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)
Chris B. said 7:54PM on 6-14-2009
Yes, I have watched a movie and an episode of a TV show on my computer, bit I prefer old fashioned TV (time shifted via TiVo) and yes, I am considering abandoning cable for a larger program selection, but I would abandon cable for satellite. These would put me into the 50% cited in the article but the article does not state these people are watching TV via computer exclusively. And in have never downloaded a movie or show via peer to peer, I tried it but it seemed like too much of a hassle. Can we get a clarification of what the questions were on this study?
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Ryan said 8:55PM on 6-14-2009
Yes, I am over 40 and I do not download anything illegally, and I do watch movies and TV on the Internet, more and more. I cancelled my cable because I got tired of high prices due to no competition, intermittant service, lousy customer support, and nothing on most of the day and night but infomercials on channel after channel that I was already PAYING FOR. So now I watch Hulu, Youtube, I have a Netflix account, the channels' own websites, and wherever I can without breaking the law. It's not as though it's difficult to do, and there are many advantages. I watch whenever I want, late at night or early morning. The commerical breaks are shorter, and sometimes you can watch a whole show without a break if you watch one longer commercial in the beginning. Of course, the Netflix is commercial-free with my paid account. It is very easy, even for us "old fogies" - though like most people my age, I've owned a PC for well over a decade and used computers since college some 25 years ago, so exactly how ignorant about them do the supposed experts think we are?
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