Here's the problem with Black Friday. Other than the one of two clearly awesome deals per store, it's tough to know if standing your butt in the cold all night will actually save you more money than doing some online comparison shopping from the comfort of your own, very warm home. But the truth is, Black Friday does have incredible deals and it can save you hundreds of dollars on big-ticket electronics—if you play your cards right.
So we have sorted through the deals for you, listed the real savings (based upon comparative online searches, none of this retail priced crap) and categorized the best stuff for you to consider. Hit the jump for the Ultimate Black Friday Deal Guide—we wasted several hours so you wouldn't have to.
Big HDTVs (42" and up)
Best Buy
HP 42" LCD (1080p)
Price: $996.99
Savings: $500
Panasonic 42" Plasma (720p)
Price: $899.99
Savings: $200
Circuit City
Sharp 42" AQUOS LCD (720p)
Price: $799.99
Savings: $450
Note: Sam's Club has a similar deal for about $400 off.
Sharp Aquos 46" LCD (1080p)
Price: $1299.99
Savings: $500
Zenith 50" Plasma (720p)
Price: $999.99
Savings: $400
Wal-Mart
Polaroid 42" LCD (1080p)
Price: $798
Savings: $300
Medium HDTVs
Best Buy
Philips 32" LCD
Price: $599
Savings: $160
Circuit City
Sharp 32" LCD
Price: $599.99
Savings: $170
Sony 32" Bravia M-Series
Price: $699.99
Savings: $100
Wal-mart
Polaroid 32" LCD (720p)
Price: $448
Savings: $222
GPS Systems
Best Buy
TomTom One LE GPS Navigation System
Price: $119.99
Savings: $130 (though it's a BB exclusive model)
Note: Staples has similar deal on normal ONE.
Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS Navigation System
Price: $169.99
Savings: $70-$90
Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS Navigation System
Price: $399.99
Savings: $100
Circuit City
Garmin c340 Portable GPS Navigation System
Price: $199.99
Savings: $70
Magellan RoadMate 1200 GPS Navigation
Price: $124.99
Savings: $85
Radioshack
Magellan Maestro 3100 GPS Navigation System
Price: $129.99
Savings: $85
Wal-mart
Garmin Street Pilot c330 GPS
Price: $128.88
Savings: $70
Laptops
Best Buy
Toshiba 1.73ghz Celeron Laptop & Canon 3-in-1 Printer Package
Price: $229
Savings: Can't find specific model, though we know it has a Celeron processor. They claim 20/store.
Sony 15.4" Laptop w/1GB RAM, 120GB HD, DVD Burner
Price: $399.99
Savings: ??
Circuit City
Compaq Dual-Core, 1GB RAM, 80GB HD
Price: $299
Savings: $300 (includes mir)
OfficeDepot
Toshiba 15.4" Notebook, AMD w/2GB RAM, 160GB HD
Price: $499.99
Savings: $250
Lenovo 14.1" Notebook Computer w/Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 160GB HD
Price: $599.99
Savings: $200
Wal-mart
Dell 15.4" Laptop w/1.6 GHz AMD Turion, 2GB RAM, DVD Burner
Price: $598.00
Savings: $150
Circuit City
Swiss Gear Rival 15.4" Laptop Backpack
Price: $12.99
Savings: $37
CompUSA
Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks
Price: $9.99
Savings: $40
PCs
Wal-mart
Dell Inspiron, Athlon 64 X2, 2GB RAM, 320GB HD, 19" Widescreen
Price: $598
Savings: $100
CompUSA
Acer Intel Quad-Core Desktop, 24" LCD Monitor + 512MB ATI Gfx
Price: $999
Savings: Dunno, seemed interesting.
Cooler Master 690 ATX Gaming Case
Price: $34.99
Savings: $45
Cooler Master eXtreme Power 500-Watt ATX Power Supply
Price: $16.99
Savings: $63
Cameras and Camcorders
Best Buy
Kodak EasyShare 7.1-Megapixel Digital Camera
Price: $189.99
Savings: $70
Circuit City
Hitachi Hybrid MiniDVD/Hard Disk Camcorder
Price: $299.99
Savings: $60
Sony Cyber-shot 7.2-Megapixel Digital Camera
Price: $99.99
Savings: $45 (Same deal at Staples and Best Buy)
CompUSA
Canon PowerShot A460 w/photo printer
Price: $150
Savings: $80
Wal-mart
Panasonic PalmCorder DVD Camcorder
Price: $198
Savings: $150
Home Theater Equipment
Best Buy
Klipsch Synergy III 8" 2-Way Dual-Woofer Floorstanding Speaker
Price: $222.99
Savings: $160
Circuit City
Sony Platinum Dream Home Theater System
Price: $329.99
Savings: $170
Samsung 5.1 Channel 800W Complete Home Theater
Price: $150
Savings: $50
Optoma 1080i DLP Projector w/DVD
Price: $549.99
Savings: $330
Wal-mart
PlayStation 3 80GB w/15 Blu-ray movies
Price: $499
Savings: $200 or so (note, this is technically a Black Saturday Deal)
Miscellaneous Goodies
Best Buy
BoomChair Wi-FX Wireless Gaming Chair
Price: $79.99
Savings: $50 (BB exclusive product)
Dynex 100-Pack 16x DVD-R Disc Spindle
Price: $6.99
Savings: $25
Circuit City
SanDisk 2GB SD Secure Digital Memory Card
Price: $6.99
Savings: $25
SanDisk 4GB High Capacity SD Memory Card
Price: $27.99
Savings: $22
CompUSA
SanDisk 2GB Ultra II Secure Digital Card
Price: $17.99
Savings: $35
OfficeDepot
Logitech Elite Keyboard
Price: $9.99
Savings: $15
Black Friday Protips:
1. Avoid digital cameras in general. You can do better online.
2. You almost can't go wrong with the widespread deals on GPS.
3. We listed those Polaroid TVs from Wal-mart but you read this site and should know better.
4. Best Buy's doorbuster 40" Samsung 1080p TV isn't listed above since we found it here. UPDATE: IRS troubles with those folks. Thanks tipster. Similar deal at Sears, we believe.
5. Where's Apple? Here's Apple. No word on their deals yet.
Thanks for all the source research from [blackfriday.info]
To see pretty ad pictures hit up [bfads]








Comments
5. No apple prices... dang.. guess i gotta stand in the cold...
Gizmodudes,
Hard drive price summary, pretty please with sugar on top.
fwiw, that website you linked for BB's doorbuster alternative classifies as 'spyware' to my network's bluecoating.
I know bluecoats aren't the most reliable categorization but it's something to think about...
Finally, some props to bfads. I've always liked them better than blackfriday.info because they have the actual scans of the ads.
@quendiljt: I agree. Please?
@quendiljt: @jawzxy: Give this link a shot.
[www.bargainshare.com]
I really thought this one would be there:
Circuit City:
Compaq 1GB Presario Laptop, Intel Pentium Dual-Core Proces...
Price: $299 (after $150MIR)
Savings: $350
I got a refurb TomTom one from ecost I think for 154$
Is the Sharp 46" HDTV at CircuitShtty really $1299? On the site is says $2399.99 after added to the cart. That'd be $1100 savings, not the $500 listed. I'm probably screwing something up.
I'm planning not to camp but on hoping that the 46" HDTV deal is also applicable online.
If not, then I might have to camp...<_<
@Nick_M: All savings are REAL savings, based upon internet searches, not retail prices, which we all know are a bunch of BS. So Circuit City is offering the TV $500 cheaper than anyone.
@NZRUSS: Updated. Thanks.
if you look at the website for yourdigitalelectronics you can see at the bottom it says they accept visa and what not but on the faq is states that they only accept money transfers
What about the Computer Displays / Monitors?
Based of my quick 30 mins of searching, most of the retails have B/F Ads about $50 - $100 below the closest online deals.
Good compilation. This year I'll be including you on my list of "Things to be thankful for".
Something to consider is Costco has regular prices that can beat some of these. Sales don't always mean the lowest price available in a store.
Pass the turkey!
Hey - I thought everybody knew that yourdigitalelectronics.com was a scam site! Good luck with that.
I believe that Blackfriday.info listed Sears ad for the Sharp 46" at $999
Here are the details on the Best Buy $299 Toshiba laptop
@dorylomorphs: Apple's idea of a Black Friday deal would be a $10 coupon to the iTunes store with every Macbook Pro. :p
I'm in the wrong social class and in the wrong country
I really haven't seen much that wants to get me out in the cold waiting.....
There is also a 50'' 720p Plasma at CC for $1,400.
[www.circuitcity.com]
The best price I saw after a search on Froogle was $1,600. I think that deserves to be in the list.
@jzh797s: Sears is offering a different model than the Circuit city ad. I think the one in the sears ad is LC46D43U and the circuit city offering is different. The main difference being the fact that the one for $1300 is 1080P, still a great deal. I might end up waiting outside for one of these things.
@slowreader: Sorry, thanks for clearing that up
@Mark Wilson: Thanks, if I wasn't impatient I may have read that. Knew I was missing something.
@airheebz: So shady. I'm pulling the link.
@Nick_M: :)
What a good TV for my 480p Wii.. Is it true that some TV's won't display the 480p correctly from the Wii?
hmmm, are any blackfriday deals available online to canadians?!?!?
bfads are incomplete. i found that www.blackfday.com has much more ad scans as they aren't scared of cease and desists.
radioshack has the mio c320 for $150 which is about $100 off. some will bash the MIO brand but i've never ever had a problem. and its pretty quick at calculating.
they also have the navigon 2100 with lifetime traffic for $150 which would normally cost $300 ($200 gps + $99 traffic service)
32" LCD TV at Kmart on Thanksgiving DAY for $419 is the best deal for small TVs.
@dwilljo: black friday is after thanksgiving. maybe after your thanksgiving :)
I too would like to see monitors listed. Props to you for taking the time to work these out, great list. Thanks
hmmm the gps im going for isnt on there. Which in a way is a good thing. Because that means a better chance for me to get it :)
@Mark Wilson: sweet. Thanks a bunch.
theres a 50" plasma deal going on at Costco.
regular price $1,199.99 with $200 knocks is down to $999.99
Thanks Giz!!! Now I know that for sure that I'm not going to wait outside for a new tv, I'll be going through my dad for new LG plasma instead. Warm and comfy inside indeed..oh wait, I just remembered that I need a 500GB hard drive! Summary por favor!
I'm hoping to get chosen for the Samsung 4661 deal on Amazon. Same price as that 42" Polaroid, but 4 inches larger and a much better tv, even if it is an older model.
I'm voting for a Giz black Friday swag giveaway!
@Andersonbmx-elucidate please
@Mark Wilson- saved me a bunch of time I rather spend cooking on Tday. I'll include you in the "thanks" part
I'm wondering if there are any good deals on 22"/24" monitors and 750GB HDDs.
I saw on here [bfads.net] there was a 24" Samsung at Circuit City for $330, and the online counterparts that I'm aware of had it for more than $100 more. HDD were typically cheaper online, running for $170 compared to $200-$230 for the 750GB. Does anyone know of a better deal for said products, online or otherwise?
@leetgeek: I believe there is a pretty good GPS deal at Costco, if you're a member....
Pep Boys is offering the Mio DigiWalker GPS for $80, and a 7-inch digital picture frame for $40, both the best prices I've ever seen for either.
I really need to find out more about that damn Vaio laptop at BestBuy. Thats my main target. I need one for school.. badly..
@jimmyg: nice deal, but the mail in rebate is 40 dollars so that makes the unit $120
@mattblatz: thanks for the info, but unfortunately im not a member of costco :( only sam's club
Anyone heard good things about the Sharp 46" AQUOS Circuit city has got? I was planning on picking one of those up this Friday. That or the Westinghouse 47" at best buy, but I've heard westinghouse produces shit.
@-HEYWOWITSFELIPE
Go to Sonystyle and see which one you want. Then go to www.pricegrabber.com or www.amazon.com (or eBay if you're that desperate) and see the comparative prices. If you are willing to spend a grand then just go to www.sonystyle.com and take a look at their 14" notebooks.
At BestBuy.com on in-store pickup items, if its cheaper in-store at the time of pickup than when the order was placed, they honor the cheaper price. I'm wondering if I ordered something now and selected in-store pickup to have it set aside locally, then waited until Black Friday morning to go to pick it up, would they give me the special in-store price?
@dorylomorphs: Since when has apple ever reduced a price on anything?
@-HeyWowItsFelipe-: Model #VGNNR110E/S (Amazon link)
Best Buy page
@Mark Wilson:
I did some research on the toshiba laptop/cannon printer package from best buy this morning, and the cheapest deal on that printer is from provantage.com for $68.
[www.provantage.com]
$69.88
The laptop is a bit tricky, as the specific model doesn't seem to be listed anywhere else on the 'net, not even on Toshibas site. The closest thing I found was the model A135-S7404 (BF ad model is A135-S7403) and the cheapest deal on that was surprisingly at Best Buy. They list it at $599.99 and the specs are the exact same, except that when describing the 7404's DVD/CD-RW drive they use the word 'multiformat' where the 7403 is 'supermulti'.
[www.bestbuy.com]
$599.99
So with these prices, the savings add up to $440.87, as opposed to the $650.98 BB claims.
whoops, that $68 up there should have said $69.88. Time to go refill that coffe cup... the math is still correct tho :)
Sony 15.4" Laptop w/1GB RAM, 120GB HD, DVD Burner
Price: $399.99
Savings: ??
The laptop is A sony vaio: sony VGN-NR110E/S.
Best buy's regular price is 1,100
@ATHEIST JEW
I usually hit up the product reviews on Newegg or Amazon. The Sharp LC46D64U doesn't have a deep review history but it looks like a winner overall, especially at full 1080p w/3 HDMI inputs and a PC input.
I'm nabbing one.
Panasonic 42" Plasma (720p)
Price: $899.99
Savings: $200
huh? It's listed for 1399.99, isn't that a savings of $500?
(btw, i got last year's model of this tv on black friday at circuit city last year...AWESOME TV)