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)
Mel said 9:37AM on 5-23-2009
Fortunately, Bill Gates knows nothing about failing companies, failing governments, failing banks, and failing politics. Yesterday, a kid came around to my house to propose something about solar power. Nice kid. Didn't know dick.
AIG insuring 53 trillion dollars of credit default swaps will bring down the house and our government and there is nothing anybody can do about it. There wasn't one penny put up to insure the latest and greatest tool for hedge funds to suck up mortgage backed securities that were sliced and diced and repackaged into explosive and toxic packages. Great Britian is now in a negative worth position with debt greater than GDP. The USA is only 18% away from achieving the same distinction and our debt is climbing fast. Why did Edward Liddy resign his $1 a year post to help America deal with the AIG mess? IMO, he found out that AIG won't be able to repay the 180 billion TARP money and will probably go back to the government for billions, if not trillions, more. He didn't want to be the guy who said, "AIG cannot repay the governement loan." As Americans have a short memory span and he was only at AIG since September 2008, he did want that noose around his neck. We are done! Toast! Every man and woman for himself.
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lr7760 said 1:38PM on 5-23-2009
i would tend to put more stock in Bill Gates opinions rather than "Mel's"
MyKisa said 7:04AM on 5-24-2009
...until some one supports the people having control over their own money, nothing good will ever come our way
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Kim Hanna said 7:07AM on 5-24-2009
Mel's made good points.
Gate's software & technology eliminated millions of jobs in every facet
of our lives.
We are more efficient at producing everything. GM went from 300,000 jobs
to 30,000 jobs through technology & automation.
We have too many people & not enough jobs. It's a simple equation.
We'll have to "make jobs" for people or they'll wander the streets & sleep in their shoes and all our lives will be diminished.
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lighthouse1777 said 8:27AM on 5-24-2009
Anybody that tries to tell you that the economy is recovering needs to be slapped up side the head. Yea, sometimes things might look pretty on the surface, but look deep down inside and you will see two broken nations that once were the kings of the world. For the U. S. and Britain, things will never, ever be the same again. Israel is also right behind us. The U.S. invested it's borrowed money in the wrong place, it should have invested it in the people and not failed businesses.
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felixjimmylexjam said 8:49AM on 5-24-2009
"We need to evaluate the circumstances and prioritize the enovation of technology where to apply for if their's no gauges and not encompass to
daily human needs and life standards, most mankind nor humanity capabilities and ability will be left behind. Economies knows the yearly whole world budget that circulate and navigate currency worldwide, including human numbers to sustain and if we neglected arithmatically the combination of this, then we are always in chaos whatever innovation nor technology we discover..."
" Richness atfront just for statue won't contribute to humanity if you just kept it aside for it cause sufferings to most or all'th itself..." Keep the money moving forward honestly for the benefit of everybody and you will see the difference and solutions of this mess.God Bless
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