len_mullen

We're all so spoiled. Before BF the deals we scoff at were unheard of. My house is full of AWESOME toys that were purchased on BF or in pre-emptive sales. I probably won't go out this year (we have at least two of everything), but I am reaping the benefits of this promotion. This morning I installed two $60 2t disks in my PC. Just a couple hours ago I saw 26" lcds for <$200. Who thinks getting BF prices EVERY day is a bad thing? Not me. Happy Holidays!

This would make my Christmas merry... Sears Panasonic 46" 720p Plasma HDTV $499.99

walgreens has a sony for $99.99

I have had a couple rug cleaners. I even had one repaired twice. Then we bought a rug doctor. It's the last cleaner you will ever buy. Get it on sale with a 30% off coupon. I'm a cheapskate and highly recommend this expensive cleaner.

It costs me about $12 per month to run my 50" plasma. Whether I could run an LCD for $8 less is not an issue for me in the grand scheme of things. http://www.crutchfield.com/learn/learningcenter/home/TV-power.html

i'm keeping an eye on walmart this year. Not so much for in store shopping as for site-to-store deals. 11/15 shopdiscover rates double, so that zune i cought could fetch me another ten bucks. if you are looking for a deal on a tv, that may be the way to go.

I've had my 50" plasma for two years and have four inexpensive LCDs in other rooms. I did a lot of research when I was in the market and collected information and links here. If you are shopping for a big tv, do some planning. Figure out how big a set you need. There are guides, but just cut our a piece of cardboard the size of the tv and try to place it in your room. How far you sit from the set and the size of the screen will help you decide between 720p and 1080p. At six feet, you cannot distinguish a 720p 50" plasma from a 1080p 50" plasma. Your viewing habits and domain will help you choose the correct technology. If your room is generally lit during viewing -- either by windows or from, say, an adjacent kitchen -- lcd/led may be best for you. If you sit at wide angles from the tv, plasma is going to look better. If you watch a lot of fast action programming (hockey, The Transporter), most LEDs and LCDs still have problems. How big a problem varies from set to set, so just be sure to watch this programming on any set you are interested in. Once you have all this figured out, go shopping. Look at a lot of TVs. Don't stand a foot away unless that is how you watch tv. Stand off to the side and see how much the image fades at the angles you will be watching (not a big deal in my living room, but my desk is below and to the right of the set in my bedroom and the lcd fades at that angle). Watch movies and sports. Make a list of all the TVs you really like and set a price ceiling. Search bargain sites for best deals on these sets. Past deals will help you predict future deals. Pay attention to credit card and cash back opportunities (some cards double warranty and discover card is doubling cash back for the Christmas season). When a good deal on one of the sets you like pops up, buy it. Bring it home and set it up. This will be the first time you really know how big a set you need if angles and lighting will affect your viewing experience. Be careful with the packaging in case you have to return the TV. Once you are happy just watch for pricematch/adjustment opportunities. Plasma still looks best and you can get a 50" 720p for $500 on a regular basis these days. If you can dim your room, this will be the best viewing experience from six feet to ten feet. This is not opinion, it's fact. There are two reasons plasma looks better: 1) the dots that make up the screen are soft so you do not see jagged edges and the transition between colors is smoother, and 2) pixels can be completely off (vs blocked for LCD), so blacks are blacker. LCD has less problems with reflections, but does not look as good and has issues with viewing angle. LED is just a LCD with an LED backlight. The plus is that pixels can get darker. The frequency for these sets matter, but you cannot assume a higher number means a better picture. Tv signal is delivered at 30 frames per second and movies are filmed at 24 frames per second. If you are watching a movie on a 240hz set, you are seeing the same image refreshed ten times vs five for a 120hz vs two for a 60hz set. What matters is what happens between frames. The sets load two frames then guess at what happened between these frames and fill the extra frames with altered images. If the tech is good, you see an improved image. I have seen very good implementations. I have also noticed that not all programming is improved the same. Bottom line: if you are a hockey nut and want an LED, go watch some hockey on the set. If it looks good to you, that's all that matters. You need at least 120hz for 3D tv/gaming.

