$pend On::: Black Friday and other Technology Deals Thread

archonwarp

Every year, retailers eager to get rid of old stock and get ahead on snagging up holiday shoppers' dollars are quick to exploit the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday. Entire websites are dedicated to listing leaked Blackfriday ads, and crazy groups of people are willing to go wait outside in the cold for 18 hours in order to save $100 on a TV or Laptop. This year is no exception. Right off the bat, we've got an early "Secret Sale" from Walmart, wherein the standard in HD-DVD players is available for only 100 bones:

http://holiday.ri-walmart.com/?section=secret

Yup, that's the Toshiba HD-A2. $99.87... not too shabby. This is good news for the HD DVD camp, but that's another story for another thread.

In addition to that, you can see the $349 Acer Celeron M laptop (based on the stripped down yonah architecture [it's a core duo with one core disabled and less cache]), and a 50inch Plasma HDTV (720p, I'm assuming) for $1,000.


If you really want one of these things, they go on sale at 8:00AM EST. If you have a 24-hour Walmart in a big city, you should get there around 4:00AM or earlier if you're really serious. (Honestly, I would say that 12:00 AM would be the latest, depending on how well the news of this gets out. Get some friends with a DS, and have them camp out with you.)



Some good sites to check out:

Obviously, Slickdeals is a good place to peruse for the latest in good, cheap stuff, but in case you're lazy or just in the mood for strictly Black Friday deals, here's the best place so far:

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=74116&t=639249

http://bfads.net/


They have a list of ad scans available, and a good rumor mill from inside sources.



I figure that this could be a good place to post the inevitable rush of good deals we find, and I'm more than willing to keep the OP updated daily. So, as you find stuff, feel free to link it here.



New to Black Friday? Have any questions? Ask them here; I'm sure there are plenty of grizzled vets willing to help out!

jwm2

Yeah i seen that eariler today. The sad thing is people are actually going to DIE to get this. Same shit happens every year. Thats one reason i hate wal-mart, they dont care about anything but the bottom line.

The_Spaniard

I want to know if there would be any chance of getting an uber deal on Vista during Black Friday.

Karenna

The time has come once again for that greatest of days, where awesome tech gadgets can be had for ridiculously low prices.

BLACK FRIDAY!

What is Black Friday?
The day after Thanksgiving, is traditionally (but incorrectly) billed as the 'biggest shopping day of the year'. Typically the first day that us crazy Americans go burn all of our holiday cash, especially on big ticket items!

So, what's the big deal? I can get awesome/better deals online all the time, and I never have to wait in lines!
Well, frequently the big stores will run what are called 'Loss Leaders'. Big ticket/highly desired products that actually will lose the store money for selling. The idea is to get you in the door so you'll buy lots of other crap.


Take a gander, my friends at some of the amazing deals from BF06:


Westinghouse 32" LCD HDTV $479
...at the time retailed for $850!


Toshiba 50HP66 50" Plasma HDTV $1699
...at the time retailed for $2999!


And of course the infamous $100 Xbox 360 from Amazon

and tons of others:
Toshiba L35-s2151 Notebook = $250
Samsung SC-D363 MiniDV Camcorder = $129
Kodak C743 Easyshare 7.1MP Digital Camera = $129
Samsung YP-X5Z neXus XM/MP3 Player = $49.99 AR
Insignia 8" Portable DVD Player = $69.99
E Machines Computer Package(Celeron w/ 512MB RAM) w/ 15" LCD Monitor = $189.97
SanDisk 1GB Mp3 player = $34.99
HP DV6103NR Notebook Intel Core Solo 1.86GHz, 15.4", 1GB/80GB, DVD Burner = $379.99


OK, I get it, Black Friday is awesome. What's the deals coming this year?

There's a ton of BF related sites that have been up for years (google: Black Friday ads), and frequently those sites get sued by the various companies for posting their ads early.
Thus, please, PLEASE don't repost any actual ads early here. But, please DO feel free to comment on the various deals that you see, so that we can all gauge what a good/bad deal they are.

I will keep this OP updated with some of the bigger tech-related deals that appear to be coming out for your bottom line savings.


Current known deals:
CompUSA (THIS FRIDAY/SATURDAY Nov 2/3!)
$299 laptop
Acer Aspire Notebook6
featuring an Intel® Celeron® M
Processor 520
• 512MB memory, 80GB
hard drive2
• Windows Vista™ Home Basic3

Wal-Mart (THIS FRIDAY/SATURDAY Nov 2/3!)
Sanyo 50" Plasma HDTV $998

Toshiba HD-A2 DVD Player $98
Also, get 5 free HD-DVD titles when you buy and Toshiba HD-DVD player:
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/00/00/00/71/79/28/71792861._V25941811_.pdf

Link:

http://holiday.ri-walmart.com/?section=secret&utm_source=Walmartcom&utm_medium=POV1&utm_content=secret1&utm_campaign=holiday&povid=cat14503-env15844-module117144-lLink1

Sears (Black Friday)
Toshiba HD-A3 DVD player $169

I'm totally sold, can you give me some BF tips?
But of course! Here's some advice to get the best out of your BF. Of course, YMMV depending on city/store location.

