Black Friday is just a week away and many of the deals are appearing online. Some stores are opening as early as midnight to shoppers. Walmart is opening its doors at midnight to avoid a repeat of last year's Black Friday death. Here are some highlights of some of the offerings so far.
Black Friday Ads Chart: You can find links to the Black Friday ads in this handy chart on our sister site, shoppersshop.com.
Disney opens it stores at midnight. From midnight until 10 a.m. customers can get 20% off all items, including already discounted merchandise.
CNN's Clark Howard says shopping online is a more efficient use of your time.
The Christian Science Monitorsays retailers hope for wintry weather on Black Friday because it reminds people of the holidays. However, if it is too cold or really rainy or both it could make people not want to stand outside in a line.
Black Friday Dirty Secrets: Limited Quantities and Derivatives
CNN has an article here that discusses some of Black Friday's "dirty little secrets." CNN writes that retailers may only have limited quantities of the doorbusters they list in Black Friday circulars. Another issue is that some of the electronics doorbusters may lack features. Some doorbuster items are even specially made for Black Friday.
CNN/Money reports that some of the Sears doorbusters are available in limited quantities.
Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) has not officially revealed its Black Friday sales. However, the company confirmed to CNNMoney.com that two of its post-Thanksgiving deals include a Samsung 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $599.99, "Only while quantities last, minimum three per store, no rainchecks."
The other is a Kenmore 3.5-cubic-foot high-efficiency washer and 5.8-cubic foot dryer pair for $579.98, "Limit four per store, no rainchecks."
"Sure, you probably have more, but how do you put out a circular to millions of households and only have three?," Dworsky asked.
Most shoppers are aware there are limited quantities which is why there are people lining up early outside.
Another issue mentioned in the article are some doorbuster electronics sold on Black Friday that lack features. These are known as derivatives.
The difference can be subtle. "The image contrast ratio might be 20,000 in a derivative model versus 30,000 in a standard model," he said. "Most consumers probably won't even notice the difference."
A report earlier this month in Consumer Reports called attention to HDTV models from Samsung and Sony advertised in Black Friday deals that appear to be "derivatives." The report said these one-off TVs "with unfamiliar model numbers" are usually cheaper than the standard model in their class.
Some may not mind if they buy a tv or blu-ray player is a derivative if the price is great but the CNN/Money article says retailers don't always advertise that the product is a derivative. This is unfair to consumers who might think they are buying something better than they are. A couple other Black Friday shopping woes mentioned in the article are online deals that never get shipped and in-store rainchecks that turn out to be an empty promise. The main issue consumers should watch out for are the limited amounts of doorbuster items and the derivative electronics.
There are a few retailers that offer breakfast to early shoppers on Black Friday. IKEA is one of them. IKEA is running its Seize the Days sale over Black Friday weekend, November 27th to November 29th. They will serve breakfast in the morning until 10:30 am.
Some of the deals include a Lleksvik coffee table for $59, a 20-piece Charmig flatware set for $9.99, a Bekvam kitchen cart for $19.99 and a Leksvik cd tower for $29. You can also find the IKEA Black Friday deals here and here.
Toys R Us Stores to Open at Midnight on Black Friday With Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters
Toys R Us announced it will be opening its stores on Midnight on Black Friday. Stores will stay open for two hours for Midnight shoppers. They have deals that being at midnight and another round of deals that begins at 5 a.m..
Toys R Us promises to have some of the hot Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters toys available. They will be handing tickets out so people can purchase one of the robotic hamsters. Toys R Us says the first 100 customers in line at their local Toys R Us store on Black Friday will each be given a ticket for the opportunity to purchase a Zhu Zhu Pet. They also say "thousands of additional Zhu Zhu Pets" will be made available in Toys R Us stores on Friday. Toys R Us also says more will arrive in Decemeber.
Toys R Us provided this sample of some of the deals and doorbusters beginning at Midnight on November 26th and run until 1 p.m. on Black Friday, November 27th.
