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)
Randall Graham said 5:33PM on 3-24-2009
Why would you "agree that mercury fillings should be examined"? You are insinuating that there is something wrong with the use of (more correctly) silver fillings when there is absolutely no scientific evidence of that, and multiple dozens of studies to debunk that belief. Your comments are as unfair and misleading as the ones you report about.
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Mike said 6:52PM on 3-24-2009
Want to read if mercury is good for you? It is not. If I was asked I would ask for other options...don't know this case to comment on them...but don't be dumb about mercury use.
COCO said 5:37PM on 3-24-2009
Dr. Yvonne Wong, the dentist is not wrong :) However, it seems, Tai Jing is looking for a little jing-a-ling in his pocket:) Sorry, I couldn't resist.
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cflcity said 8:45PM on 3-24-2009
The patient's parents is not looking for any money, the dentist is sueing for more money from the patient's parents. The dentist is already lucky enough not to get sued. I can see America going into a socialist society. The family could countersue that the dentist is violationg one law of the Bill of Rights...
Marie said 7:58PM on 3-24-2009
The reason we have laws protecting people from being libeled is to protect reputations from those who would mount smear campaigns. People should not be free to hide behind screen names and other forms of anonymity to persue activities that harm others.
It's one thing to go online and start a discussion about the topic of dental practice in general. But to name a specific practitioner and accuse the person of negligence, you'd better be sure your facts will hold up if you get sued for slander.
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Barb said 11:33AM on 9-24-2009
As long as you state facts, it will be very difficult to lose in a case like this.
This dentist should be countersued for putting in dangerous mercury fillings!
Did the dentist TELL the parents she was putting in fillings with MERCURY?
Dentists do not do that anymore. It is not considered state of the art dentistry anymore.
This dentist should LOSE this case.
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martin171 said 1:55PM on 9-24-2009
Barb, that would mean that their "expert opinion" about what the dentist did was correct. And that's the key behind the whole thing. A person can say whatever they want online and people take it as the truth, unless the other party goes out of their way to prove that they did nothing wrong and the first person lied (hence the libel suit filed against the parents).