Night Before
1. Double check your planned purchases with the Thanksgiving paper
2. Plot out your plan of attack. If there is a big ticket item you really want, hit that store early and first.
3. Make a list, of the store you want to visit the best, and what you want from the store.
4. Scope out the store before if you've never been there, so you know where the item you want is. That 50" Plasma is going to be in the way ass back of the store.

Morning of:
1. Get up early, REALLY early, depending on city/store. For some places, you might need to be in line the night before to really guarantee yourself.
2. Bring something to entertain yourself with. You'll be waiting before the doors open, you'll be waiting at the checkout line. DS #1!
3. Get a roadie, if possible. Someone to bring you coffee/take your warm clothes as your run through aisles. Your wingman can be invaluable, and they don't have to be there the whole time. 30 mins before store opening is sufficient.
4. Take a shower before you leave. Please, for the love of everyone around you.

Doors open:
1. Walk into store, and grab cart in orderly fashion. You WILL want a cart.
2. Run like hell! Everyone else will be giant cocks, it's OK to run them down.
3. Once your items are in the cart, put your coat over the item, and be prepared to fight off 'handsy' people. Again, many folks are cocks, but it's not stealing until you've paid for it!

Edit: crapola, I got beated to making a BF thread while I was typing this bitch up!

Lucky Cynic

I will be searching for 8800GT's that will be on sale or Western Digital's Raptor X 150 gigabyte Harddrive.

Maybe even a Razer Lycosa, which is still not released.

Karenna

Figures that you posted this while I was typing up my own big BF thread ...ah well, great minds, right?

Also, I find that a lot of better computer components go on sale on 'Cyber Monday'.
Newegg in particular does a pretty big blowout, and I scored some dirt cheap RAM and vid cards last year.

bombardier

I used one of those Acer laptops today, with the Celeron and Vista Basic.

What a piece of trash. I'd steer clear unless you like obnoxiously slow and unusable computers.

Improvolone

Which Monday would this be?
I seem to want a new TV

Snowcone

Improvolone wrote: »

Which Monday would this be?
I seem to want a new TV

This would be tomorrow at 8am. On SD, some people are reporting 20-30 units of the HD-A2 will be available. Some snatched up the ones on BB.com for the $99 price. Others managed to get a price match at CC and Sears before it went down. The thread at SD has screens of the price up on BB.com if you want to head in store and try your luck. Most local BB stores are OOS on the item.

Improvolone

Tomorrow is not Monday

archonwarp

Karenna wrote: »

Figures that you posted this while I was typing up my own big BF thread ...ah well, great minds, right?

Also, I find that a lot of better computer components go on sale on 'Cyber Monday'.
Newegg in particular does a pretty big blowout, and I scored some dirt cheap RAM and vid cards last year.

Maybe from some companies, but last year, it didn't exist at all. I was hoping for some cheap 12.1"ers and didn't see anything.

EvilBadman

Somehow, forgetting to mention Black Friday Ads slipped the mind of posters above me.

MKR

The Friday after Thanksgiving is almost a month away. Isn't this a bit...early?

archonwarp

EvilBadman wrote: »

Somehow, forgetting to mention Black Friday Ads slipped the mind of posters above me.

Thank you! I couldn't remember the link!


Anyway, no, it isn't too early. The ads are already being leaked and it's time to start making your lists of where to go and to set up your routes, etc.

MKR

Someone should set up a black friday wiki.

maximumzero

I have a 19" Samsung TV that I bought a few weeks ago. My first HDTV. Of course today at work I noticed we got in a 19" Olevia that pretty much looks like night and day next to the samsung but oh well.

The only reason I'm interested in Blu-Ray/HD-DVD is two movies:

Ratatouille & Corpse Bride

While CB is on both formats Ratatouille is B-R only.

Thus, half of my reason for getting a new player of the high-def sort is out the window.

Damn you Disney.

Tiemler

Only thing that looks impressive to me from the OP is the 360, which will be sold out in a fraction of a second and bring Amazon's server to its knees again this year. Still worth seeing for entertainment value, mind you.

Belruel

i went to my first blackfriday last year

2 years ago my mom was looking at a videogame to see if she was going to buy it, and a woman tackled her and tried to take it, so my mom elbowed her in the face and called a security guard. some people can get violent, so be careful guys

FreddyD

bombardier wrote: »

I used one of those Acer laptops today, with the Celeron and Vista Basic.

