facility to aid the in screwing the public again.if you ask me the tax payer could save alot of money if we cut back on some of the frills prisoners are getting.....if you dont believe me just ask any correctional officer.you see corrections is big business,your local police officer arrests a person and does his duty ,and once the court system gives him over to a correctional facility that facility gets a few hundred dollars for him.etcso the longer they keep him the more money they make,the more inmates the more the faciliy makes.thus the more laws they make for you to break,the higher chance to be arrested and the more likely youll be run thru a faulty system to be put in a facility that only cares about how much money they will get for you........
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CB said 5:27PM on 3-05-2009
I've been getting alot of these scam e-mails lately. Mostly over seas looking for some idiot to send their millions of dollars to but ask all your personal info. Then, I get these ones from Halifax security about an on line attempt to get into my account and for me to log in to take care of it. I have no account with Halifax so I know it's a scam. My accounts with different people have my phone number so if there's a problem, they'll call. There's another one out there that I can't remember. Several friends have gotten the same one. They'll say it's info about your own bank account and ask if you'll log in. Someone did this and boom! The next day their money was gone. Someone used this e-mail to hack into their bank and withdrew all their money right out from under their noses. Be ware all!
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EVELYN said 6:06PM on 3-05-2009
It doesn't matter who it is: if I get an email from a business, bank, whatever that may be legit, I log in to my account or telephone them. Many times they don't know anything about emails being sent.
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Hfiengo said 6:36PM on 3-05-2009
My wife and I had money removed from our account by Elite Excursions. We never signed up with them nor gave out our information. Now we are account number. tired of the scams. You have to be a hawk about everthing. Miss something and the money is gone quickly.
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Pam said 6:58PM on 3-05-2009
This is very sad, but true. My son is autistic and I frequent many web sites for autism. I got an email scam from what looked like the Autism Society of America. I opened the email and placed an order with my check card for some autism bracelets. The order never showed up, however about 2 weeks later, my bank was calling me with some fraud transactions on the Debit card and they froze the card. This is sad that there are people out there that will use a site for people with special needs to take advantage and commit FRAUD. TOO BAD.
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R.MCKENZIE said 7:16PM on 3-05-2009
THIS IS SO STRANG, I JUST GOT AN EMAIL ASKING FOR MY PASSWORK, AND OTHER INFO THAT WOULD DO HARM TO ME AND I SENT IT ON TO AOL'S TOSREPORT DEPT. I HOPE THEY CAN GET THE SUCKERS THAT DID THIS.
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dan said 8:09PM on 3-05-2009
put a bounty on scammers and kill them , a medal to the one who kills the desiginated scammer first
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waddell said 8:34PM on 3-05-2009
i tried to send this article to my e-mail and it did not go. Is this a pishing scam article. anyone else have a problem.
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NEWSINPRINT said 4:58AM on 3-06-2009
The other foreign scam artist in the USA are in Florida near Madoff home. A business called Arcade Currency Palace with a location in West Palm Beach and Tarpon Springs. The owner Ahmet Sandikci and his business associate Dennis Detrie are price fixing scamming crooks. Just visit www.keycurrency.com and click on bad grade link and see over (89) pages of evidence.
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**Mama"s warning you ** said 8:10AM on 3-06-2009
People do NOT even open the e-mails !! they will put tracking cookies and worms, trojans and virus'es into your system, and also ; not only waiting for you to fill out your personal info, but to totally cripple your computer also remember the quote from W.C fields ..".there is a sucker born every minute, so dont fall "for any of the free candy that the devil is sending you or you will be a victim and wind up in financial & personal Hell..." also use snopes.com > to find out what emails,storys floating around cyber space are true or not !!! so when ya get a email from a poor older widowed lady from some country (that says she needs to send you money , to get it into a legit united states bank and has no family here.... do your self a big favor and dont open it and RUN like hell on wheels, cause, "she is most likely"... a 20-40 y.o scam artist sitting in a quick movable small room w/a 100 more "artist's along side them, on the computers and answering phone calls, to people you may think you are making a report to...be wary ,very very wary people !! remember NOTHING in life is FREE !!
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John Boy said 10:49AM on 3-08-2009
Sometimes if I run into one of these scams and have a few extra minutes I will send them a bunch of false info (made up names, addresses, pin numbers, etc). If nothing else it should waste their time and maybe frustrate them. I can just see them keying in all of your information with a smug smile on their faces wahile thinking they are getting your bank information but all they are really getting is trash.If everyone did this it might at least slow down the scum that is out their preying on us until they figure out a way around it. This also works for the multitude of Nigerian 4-1-9 scammers out there. Don't get me wrong--I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands but I try to make a little room to harass these people. I just fill out there stupid forms with false info, some of it creative and funny.
Of course, erase cookies frequently and run real-time virus software while on the Internet.You can stay safe while having a little fun on here at the same time.
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Arrington said 6:50PM on 3-10-2009
I have been corresponding with the Central Bank of Nigeria for almost a year. Evidently, I inherited money, how? who knows. I was sending any kid of information, but the right one. They told me that the reason it has taken so long to receive my INHERITANCE was because I was dealing with unsavory charecters, or some such nonsense. I still have them on hold.
Recently, I received an e-mail from a Sargent in the US army stationed in Iraq. His scam is this. He and other soldiers found 28 million dollars hidden in area that Sadam frequented. At any rate, they would have a hard time getting the money out of Iraq, but he had paid a diplomat to move the funds and to contct me upon his arrival. He e-mailed me when the diplomat was enroute. When the diplomat supposedly arrived in New York he phoned me,and told me to check my email. When I did ,there were directions to wire $1000 to him in New York. I let him know that I was onto the scam, but to send me $5000 in Good Faith. Of course that was the end of that. I have not heard from Sgt. Brown.
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Michael said 9:29AM on 3-11-2009
A similar scam involving my Skype account. I received an e-mail claiming that my monthly subscription payment was declined. Knowing when my monthly payment was made and that it cleared my account, I realized that the message was a scam. This is similar to a message from Citicorp regarding my account. (I have no account with Citicorp..) My e-mail account warned me that the e-mail did not come from a Citicorp known address and advised me that the e-mail was a fraud. Keep youreyes open and DO NOT OPEN ANY E-MAIL THAT SEEMS STRANGE OR THAT PAYMENTS DID NOT GO THROUGH.
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Ronni said 11:49PM on 3-14-2009
i have a question. i got an email in my aol email & it was from the exact email address as mine! when i opened it, i didnt click on the link but i still have it. so i can show aol somehow, or should i delete it? this is my email that is the main email for my others on aol, and the other one connects to my ebay & paypal accts. does this mean someone has hacked my password by chance? also, when i opened the email, inside it said it was from nigeria or netherlands, something like that.
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Mary said 2:37AM on 3-23-2009
I got this email from the Netherlands telling me I had inherited a big amount of money and I had to send them more info on myself so they would be sure they were giving the money to the right person... I get this sort of rip off emails all time and I have gotten to where I delete them as soon as they come into my email. There should be a law against this sort of rip off!! There are some honest hard working people left. Wish the crooks would find something better to do with their time...
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