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)
RUGRLN said 1:35AM on 4-13-2009
Thankfully mine isn't that high, but it is still at an alarming a high percentage and annoying as hell!! Do something about it!!!
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Level 5 said 8:09AM on 4-13-2009
I'd say not much can be done about it. People buy and sell personal information all the time. How many telemarketers call you when you're at dinner? How many credit card companies send you pre-approved bullshit in the mail? It's unfortunate, and it sucks; but somewhere along the line, someone sold your e-mail address from something you signed up for or perhaps someone else faked your e-mail address into. It might had been fine-printed that your e-mail address could be used by third-parties, etc. Or if not, they probably put the clause in after they got some e-mail addresses, or perhaps don't care about whatever consequence. I'd say the best advice is to use an e-mail provider and application with good spam filters in place (gmail's isn't bad), and hope for the best. The unfortunate truth is, spam works and it's advertising with little overhead.
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PJD120 said 10:16AM on 4-13-2009
Level 5, I have to totally agree with you. I don't have Gmail, but my aol mail works beautiful, I don't get any spam mail at all. Now with my yahoo, wheeeeew, i don't care what filters you have in place, you still get a lot of spam mail from their service. Lord I am so tired of the people from Nigera, and goodness, now I'm getting email from people who want me to watch them on their webcam. But yes, I don't think we will ever get rid of spam mail as as long as your email address is getting bought by third party people, it will never stop. I'm on my way to my Yahoo account now, wonder what mail I have today, lol. God bless everyone.
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