What a piece of trash. I'd steer clear unless you like obnoxiously slow and unusable computers.

I had the same problem with a similar PC. I added 1GB of RAM and it felt like a brand new computer.

Malkor

Is this HD-DVD player the real deal or will it play the DVDs and output them at a lower resolution?

Also I heard black Friday is going to be early because retailers need $$$.

Karenna

Malkor wrote: »

Is this HD-DVD player the real deal or will it play the DVDs and output them at a lower resolution?

Also I heard black Friday is going to be early because retailers need $$$.

I'm pretty sure it outputs at 720p, it's the Toshiba HD-A20 that does 1080p.

As to the Acer notebooks, yep, I'd have to agree they are pretty useless for most of the needs of folks that would frequent PA, but a $299 laptop is pretty decent for a family member that just does your standard web surf/word process/email.

I bought a similar one last year for a (non-technical, non-gamer) cousin headed to college, and it's perfect for his uses.

Idx86

I wish I would have known about the $100 XBox 360 last year. How fast did those things blow out?

Burtletoy

Idx86 wrote: »

I wish I would have known about the $100 XBox 360 last year. How fast did those things blow out?

It was about 5 seconds I believe. In actuallity I don't think it was even that long, I know tons of people bitched about how 'only people with the fastest internet connections' got a chance at that item, which is why amazon changed it to a lottery draw for the other great deals they had instead of a time thing.

Snowcone

Just got my HD-A2 for $98.

suadeo

Hrm, the HD-A2 HD-DVD player is worth it, huh? I am really considering running down to walmart now and picking it up. Ant reason not to grab it?

Karenna

suadeo wrote: »

Hrm, the HD-A2 HD-DVD player is worth it, huh? I am really considering running down to walmart now and picking it up. Ant reason not to grab it?

For an entry level HD-DVD player, it's a pretty sweet deal.
I'm not sure if it also includes 2 free movies (that might just be the Sears HD-A3 version), but most toshiba HD-DVD players have a rebate for 5 free HD-DVD movies. It's pretty much worth it just for that.


Edit: FYI, the HD-A2 actually does 1080i, and IS eligible for the 5 free HD-DVD promo:
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/00/00/00/71/79/28/71792861._V25941811_.pdf

archonwarp

Nice, crazy lines and fist fights at all?

Moe Fwacky

I merged the two Black Friday threads because we only need one of them. Sorry, but you'll have to deal with having two OPs.

Burtletoy

So that thread about the nes DS bundles that showed a link to IGN that had a picture from an ad showing the deal. IGN said it was a Black Friday deal and said the scanned image was from Sears, looking at the black friday ad's on SlickDeals.net shows the Sear's ad, but no DS bundles mentioned in it.

Any idea where these DS bundles are being sold?

Mr Blonde

Burtletoy wrote: »

Idx86 wrote: »

I wish I would have known about the $100 XBox 360 last year. How fast did those things blow out?

It was about 5 seconds I believe. In actuallity I don't think it was even that long, I know tons of people bitched about how 'only people with the fastest internet connections' got a chance at that item, which is why amazon changed it to a lottery draw for the other great deals they had instead of a time thing.

From what I recall, the site was down and only people who thought to try https... were able to grab them.

Smilingoat

im going to go to walmart and best buy right now to see if i can snag a $100 HDDVD player, along with a copy of Transformers.

then turn in the online coupon for the 5 free movies. seriously, this would be a reasonable price for a DVD upscaler, let alone a HD-DVD player that upscales, and comes with 5 HD movies... good ones at that (even if they arnt the best)

Kreutz

I was part of the rush for the $400 Wal-Mart laptops last year. I tried every store for 100 miles, and I ended up finding one in one of the largest cities in the state. For some reason, while every small-town store had people lining up at 7:00 to buy the laptops, this super-center in the big city had like 10 of them sitting right in the middle of electronics, and the guy at the counter told me that I was the only one who called about getting one.O_o

hoodie13

Wal-Mart has a deal running from the 4th to the 10th on an RCA brand 26" LCD HDTV for $378. Anyone know if this is a good deal or not? I'm strongly considering buying it.

chasm

It's a decent deal. The TV's specs aren't half-bad. WM will be having the "secret sales" every Friday in November, if what the store manager told me today is true. I'll make sure to update you guys each week when I get the info.

Snowcone

Smilingoat wrote: »

im going to go to walmart and best buy right now to see if i can snag a $100 HDDVD player, along with a copy of Transformers.

then turn in the online coupon for the 5 free movies. seriously, this would be a reasonable price for a DVD upscaler, let alone a HD-DVD player that upscales, and comes with 5 HD movies... good ones at that (even if they arnt the best)

I got one and it is amazing. Totally worth it.

Smilingoat

Snowcone wrote: »

Smilingoat wrote: »

im going to go to walmart and best buy right now to see if i can snag a $100 HDDVD player, along with a copy of Transformers.

then turn in the online coupon for the 5 free movies. seriously, this would be a reasonable price for a DVD upscaler, let alone a HD-DVD player that upscales, and comes with 5 HD movies... good ones at that (even if they arnt the best)

I got one and it is amazing. Totally worth it.

yeah i just got one, and they tossed a free copy of transformers in with it! i told my girlfriend we would watch talldega nights (however you spell that hick course) first, so i had to turn it off, but its simply brilliant on my 32in Westinghouse LCD. and by the end of next month, i'll most likely have a 37 in (selling the 32 and picking up a deal on black friday hopefully, without lossing money, well thats the plan)

Karenna

Well daaaaamn.

Looks like Toshiba sold ~90K of their HD-DVD players over this past weekend via the pre-Black Friday deals.
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/34742/118/

Those kinds of sales #'s will make other companies take notice, and hopefully offer us some other incredibly sweet deals...

chasm

BTW, here's the list of the promo BluRay titles:

Alexander (unrated final cut)
Blood Diamond
Last Samurai
Swordfish
Unforgiven
Underworld
Fifth Element
Black Hawk Down
House of Flying Daggers
Final Fantasy: Spirits Within
Resident Evil 2
Layer Cake
XXX
Terminator 2
Stargate
Reservoir Dogs
The Patriot
Crank
Night At The Museum
X-men 3
Flyboys
Rocky
Terminator
Windtalkers

I'm not sure of the exact date these will go on sale for $14.96 a Wal-Marts, but it IS sometime this month.

Karenna

So, the highly anticipated BB and CC ads have been leaked, and there are a metric shitton of TVs on them.

Let the discussioning of good/bad deals begin!

BB:
24" Digital Flat Tube SDTV $179.99
Dynex 19" LCD TV $239.99
Dynex 20" LCD TV/DVD Combo $299.99
Dynex 32" LCD HDTV $449.99
Dynex 37" 720p LCD HDTV $629.99
Flat-Panel HD Performance Pack $79.99
HP 42" 1080p LCD HDTV $996.99
init Black Stand for TVs up to 65" $199.99
LG 22" LCD HDTV $349.99
Mitsubishi 65" 1080p DLP Projection HDTV $1499.99
Panasonic 42" 720p Plasma HDTV $899.99
Philips 32" 720p LCD HDTV $599.99
Samsung 50" Plasma 720p HDTV $1399.99
Surge Protector and TV Screen Cleaner $39.99
Westinghouse 47" 1080p LCD HDTV $1299.99


CC:
Element 19" LCD HDTV $199.99
Element 32" LCD HDTV $399.99
Optoma DLP Digital Media Projector $549.99
Panasonic 42" Plasma HDTV $999.99
Polaroid 40" LCD HDTV $699.99
Samsung 50" Plasma HDTV $1399.99
Samsung 50" Slim DLP HDTV $799.99
Sharp 19" LCD HDTV $249.99
Sharp 32" LCD HDTV $599.99
Sharp 42" LCD HDTV with HDMI & PC Inputs $799.99
Sharp Aquos 46" 1080p LCD HDTV $1299.99
Sharp Aquos 52" 1080p LCD HDTV $2199.99
Sony Bravia 32" LCD HDTV $699.99
Toshiba 50" 1080p DLP HDTV $1499.99
Zenith 50" Plasma HDTV $999.99

Karenna

Also, monitors ahoy!

BB:
samsung 220WM for 199.99 (reg. price 329.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824001240

Envision H22W for 149.99 (reg. price 279.99)
http://www.envisiondisplay.com...ge=products&SMenu=h22w


CC:
Acer, (can't read the model number) for 169.99, however, I think it says that is after a $60 MIR.
This may be it
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm...m/ccd/productDetail.do

Lunker

Okay, you read my mind -- I was just looking these over tonight. The Target ad also got leaked, though I don't have the full listing in front of me.

The TVs that caught my eye are:

Target: Olevia 37" LCD (237-T) -- $549 (Amazon link)

CC: Sharp Aquos 42" LCD (LC42D43U) -- $799 (CC link)

CC: Samsung 50" Slim DLP HDTV (HLT5075S) -- $799.99 (Amazon link)

So how come the Samsung 50" and the Sharp Aquos 42" are the same price? Is it just one's a mega-good deal, or is there that big of a difference between brand quality? Also, my eyes are glazing over, by the way. I've spent the past hour at work deciphering these things and my head is spinning.