I would dress as Big Jim Slade just to see if anyone recognized me.

1) Waka waka waka waka waka waka... 2) It's even more fun when you plug it in 3) ...and the bartender says, "Hey buddy, Why the Long Face?"

I really want to buy one of these. Blue is my favorite color. But I kind of feel like I'm buying a trophy I should have won. I have 18 hours to wrestle with my conscience...

wake up sleepy head retailers need your money to end months of red

10/25/2010 Harbor Freight

This is easy -- although it happened Thanksgiving morning. Our K-mart was supposed to start BF on turkey day, so I soldiered out with my list and waited in line. When they let us in the store was a disaster. It turned out that they put the specials out Wednesday because we were close to the Massachusetts line and Massachusetts stores were not going to be open Thanksgiving. There were no deals and no rainchecks. Haven't stepped in the store since.

My favorite BF purchase remains my Navigon 2100t. Waited in line for three hours for that. Biggest savings on a single item was the generator I picked up at Home Depot last year (dropped a Lowe's moving coupon on them to sweeten the deal).

Black Friday puts me in the mood for egg nog.

The answer is probably yes. The question is, do you really want a $99 netbook? For most people, I think the answer is no. Right now, you can get a Win7/10hr netbook at Staples with a trade in. This is much better for most people than the $100 toys. I'm hoping these come down to $200 for BF.

I don't know, princess, but there is not enough savings out there for me (and I'm a guy) to put a child (born or unborn) at risk. I didn't offer to take my oldest until he was fifteen. You can talk about rights and fairness, but I see a little kid freezing and getting pressed in a crowd then waiting in line for hours on end. Find a relative or friend or do BF online.

Staples has great deals on BF. The lines are reasonable and they have a lot of stock, so BF is a great day to replenish -- media, thumb drives, disks, and the perennial laminator. I got a great deal on a generator at Home Depot last year. Kohls and Walmart have a lot of great deals on small ticket items (clothes, DVDs, kids toys). I haven't seen outstanding deals on doorbusters, though. Most times these deals can be had before BF for a price close enough to keep me from camping out. Last time I camped out (and it was just a couple hours) was for a GPS.

BL, you should be shopping ALL THE TIME. Make a list of stuff you want. Research the items and update your list to include brand/model information. Watch sales for 'best prices' and promotions. When a good price pops, grab it. Continue to watch prices until price match/return period expires. During the summer of 2008, we decided to get the kids a PS3. In August, chase started running a promotion where you got $150 off a qualifying purchase when you opened an account. The wife and I each opened one and we got the console for $250 plus $310 in games for $160. Nothing better than that through Christmas and even during the after sales. I got the console around labor day and it looked like crap on my Sony 36" SDTV, so we started looking for a high def set. I had done a lot of research by the end of September when this ($977.98 - $48.00 Discover CashBack bonus - $20 BestBuy Rewards certificate = $909.98.) popped up. I ordered immediately and scheduled an October delivery 1) so I could cancel if I didn't like the set once I saw it in a store, and 2) to extend my return period until after the BF ads were out. That same year, I got two 26" LCDs on sale at BestBuy and pricematched twice to better deals before Christmas. Last year, we decided to get 32" LCDs for the kids. I decided on the Vizio VO320e (consumer reports et al) and jumped on a pair from Sears at $325. Shortly after, Best Buy offered the DX-32L130A10 for $299.99. Minus 10% Shop Discover discount and 2% in rewards from Best Buy and 1% from Discover card, I decided to get a pair to compare. Side-by-side, my wife (unaware of cost) picked the Dynex, so I returned the Vizios and bought two more Dynex sets. Later, BB ran a sale for $279.99 and cheerfully refunded $80 to my card. My final out of pocket was ~$244 -- which is still tough to beat. It's great to shop BF and clearance, but there is a lot of competition and limited selection. Start shopping and researching now so you are prepared to take advantage of great deals that just pop up. Also, know the return/rebuy, pricematch, and restocking policies of your retailers -- these are part of the deal. Happy shopping!