Free $50 Gift Card with the purchase of any iPod touch
Buy 1 Get 2 free on all Batman Dark Knight 6" Action Figures
Two Bakugan Season 2 Booster Packs for Only $7.99
Save $200 on Furreal FriendsS S'mores Pony - Was: $299.99; Now: $99.99
Save $80 on Little Tikes Jump 'n Slide Bouncer - Was: $229.99; Now: $149.99
Save $60 on Step2 Neat & Tidy Cottage - Was: $159.99; Now: $99.99
65% Off Sleeping Beauty Styling Head Vanity - Was: $69.98; Now: $24.49
50% Off Vtech Learning Laptop - Was: $29.99; Now: $14.99
50% Off Nextar 2GB MP3 Player with Video - Was: $34.99; Now: $17.49
This list is a sample of Toys R Us deals that will begin at 5 a.m. on Black Friday and run until 1 p.m.
Save $100 on 12' Trampoline and Enclosure - Was: $279.99; Now: $179.99
Save $75 on Razor E300 Scooter - Was: $249.99; Now: $174.99
Save $60 on Flexible Flyer Kingston Swingset - Was: $159.99; Now: $99.99
Save $50 on New! Harley Davidson Rocker Ride-On - Was: $149.99; Now: $99.99
Save $50 on Coby 7" Portable DVD Player - Was: $99.99; Now: $49.99
Save $30 on Avigo Street Style/Spectrum 20" Bikes - Was: $79.99 (each); Now: $49.99 (each)
60% Off Star Wars Clone Trooper Blaster Game - Was: $49.99; Now: $19.98
O
ver 55% Off DS Guitar Hero On Tour/Decades 2-Pack Bundle - Was: $69.99; Now: $29.99
50% Off You & Me Little Twins - Was: $34.99; Now: $17.99
50% Off Select Wii Fit Accessories
50% Off Bakugan BakuBowl - Was: $26.99; Now: $13.49
Toys R Us will also be giving away 250,000 Crayola 64 Boxes with any purchase on Black Friday, along with access to receive an $18 Crayola coupon.
Toysus.com says visitors its Facebook page can access a special Toys"R"Us Black Friday application and submit an RSVP to receive a special sneak peek, on Monday, November 23 at 12:01am, of its in-store Black Friday deals. Toysrus.com will preview 100 "Mystery Deals" in-store deals beginning Wednesday, November 25 at 12:01am.
Before the Black Friday ads started to appear there was speculation that Black Friday prices on Blu-ray players would dip below the $99 mark. A $49 Blu-ray player was even though to be possible. As it turns out there are several Black Friday Blu-ray players selling under the $99 mark. Here is a short list of the low-priced players offers so far.
Walmart: Magnavox NB500MG1F Blu-ray deck, $78
Meijer: Sylvania Blu-ray deck, $89
Best Buy: Insignia NS-BRDVD3 Blu-ray player, $99
AAFES: Sharp BD-HP2310U, $99
Yahoo Tech says the possibility of a $49 deal is still in the cards.
The lower priced tech items offered on Black Friday are sometimes missing features. VideoBusiness.com notes that the Insignia blu-ray player Best Buy is selling is web-enabled whereas the low-priced Magnavox and Sylvania players that Wal-Mart and Meijer are offering are not. You can read more articles about Black Friday Blu-ray offers here and here.
Update 11-20-09: Crave reports that Vizzio is selling one of its blu-ray players for $99.
Leaked Apple Black Friday Ad Contains Good Deals But Could Be Fake
One of the big Black Friday rumors spreading right now is the leaked Apple Black Friday ad that Boy Genius Report first posted yesterday. Since then discussion of the ad has spread around the tech blogosphere. No one has been able to confirm the ad is real so far. If the ad is legit then the deals are very good for people interested in purchasing Apple products aside from the iPhone.
Up to 30 percent off all iPods (excluding the iPhone and iPod shuffle)
Up to 25 percent off all Macs
Up to 15 percent off all accessories, Apple software and Apple hardware
The ads also says in-store gift wrapping is available and says Apple stores open at 6 a.m. Apple has not confirmed or denied whether the ad is real so Apple fans probably shouldn't get too excited yet. Last year some Apple Black Friday rumors turned out to be false and the discounts were not as big as some people had been hoping.
