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)
Greg Collier said 4:39PM on 4-28-2009
As an avid user of social networking sites, and a firm believer in their powers, I am pumped to challenge Craig, the founder of Craigslist, to a Twitter-off. Now I don’t doubt that a dance-off would have been more entertaining to watch, and laugh at, the message Geebo is looking to spread is definitely more serious than popping and locking.
It is funny to me that Craig has chosen to block me from sending direct messages to his Twitter account, instead of addressing the truthful allegations of Craigislist’s gross, and deadly, practices. Don’t worry though; Craig is still able to read my Twitter messages challenging him and Craigslist to clean up their act. With his decision to block Geebo, he has chosen to spend his time viewing my recent Twittering by searching Twitter directly. The irony is that the amount of time it takes to search for my recent Tweets, is equal to the amount of time it would take to remove the Erotic Listings section on Craigslist. Who would have thought that saving a life could be done in a Tweet? Well…Geebo did.
Unfortunately, Craigslist prefers a don’t ask, don’t tell policy. If people don’t ask for added security and privacy, they don’t tell them that they are risking their property, identity, savings and life. Such a policy is apathetic, dangerous and irresponsible. Posts go live on Craigslist within 15 minutes, leaving zero room for Craigslist management to review and revoke possible illegal or dangerous postings. This oversight, or rather laziness, is largely to blame for gross amounts of child pornography, prostitution, human trafficking, drug sales, stolen merchandise, identity theft, real estate scams and murder taking place across the United States.
Craigslist lacks a system of checks and balances that provides users with the degree of safety they deserve. Flagging, Craigslist’s joke of content monitoring is nothing more than a feel-good tool for the site’s management to claim that they are taking precautionary measures. Obviously, they have failed. More times than not user complaints are answered by an auto-responder, not a staff member. Conversely, those posts truly in need of flagging and removal go undisturbed.
At Geebo we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We pride ourselves in our humor and humility as we build, maintain and enlarge our online classified site. The only time we turn serious, however, is when the safety and security of our users is in jeopardy. In staying true to our goal of positively influencing and impacting the physical communities in which we serve, we have opted not to allow erotic services postings on Geebo. We don’t believe that there is an adequate way to regulate such a category that provides the necessary degree of privacy and security our users, and any users, should be afforded. So we don’t do it. Additionally, Geebo personally reviews each and every post submitted prior to publication. Taking user safety seriously isn’t a point to be mocked…it should be applauded.
If I were MySpace or Facebook friends with Craig I would trust that I would be de-friended shortly. After a Twitter “block” additional social networking embargoes typically follow suit. We aren’t friends on MySpace or Facebook, though I am not too concerned. I don’t need, much less want, friends who put their friends, clients or the public at large in harms way.
Reply
ladridi said 6:27PM on 5-20-2009
Wow Greg, you are such an opportunist. I don't even think you believe in what you are saying; you are only saying what you think will gain market share.
I will never use your website ever as you feel that you are the arbiter of what is moral in this world. I don't need some bully telling me what is right and wrong. I can think for myself.
If you are so enraged by all of the prostitution, why haven't you led a brigade against all of the public newspapers that run sections advertising erotic services? Perhaps it is because you don't think that battle will make you any money.
Time will out in this battle, as Craigslist stomps you in the long run. Actually, I suppose they already have. You've been around for ten years and haven't gotten anywhere. You started as a pale imitation and still are. How's it feel to make all this ruckus and still have nobody visiting your site? You are a flea compared to CL and always will be.
You are such a Geebo. Look it up.