So many stores, so many ads, but which best Black Friday deals are really worth your time and your money?
We did some research and took some of the top deals and found the best Black Friday offers on televisions, Blu-Ray players, video games and more; then compared them with Amazon.com, to see if you really save by waiting in line.
Hot HDTVs
Televisions are on sale everywhere, but not every deal is a smart purchase. We looked at dozens of televisions advertised, and the hottest deal by far is at Best Buy .
They have a Sharp brand, 42-inch LCD high definition TV for $199 .
Edgar Dworsky, from Consumerworld.org , tracks hundreds of Black Friday deals and says this is an incredible price. He adds, that he has never seen a 42-inch TV, let alone a good brand like Sharp for under $200.
We did some research, too, and the best price I could find for a similar television was an RCA 42-inch TV for $420 , also at Best Buy, which is more than twice the price.
The picture quality on the Sharp isn't great for video games. Still, it's definitely one of the best deals out there! But you better get in line early.
On the leaked Best Buy ad we saw it said 10 per store. But we did hear a rumor that there may actually be more than just 10 per store, but again this is a rumor. Either way, Best Buy opens at 12 a.m. on Black Friday and they say they will be passing out tickets to folks in line at their stores starting at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night.
Blu Ray Player
Next on the hot deals list is a Toshiba Blu-Ray player for $39.99 , yet another door buster from Best Buy.
Edgar feels any Blu-Ray player for $39 is a great price, but the fact that it is a major brand like Toshiba just adds to this great door buster deal.
We found the exact same player at Amazon.com for $74.99, including shipping. We did check Amazon and at one point this Blu-Ray for $74.99 was out of stock but you could still order it for that price. Also B & H photography online had the same Toshiba device for $74.99 with shipping and they had it in stock.
So after our research if you can get it at Best Buy on Black Friday for $39.99, it is a great price and you are saving almost 50 percent.
XBox 360
How about an Xbox 4GB with Kinect for under $200 ? Plus a $50 gift card and a Kinect adventures game.
This deal is a door buster at Wal-Mart .
We found the exact same bundle at Amazon.com for $297 with free shipping. Almost $100 more than the Walmart price. Factor in the free gift card and Walmart is the place to go for this deal.
On a side note, the Amazon deal on the Xbox keeps on changing. Last time we checked, this Xbox bundle fell to $270 . If you don’t get it at Wal-Mart you might want to keep on checking Amazon and other retailers for similar Xbox deals.
Camera
Next on the list of top deals is a Canon SX150 digital camera for $149. Best Buy , Office Max , Sears and Staples are all offering it for the same price. It normally retails for $249.
We found it for $198 on Amazon.com , so it appears the box stores have a good deal at $149. But in our opinion it may not be worth waiting in line. I think with Cyber Monday you may actually be able to get this camera for close to, if not better than $149.
Also be skeptical of these deals, just because a sale is not being touted as a Black Friday door buster does not mean there are not good deals going on right now.
For example, Edgar bought this deal to our attention: a 25.8 cubic feet French door, stainless steel refrigerator model by Frigidaire . It retails for $1700 and the best price I could find it for was around $1,400 . But you can get it for even less during these special holiday sales. It's on sale right now for $999 at Best Buy . This is one of the best deals anywhere and you don't even have to wait until Thursday night or fight the crowds!
Wal-Mart has a Wii Limited edition blue console being offered on Black Friday when they open at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night for $99.
If you want to get your hands on one for the same price we found it at Sam’s Club , which is owned by Walmart, but you do have to have a membership which will cost you $40. But they are selling for $99 and you can buy it now online, but you have to go in store to pick it up.
Bottom line: Black Friday's big doorbusters will save money compared to standard Amazon prices. But you have to decide if it is worth waiting in line and fighting for it, so you don't waste your money.
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