CNN reports that data from Truecar.com indicates that Black Friday is the best day to buy a car. Truecar.com's data shows that the average car discount on Black Friday is 7.5%. Jesse Toprak, an analyst for Truecar.com, told CNN, "The discounts from dealerships, as well as manufacturers' incentives, generate the highest discounts of the year on Black Friday."
Unlike typical Black Friday sales where customers know exactly what they'll pay for an item, car prices are individually negotiated the day of the sale, so it's difficult for customers to know ahead of time they'll be getting a deal. But there's been a clear trend, Toprak said.
The average new car discount on Nov. 27 is projected to be 7.5%. The average discount the day before and after is expected to be just over 6%. On a typical day throughout the year, car shoppers usually pay about 4.7% less than the sticker price.
Truecar.com projected particularly large Black Friday discounts on certain models. For instance, consumers should be able to pay about 28% off sticker price for a 2009 Suzuki SX4 compact car, 26% off for a 2009 Nissan Titan or Ford F-150 pick-up or 20% off a 2009 Hyundai Sonata sedan.
The deals are good but they are also the kind that have to be negotiated. Consider taking someone who is good at negotiating with you if you are inexperienced. Truecar.com has a good article about negotiating car deals at the dealership here.
Target Lures Shoppers With $3 Toasters on Black Friday
CNN reports that some of Target's Black Friday offers include $3 toasters and coffeemakers.
Target is hoping to lure this year's Black Friday shoppers with $3 toasters and coffeemakers, deep deals on high-definition televisions, and discounts of 50% on clothes and toys, according to a Web site that says it has received a leaked copy of the retailer's circular.
Brad Olson, founder of Gottadeal.com, a Web site that markets itself as one of many "official" Black Friday deal sites, said Wednesday that he received a copy of the discount retailer's ad.
The $3 kitchen appliances in Target Black Friday ads are from Chefmate. They include a Chefmate 2-Slice Toaster, Chefmate Slow Cooker, Chefmate 12-Cup Coffeemaker and Chefmate 2-Slice Sandwich Maker. BFads.net has a photo showing the $3 appliances advertised. Another Doorbuster in the Target ads is a Westinghouse 32-inch LCD HDTV for $246 and a TomTom GPS for $97. Target is also offering a free gift card worth $10 if you spend $100 or more at its stores from 5 a.m. to noon on Black Friday.
You can see Target's ads at GottaDeal, BlackFriday.info and other sites carrying Black Friday ads. A chart here has links to several of the Black Friday ad providers.
A Target spokeswoman told CNN they won't confirm the ads. Target spokeswoman Sarah Boehle says Target "is unable to confirm the accuracy of any [Black Friday] two-day ads or pricing information that is posted online."
Disney Stores to Open at Midnight for Black Friday
The Disney Store plans to open more than 125 stores nationwide at midnight on Black Friday, November 27th. From midnight until 10 a.m. customers can get 20% off all items, including already discounted merchandise. Disney has also released a list of most wanted holiday toys called the Disney Dozen, which it is selling for under $25. The list includes the Disney Princess Tiana Classic Doll from the Disney film, The Princess and the Frog.
Here are some of the other discounts the Disney Store is offering on Black Friday.
Special one-day pricing on great gifts include:
$5 deals: graphic character tee shirts (regular price $9.50), holiday ornaments (regular price $9.50 each) and character mugs (regular price $8.50)
$10 deals: Classic Disney Princess dolls (regular pricing $16.50 each), favorite Disney plush characters (regular price $14.50-$16.50) and colorful fleece throws (regular price $19.50)
$15 deals: a Disney-Pixar Cars' Lightning McQueen Runaway Racer (regular price $29.50), Toy Story Talking Buzz and Woody Deluxe Action Figures (regular price $24.50 each) and a Disney Princess Glamour Case (regular price $19.50), perfect for stashing princess jewels and other necessities.