Home Depot. I didn't plan on going out at all, but I woke up early and decided to swing by Staples for the 1t disks. I figured I'd stick my head in Walmart at the same time and cut through Home Depot since it was raining. They had 5500 watt generators for $499 and transfer switches for $299 and accepted my Lowes mover. For just over $700, I have heat and hot showers plus cold food and a full kitchen with we lost our power. This was my best stop last year.

My favorite scenario goes like this... 1) spend turkey day at the inlaws (so we don't have to go there for xmas) 2) early exit because of BF 3) pack for a weekend while putting finishing touches on my list 4) in line at the best local store by 4:00am 5) return home flush with savings around 11:00am 6) on the road to Jefferson, NH by 1:00pm 7) checked in and sitting poolside by 4:00pm 8) dinner then a couple hours at Santa's Village 9) early breakfast and Saturday morning swim 10) a day of fun at Santas's Village 11) leisurely checkout after swim and breakfast 12) Sunday afternoon of football and looking over my BF loot If that doesn't put you in the mood for Christmas, nothing will!

Last two years I have had most of my Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving. Research-shop-buy-pricematch-return-save. It's the most wonderful time of the year and I have been waiting for the forums to re-open. Thank you! Last year, I decided to sleep in, but woke up and changed my mind. Grabbed some stuff and Staples and cut through Home Depot on the way to Walmart (it was raining) where I discovered an unadvertised deal on a generator and transfer switch. Ended up hitting all the locals and spending more than expected. I have no idea what to get the kids this year, so I will be looking for good ideas from the community. Son, 17, goes to college in 13 months and son, 13, is a boy scout. S17 has been cleaning and repairing a spare bedroom over the summer and I was thinking I could help him 'dorm' it up. S13 would be thrilled with some high end gear now that he is spending more time in the woods. I think tablets/pads will be THE BF2010 toy. Other than that, wii/ps3 accessories/games and clothes. I'm also looking for universal remotes for four rooms. We added insignia netflix enabled BD players to the LCDs we bought last year and remote clutter is becoming an issue. Recommendations are welcome.

Kohls is definately one of my shopping destinations. Their stores are clean and organized. You do not have to carry their card to use it. They have great sales and promotions. They have perfectly synergized their online and B&M operations to provide me with B&M convenience plus online discounts.

this morning found me in Home Depot (Plaistow, NH) and Walmart (also Plaistow). Home Depot was business as usual. Walmart was a disaster. They were stocking, moving, and re-organizing. They still had a lot of Magnavox BD players (at a much higher price), but I couldn't find an Emerson TV.

(Figuratively speaking) We've been hearing about retailers keeping inventories under control. I saw pictures of the 'Christmas Fleet' anchored off of China this summer. The media has been warning of lack of selection and merchandise this year. I didn't believe this...until last night. I returned two TVs to Sears and picked up two at Best Buy. At Sears, they took my merchandise and gave me a voucher to redeem for a refund inside the store. I went to the TV register which was well staffed and not too busy. I talked to a pair that was staring at a computer screen. They were checking national inventories for a reasonable substitute for a 42" Sony that a customer wanted. When they heard I had returned TVs, they wanted to know which model. Off to Best Buy. Very busy for a Monday in November, I thought. I was picking up a pair of the 32" Dynex sets that I ordered online. I was there over an hour while they looked for my set. That they had to look for my sets surprised me. When I was in the store before BF, these things were stacked on skids throughout the store. For people still shopping, what are you seeing in the stores? Are the stores busy? Are the shelves stocked? I was shopping in Salem New Hampshire.