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)
Bryan said 5:04PM on 3-29-2009
I stopped shopping at iTunes a while ago. Now that I see this I'm glad I did.
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Rob said 6:40PM on 3-29-2009
Apple would be wiser to keep its prices unchanged and increase some level of service. I don't know what exactly, but do something so that customers value you. Look at airlines. They all fought to cut costs and lower prices and where are they now? Apple of all companies should realize that people will pay premium prices if they feel the product and service are worth it. Maybe that's part of their new tactic?
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KarlW said 4:27AM on 3-30-2009
No. Apple's got the biggest music store, they didn't need to change their tactics.
This is because the record labels are trying to stop Apple's dominance of digital music. They're trying to bolster competitors like Amazon's service. They tried making Amazon's service DRM free and making that an exclusive feature to Amazon's service, but that didn't work. Now they're giving iTunes and AmazonMP3 the same product, but forcing Apple to make their service more expensive.
Consumers may not understand DRM, but they do understand cash. By renegotiating contracts to make iTunes more expensive, they're trying to cripple it.
Level 5 said 7:46PM on 3-29-2009
Shopping at iTunes has NEVER EVER been an option for me. I listen to mainly either electronic music (I produce and DJ), and alot of classic and 90's rock. So for the electronic stuff I go to Beatport for 320kbps and WAV purchases, and for the CD's I might want, well.. in this case, it's cheaper to get a CD from a used record shop, rip it in the format and quality I CHOOSE, and then file it. Almost every online retailer is guilty of this; only providing one format. Everyone might say the CD is dead but it's a baseline HQ format that allows me to rip the PMP of my choice in the format that either the PMP requires or that I choose. They need to get on the WAV/FLAC/ALAC tip and fast.
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Mobile Phone Diva said 11:09PM on 3-29-2009
I'm with you about CD ripping! Still the best option out there to guarantee quality files!
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Steve said 11:23PM on 3-29-2009
Wasn't the tiered pricing the compromise that Apple had to give to the record companies in order for them to switch to all DRM free on iTunes?
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Mobile Phone Diva said 11:39PM on 3-29-2009
I read something like that too, but why only for iTunes then? Amazon is still $.99 and still DRM free.
Was it the music industry being heavy handed because they know they still get more sales though iTunes? Although I think they're shooting themselves in the foot by enforcing a price increase on iTunes since Amazon is just a click away. That's a good way to lose sales on their best vehicle.
SilverFox said 12:42AM on 3-30-2009
I hope (and I will be one) who walks away from this egregious inflationary scam... heck, of late you can't even download music from the iTunes store as it repeatedly says there is an "error 11111) and you should try again later... like 24 hours or more and they're still having "access problems". My guess is that some of the numbskull staff assigned to watch the servers are off watching NCAA March madness and could care less about the unhappy customers (go look at the blog... there's more than a few). And, forget about getting a response to your email complaint/inquiry... iTunes/Apple staff don't have the least interest in customer service. I hope they lose their shirts and any other clothing by customers who are fed up with their half-bassed, take-it-or-leave attitude.
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psycros said 3:27AM on 3-30-2009
Yeah, not the wisest of moves. While the Apple faithful will pay exorbitant prices for that fruity logo, iTunes probably gets ten times more business via Windows and iPhones than it does from Mac users. Funny how the record industry leans hardest on those who make them the most money. Kind of like the government.
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Galley said 8:16AM on 3-30-2009
Prices for catalog title tracks will be 69 cents. That's a good thing, because those same catalog title CDs sell for $5.00 - $8.00 at Amazon.
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iTuneshater said 10:18PM on 4-17-2009
I use to buy ALL my music from iTunes. By them raising prices i will no longer EVER buy a song from them... I dont care they have cheaper old songs no one wants those we want the new songs. It was the biggest digital music store and now I really hope iTunes stuggles to continue selling songs. Hopefully Apple will see this has caused them to lose tons of business. With the economy the way it is people are not going to pay even more they will just download it illegally. iTunes THIS IS CRAP!
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alice said 8:34PM on 4-19-2009
i can't afford even $.30 more. in this economy they were lucky to even be getting $.99 per song. Riasing the price is going to make them lose even more customers, including myself. This is a dumb move on itunes part and they will soon find that out. All of my friends have decided not to buy from itunes any more just because of that price hike. There are other places to get music, especially when itunes doesn't even have some very decent songs...some clasic some undiscovered...
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