Select Disney Princess and Disney/Pixar's Cars product $20-40 off during Black Friday weekend only include:
Disney Princess Darlings Castle, $49.50 (regular price $79.50)
Classic Disney Princess Dolls 8 Piece Gift Set, $69.50 (regular price $99.50)
Those rushing to malls and stores early on Black Friday should expect bigger crowds than last year. Reuters reports that a study conducated by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs found 16% of people will begin shopping the day after Thanksgiving this year. That percentage is higher than any of the previous three holiday seasons.
Some 16 percent of respondents said they'd begin their holiday shopping the day after U.S. Thanksgiving this year, up from 10 percent in 2007 and 2008 and an earlier high of 13 percent in 2006, according to a holiday spending survey from the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs.
Reuters notes that the ICSC has been more bullish than other holiday shopping forecasters this year.
The ICSC has forecast holiday sales to rise about 1 percent to 2 percent this year in one of the more bullish predictions.
"ICSC Research thinks the holiday spending performance will be better than these pre-season consumer expectations, which is often the case following business cycle turning points in the economy," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's director of research and chief economist, in a statement.
The ICSC Research could be wrong. The economy has not turned around from a consumer's perspective. Layoffs are still increasing and salaries and bonuses have not increased. The stock market has climbed some since the beginning of the year which could make some consumers with larger portfolios less nervous about spending more this holiday season.
Walmart to Let Customers Stay Inside Stores Overnight For Black Friday
Bloombergreports that Walmart plans to leave many of its stores open after the 11pm closing time on Black Friday eve. This way customers will already be inside when Black Friday begins at 5 a.m. It is an attempt by Walmart to avoid a repeat of last year's unnecessary death of a Walmart employee.
Most of those stores will remain open after their regular closing hour of 11 p.m., allowing customers to remain inside to wait for the "Black Friday" special prices that start at 5 a.m., David Tovar, a company spokesman, said today in a telephone interview.
Walmart, the world's largest retailer, developed plans for each of its stores to manage the flow of customers as they get in, seek discounted merchandise, check out and leave on "Black Friday." The store in Valley Stream, New York, where Jdimytai Damour, a temporary worker, was trampled on Nov. 28, 2008, is among those staying open overnight, Tovar said.
"We would anticipate not having these long lines outside the stores," Tovar said from Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart is based. The company's 2,705 supercenters, which sell general merchandise and groceries, already operate 24 hours a day.
Walmart had promised safety improvements following last year's tragedy. This plan should keep people from lining up outside Walmart supercenters early in the morning. However, Walmart will still have to keep enough employees inside its store to maintain crowd control. It is a long time to keep people waiting inside your store.
Black Friday is on Friday, November 27th so people who want to be first at Walmart for Black Friday deals will need to arrive at the store late on Thursday, November 26th.
Best Buy is offering a Black Friday VIP contest to shoppers in 25 cities. To enter shoppers have to write a short 250 words or less essay about what they are most excited about this Black Friday. Best Buy ran a similar contest last year. Pictured above is one of last year's winners arriving at a Best Buy on Black Friday, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.
One winner from each of the 25 eligible markets will win a $1,000 Best Buy Gift Card. They will also win VIP treatment, which Best Buy describes as "a limousine ride to and from the designated Best Buy store, special seating outside for the winner and three special guests, and early admittance into the store at 4:30 a.m." Each winner will also receive an Insignia Digital Camcorder to document their experience. Details and rules can be found at bestbuyvipcontest.com. The participating markets include: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, DC.
Best Buy is also offering prizes to people who are the first in line at its stores in the 25 markets mentioned above. Mystery gift cards ranging in value from $5 to $25 (and one worth $100) will be distributed to the first 50 people in line on Black Friday morning.
$99 Blu-ray Players Likely on Black Friday; $49 Deal a Possibility
Last year the lowest Blu-ray player available on Black Friday was around $149 and this was for an off-brand unit. Video Business has an article that says this year Blu-ray players will dip much lower. Ross Rubin, NPD director of industry analysis, tells Video Business that $99 Blu-ray deals are likely and a $49 Black Friday Blu-ray player deal is "conceivable."
"The streaming products have been popular where they've accounted for a greater portion of the Blu-ray player units sold," added Rubin.
