News
Black Friday: Who Has the Best Deals?
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (Nov. 15,
2011) -- We've now reported on
the upcoming Black Friday deals from 10 different retailers that
sell consumer electronics. Whether it's CE giant Best Buy or
discount specialist Walmart or the regionally popular Hastings
entertainment chain, America's favorite retailers are hoping to
woo the discerning Black Friday shopper.
But which retailer will offer the best Black Friday deals on CE
products and High-Definition TVs? After a careful study of the
discounts being planned by the 10 retailers, we have ranked the
stores in order based on best price and the uniqueness of the
items they will sell.
Before we declare our winner, a little background on the Black
Friday phenomenon itself:
Which store should you go to for the best Black Friday prices?
Retailers traditionally offer deep discounts on the day after
Thanksgiving (Nov. 25), better known as Black Friday, the
unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. In the weeks
leading up to the big day, web sites such as Bfads.net and
BlackFriday.info receive previews of Black Friday ads that the
retailers are planning to run. (Much of our Black Friday
reporting here was based on some excellent work by Bfads.net; we
recommend that you visit them for a more comprehensive look at
all Black Friday offers, not just CE products.)
So which retailer has the best deals for HDTVs and CE items?
Our pick is...Best Buy!
1. Best Buy:
In addition to the best prices, Best Buy will offer the highest
quantity of discounted consumer electronics products on Black
Friday. That should be no surprise considering that the store
specializes in CE.
But the lower prices is what really caught our attention. For
instance, how
would you like a Toshiba Wi-Fi-ready Blu-ray Player for $39.99? Or how about a Sharp
42-inch, 1080p LCD HDTV for $199? Or how about a Microsoft XBox
360 Kinect for $99?
A Dynex 24-inch, 1080p
LCD HDTV for $79.99? And how about Mad Men, Seasons 1-4 on Blu-ray
-- just $8.99 for each season. All great prices that make the
special trip on Black Friday well worth the effort and time.
2. Walmart As a discount store, you would
expect Walmart to offer some eye-popping deals on Black Friday
and the retailer doesn't disappoint. For instance, Walmart will
sell a Blu-ray
player for $49; select Blu-ray movies for $1.96
each; an Emerson 32-inch LCD HDTV for just $188' and an Emerson 40-Inch
1080p LCD HDTV for $248. All great deals but they simply fall
short of Best Buy's overall offer.
3.
Target: I frankly expected a little more
from Target, but the retailer does deliver with a Westinghouse
46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $298. Still, I was hoping for more
products that made me sit up and take notice.
4. Staples
The office supply store is short on discounted TVs and typical
gadget fare. But it will offer some cool stocking stuffers for
great prices. For instance, how about a digital camera for $19?
Or a Belkin wireless router for $24.99? Or a Logitech Web Cam
for just $14.99?
5.
Sam's Club: Sam's Club also was a small
disappointment with few big-ticket items with big discounts. But
how would you like a Samsung
51-inch Plasma HDTV for $498? Or the Blu-ray edition of
Transformers: Dark of the Moon for $9.98? Might be worth a trip
on the big day.
6. Costco
Likewise, I was expecting more from Costco. But the retailer
will sell a 32-inch, 1080p HDTV for $199 and a Blu-ray-equipped
laptop for $599.
7. Sears
The retailer will sell a lot of TVs on Black Friday, but the
deep discounts are few and far between. The best of the bunch: A
32-inch LCD HDTV for $199 and a Sharp 60-inch LED HDTV for $999.
8.
Kmart
How would you like a Sony Blu-ray Player w/Wi-Fi for $79? Or a
Fujifilm 14MP Digital Camera for $49? Or an XBox 360 with
built-in Wi-Fi for $149? Well, you can get them for the same
price or lower at most of the stores above them on this list.
Nothing special here.
9. Radio Shack
Radio Shack also disappoints with a Toshiba 32-inch LCD HDTV for
$259 (many stores are selling 32-inch sets for under $200) and a
Casio 12.1 MP Digital Camera for $99, among other lowlights.
10. Hastings
The regional retailer, which has stores in about 20 states,
plans to sell Blu-ray editions of newly released movies for just
$12.99. Well, so does just about everyone else. Hastings will
also offer a Samsung 3D Wi-Fi Blu-ray player for $99 and a
refurbished first generation Apple iPad for $429. So-so.
Stay tuned to TVPredictions.com for more Black Friday news and
discounts.
