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)
dsl4u2nv said 7:25PM on 7-22-2009
A big waste of money,
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groovyruvy said 11:31AM on 7-20-2009
But does it have cupholders?
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chinanolan98 said 12:02PM on 7-20-2009
Those who say don't go back to the moon or beyond to Mars are like the guys who said; "Columbus, what good is this place America you've discovered?" and then promptly threw Columbus in jail. If we don't watch it, we'll be the Spanish in 200 years and someone like China, India or even North Korea will be the English and later the new America in space.
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AltairAntares said 12:35PM on 7-20-2009
Definitely agree with Chinanolan. We learn vast amounts when we try to do stuff like this, and the potential when we do get an economic way to transport stuff to and from the moon is something that will get more and more useful as stuff gets more and more expensive to mine on earth (and as people start to gripe more and more about environmentalism).
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twisted1fatexx said 1:53PM on 7-20-2009
How sure are you people that we actually landed on the moon 40 years ago? Have you seen the footage how the flag seems to be waving as if theres an atmosphere or a slight gust or breeze.. the moon is in a vacum its in space there is no atmosphere. There are alot of questionable and pretty impossible things in the moon landing footage. Another example are how the cross airs that were on the camera in some shots apear to be behind objects such as astronauts and the amearican flag but in the same shot some of the cross airs that were supposedly embeded in the lens of the camera are in front of other object like the lunar rover.... someone please explain how and why this is possible... as much as id like to believe that we landed on the moon there is just too many questionable things in the footage of the moon landing ... im not sure what to believe anymore...
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mpardal said 4:22PM on 7-20-2009
It's pretty silly to believe that something involving thousands of people was a fake and never happened.But I suppose all you conspiracy theorists are all alike, the more you try to disprove your ridiculous idea the more you see it as proof of a conspiracy.So good luck with your theory but anyone with a little common sense knows the truth.
Happy 40th anniversary to all the brave men and women responsible for one of the greatest events in the history of mankind!!!!
Michael Hart said 3:37PM on 7-20-2009
Do a google search. All of these items have been properly explained. There is even a Mythbusters episode on it.
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red1531 said 5:30PM on 8-16-2009
Hey, Twisted fate, haven't you heard that the flag began waiving when one of the astronauts passed gas?
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