With mass pricing already dipping to below $200 on brand-name models, Rubin doesn't think it is out of the question to see $49 Blu-ray player offers around Black Friday.
"It's conceivable we could see a $49 Blu-ray player on Black Friday, but I think we'll see more $99 deals," said Rubin. "Anything is possible."
Another Video Businessstory about Blu-ray Black Friday deals says Sears Black Friday deals which leaked promise Sony and Samsung Blu-ray models for $149. The article says several industry insiders expect retailers to offer $99 players from major brands.
Sears is starting its Black Friday deals early. They will offer them weekly with layaway options starting Saturday, Oct. 31, and continuing every Saturday until Christmas. A sample of Sears "Black Friday Now" deals for Saturday, October 31st include:
50 percent off (save $200) Craftsman? 302-piece mechanic's tool sets
$174.19 (reg. $259.99) 7 1/2 ft. Wakefield Christmas tree with 700 Never
Out(TM) clear or multi lights
50 percent off all DieHard workboots (reg. $75.00) and $19.99 (reg.
$39.99) on all Covington low-shaft boots
$399.99 closeout (reg. $699.99) ProForma XP elliptical 16-in stride
length
All of Sears "Black Friday Now" events will occur on Saturdays from 7 a.m. until
12 p.m. local time except for this week. Due to Halloween, doorbusters will
start on Friday (Oct. 30) at 5 p.m. as a preview event through Saturday 12
p.m. local time.
On Nov. 7th, as part of "Black Friday Now" deals, Sears will exclusively offer a 42" Zenith Plasma TV for only $499 (reg. $649.99). Customers can pre-order this great deal as of Oct. 29 on Sears.com - see here.
The above information was gleamed from a Sears press release. There are also websites saying Sears ads for Black Friday, November 27th have leaked - see here, here and here. The leaked ads are probably legit since it sounds like Sears had a very comprehensive Black Friday strategy with its "Black Friday Now" deals. However, retailers can always change Black Friday ads and the actual Blacky Friday deals may be different from what you found on the Black Friday websites and forums.
Black Friday Online Offers Likely to Expand in 2009
The Yahoo Advertising Blog reports that Black Friday is becoming a lot like Cyber Monday when it comes to online deals and sales. They say, "Black Friday is the New Cyber Monday." Yahoo writes, "When compared with the average day in November, Black Friday showed a 147% increase in conversions, while Cyber Monday had a 73% increase in conversions."
The report showed that not only is Cyber Monday still a top online shopping day, but that the traditional offline shopping day Black Friday also proved to be a significant day for online sales conversions. In fact, online retailers experienced a greater percentage increase in conversions on Black Friday than they did on Cyber Monday.
Those shopping online last year likely noticed that there were many online offers on Black Friday as well as the bargains in bricks and mortar stores. Some retailers also started online deals on Black Friday that stretched through Monday. The trend will probably continue this year with Black Friday becoming an even bigger online event. The online deals offered on Black Friday won't completely drown out Cyber Monday though. The National Retail Federation owns the popular CyberMonday.com destination which lists Cyber Monday offers. They will continue to promote the site and encourage retailers to list deals and promotions. Cyber Monday also works better for online shopping for a lot of people than Black Friday or the weekend because they can shop from their desks at work following the Thanksgiving holiday. For this reason alone Cyber Monday won't fade away anytime soon.
Black Friday is just a week away and many of the deals are appearing online. Some stores are opening as early as midnight to shoppers. Walmart is opening its doors at midnight to avoid a repeat of last year's Black Friday death. Here are some highlights of some of the offerings so far.
There are a few retailers that offer breakfast to early shoppers on Black Friday. IKEA is one of them. IKEA is running its 
Toys R Us announced it will be opening its stores on Midnight on Black Friday. Stores will stay open for two hours for Midnight shoppers. They have deals that being at midnight and another round of deals that begins at 5 a.m..
CNN 
Bloomberg 
Sears is starting its Black Friday deals early. They will offer them weekly with layaway options starting Saturday, Oct. 31, and continuing every Saturday until Christmas. A sample of Sears "Black Friday Now" deals for Saturday, October 31st include:
