October 2011

ToysRUs Black Friday 2011 Sale launches at 10pm Thanksgiving Day

Like last year ToysRUs will open most stores again at 10pm Thanksgiving Day for their Black Friday sale. As reported Target is opening this year their stores at midnight and so does Macy's. Walmart will again not close their stores between Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Here we have another guide for Black Friday shoppers. We already featured a report that debunked Black Friday Myths and now GottaDeal offers advice in the shape of Black Friday Do's and Don'ts.

The Black Friday Do's include "DO try to make a schedule of stores, but realize that schedule is likely to fall apart during the course of the day. Stores are opening as early as Thursday night, so determine the best itinerary so you can get to each store as soon as possible. "

The Black Friday Don'ts include "DON'T commit any of the common Black Friday "sins" - skipping lines, pushing people to get by them, stealing items from the carts of others or being disrespectful. Everyone is looking to get what they want - act like adults!"

We already reported that Target will open its stores at midnight following Thanksgiving. Now department store Macy's also says to open its stores at midnight. Usually Macy's opened at 4am on Black Friday. More details in this AP story.

It looks like this is going to be a wider trend to open stores at midnight for the Black Friday sales. This way customers do not have to camp outside in the cold and can already get into the stores midnight for their Black Friday shopping.

Update:
Macy's just unveiled 15 of their Black Friday 2011 deals.

As noted by our parent site I4U News, retailers are reluctant to start Black Friday Sales early this year. We have seen the first Tiger Direct Black Friday 2011 Sale starting on Friday and now we also found out that Zales, The Diamond Store, has launched an Early Black Friday sale ending on Thursday. This early Black Friday 2011 sale features jewelry features several pendants including crosses up to 40% off.

Visit this page on Zales.com to see all featured deals. Zales will continue to offer early Black Friday deals on each Friday until Thanksgiving.

$149 32GB HP TouchPad on Sale at Best Buy when you buy a HP Computer

Best Buy announced to sell the 32GB HP TouchPad when you purchase a HP or Compaq computer for the fire sale price of $149.99. This announcement comes at the heals of HP saying that there will be no more $99 HP TouchPad tablets available from HP.

Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 1 on BestBuy.com and in-store Nov. 4, you can get the HP TouchPad for the low, low price of $149.99 with the purchase of an HP or Compaq Laptop, Desktop or All-in-One computer.

More details on BestBuy.com.

Groupon kills Black Friday?

Are Group Buying services like Groupon kill Black Friday? This is what a new study from Retrovo tries to find out. Group buying sites offer great deals all year long with discounts around 50%.

According to Manish Rathi, Retrevo.com's co-founder and vice president of marketing, "It's hard for today's retailers to make their Black Friday deals stand out when shoppers have been getting significant discounts throughout the year." Rathi adds, "This new subculture of deal addicts isn't easy to please, and they're willing to hold on to their money until the right deal comes along. We are concerned about the average retailer's ability to provide high caliber deals this Black Friday and even the rest of the year to satisfy this emerging subculture of deal addicts."

The survey says that group buyers expect at least 50% off to find a deal as good. I do not use Groupon or others, but I also like to see 50% off deals. It really depends though what the product is. An Apple product for instance will never be 50% off, not even in group buying services. I agree that Group buying is changing expectations. Retailers need to be aware of that. Luke warm rebates are not going to drive sales on Black Friday.

Black Friday Myths Debunked!

If you are new to the Black Friday shopping madness you should read a report from Dealnews that debunks 15 Black Friday Myths.

The report provides answers to questions like "Is Black Friday the busiest shopping day of the year?" or "Is it worth while sleeping overnight on a curb on Black Friday to be first inside a store?"

Several listed Black Friday myths are obvious, but some are very valuable to keep in mind even for experienced Black Friday shoppers. A lot of Black Friday sales are smoke and mirrors. This is where we come in to provide you with guidance and analysis of the Black Friday deals and point you to the best one here on Black Friday Countdown and on or in-depth Black Friday Coverage on I4U News.

Kmart is launching their Holiday sales this Sunday. Kmart does not call this sale yet Better Than Black Friday as they did last year. Next weekend Kmart is going to host a 2-Day Online Only Sale and on Sunday November 6 follows a 1-Day Family & Friends Event. So Kmart is either launching their Better Than Black Friday sales events closer to the actual Black Friday (November 25) or they will just do Holiday sales until the Black Friday sales week.

Below are several Kmart Coupon codes you want to use to save extra on the Kmart Holiday Sale starting this Sunday October 30.

Kmart Holiday Toy Catalog 2011 leaked

Enter the 500 item Kmart Toy Catalog that just appeared early on BFAds. The Kmart Holiday Toy Catalog 2011 will though already be arriving this weekend in your mail as the catalog prices are valid from October 30 onward to November 23.

There are actually not many real deals in the Kmart toy catalog, but you get a great overview on what toys are available. This is similar to the ToysRUs Great Big Toy Book, but ToysRUs has a bit more deals already in that catalog.

Both catalogs are expiring two days before Black Friday (November 25).

Kmart is actually launching their first Holiday Sale.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think. Expect the first Black Friday 2011 sales to start on October 28 online. Stay up to date on the latest Black Friday news via Twitter an Facebook.

No Black Friday 2011 Hard-drive Deals because of Shortage?

The extreme floods in Thailand have a dramatic impact on the world-wide hard-drive supply (HDD). Analysts and even Apple have already warned that the flood will cause an unknown impact on HDD supply. According to HotHardware, Thailand is the second-largest manufacturer of HDDs. The Thailand natural catastrophe also impacts HDD factories in other countries as HDD components are made in Thailand. A company called Nidec for instance supplies 70-80% of HDD motors.

The retailers start to react too. NewEgg has now a purchase limit of 1 HDD per customer. We are basically just days away from the start of the Black Friday 2011 Sales season. If the situation is not dramatically changing in Thailand in the next one or two weeks than there will be now Black Friday deals on hard-drives this year.

Layaway Programs Compared

Because of the still struggling economy and the high unemployment rate, Layaway programs are very popular again. As reported Walmart has brought back Layaway again this year. Besides Walmart other large retailers like Sears, Kmart, ToysRUs and Best Buy offer Layaway too for the Holidays.

All these Layaway differ though in how they work and what products you can apply layaway too. Kelly Whalen over at Centsiblelife posted a great comparison chart between the different Layaway programs. Kmart and Sears offer clearly the most flexible and comprehensive layaway.

A week ago we carried a rumor that Target will implement a new crowd control measure on Black Friday 2011. This rumor turned out to be true. According to the World-Herald, Target will let only 30 people in at a time every 15 to 20 seconds. It is likely that all Target Stores across the Nation will adopt this new Black Friday crowd control procedure, but it it up to the store to decide.
As the pace for letting the groups of shoppers in is pretty fast, I think that this is actually not bad at all. I still like though Walmart's Black Friday crowd control better. Walmart is just keeping the store open from Thanksgiving to Black Friday. You can wait inside the store in front of the stations selling the item you want.
Target announced that they will open at midnight following Thanksgiving for the Target Black Friday 2011 in-store sale.

See also this Target Black Friday 2011 Ad prediction to get in the mood for the Target Black Friday 2011 Sale.

While the first Black Friday 2011 Ads have already leaked we are still weeks away from the reveal of the most anticipated Black Friday Ads from retailers including Walmart, Best Buy and Target. Our parent site I4U News has over the last days published Black Friday 2011 Ad predictions for the most anticipated ads and sales. For starters you should though review the Black Friday deal highlights from last year. This is the best start to get a feel what deals you can expect on Black Friday 2011.

Like every year TVs are of dominant in the Black Friday Ads. What will be new this year are tablet deals. Video game hardware will be big again and of course many retailers will try to offer great deals on Apple products. The stand out Black Friday 2011 deals will be likely again bargain 32-inch HDTV, bargain 1080p HDTV, sub-$200 Laptops. In the tablet sector we already have seen a leaked deal for a $49.99 Android Tablet, expect more hot tablet deals this Black Friday sales season.

Coupons are becoming more and more common. Target is to unleash a whole book of toy coupons for Holiday toy shopping. The coupon book features 48 coupons and they are valid until November 23. The whole 7-page Target Coupon Book ad got published on BFAds.
I assume Target will publish the Toy Coupon Book and wish-list book soon.

Coupons offered save you $5 on Fijit Friends and Let's Rock Elmo. The Xbox 360 and the LeapFrog Leapster Explorer System coupons save $10. Target also has a section on their site listing all current coupons.

RadioShack Black Friday 2011 Deals Leaked

Today a Black Friday 2011 ad leaked from one of the retailers interesting for electronics deals. BFAds published a list of deals that are supposed to be featured in the upcoming RadioShack Black Friday 2011 Ad. There are no scans of the ad available just an itemized list of deals.

This makes it harder to verify that these deals are legit. BFAds is though confident in their source.

ToysRUs announced it will once again offer 10% back on purchases made by new and current members of its loyalty program, RewardsRUs, this holiday season. Beginning Sunday, October 30 through Christmas Eve, RewardsRUs members can earn 10% back in RUs Dollars for every dollar spent on qualifying purchases. Customers who spend $500 or more will earn the maximum reward of $50 in “R”Us Dollars.

Members can participate in this special promotion by presenting their loyalty card at any ToysRUs store nationwide or entering their loyalty number online at Toysrus.com or Babiesrus.com.

Best Buy announced that they will offer free shipping on everything sold on bestbuy.com. Beginning Nov. 1, 2011 and running through Dec. 27, 2011 you receive free standard shipping and there is no minimum purchase required like on Amazon. Best Buy offers over 400,000 products in their online shop.

This is a great move from Best Buy to prepare to better compete with Amazon during the crucial Black Friday and Holiday shopping season. You can watch Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn below announcing the free shipping on everything.

Back in September we already predicted that the first Black Friday 2011 Sales would launch on Friday, October 28. It might actually be Amazon that kicks off the Black Friday 2011 deals mania. Last year the Amazon Black Friday Countdown launched on Friday, October 29.
The Amazon Black Friday 2011 Countdown Sale is probably following the same structure as last year. Every Friday until the last before Black Friday, Amazon offers select electronics, video games, and more at fantastic prices. All of these hot deals relate to a theme, including the Deal of the Day and Lightning Deals. Amazon is holding the Countdown to Black Friday 2011 sales on the Amazon Goldbox page using the time limit feature. The Amazon deals in the Countdown to Black Friday have of course limited quantities. So it is important to act fast.

There have been great deals during the Amazon Black Friday countdown last year, but hard to get as the timing needed to be right. We will of course point you to the best deals as soon as they become available. See also the new Amazon Black Friday 2011 Deal Predictions on I4U News.

New Wii Holiday Bundle to be featured in Black Friday 2011 Ads

The new Wii Holiday Bundle started to ship on October 23. I only found it on sale so far on Gamestop. I noticed a couple days ago that the latest Wii Console bundles are out of stock on Amazon. On Walmart the black Wii with Mario Kart is sold out. The white Wii bundle is still available for a low $134.96. I assume that the new Wii Holiday Bundle will soon go on sale on the big retailers. The new Holiday Bundle is likely the most featured Wii system in the upcoming Black Friday sales. Nintendo has streamlined the Wii console and dropped things like GameCube compatibility and the vertical stand. Nintendo has already announced that console under the Wii Family Edition name in Europe last summer.
As we already predicted back in August the price of the Wii Holiday Bundle should drop below $100 after a $50 Gift Card on Black Friday 2011.

Laptops are one of the hottest items shoppers are seeking deals for during the Black Friday sales season. Best Buy has just launched a great offer on a 15.6-inch Lenovo Laptop priced at $299.99. This is not your low-end Celeron or AMD C-50 machine, this is a decent powered and configured laptop running on a Intel Pentium dual-core B950 CPU at 2.1Ghz.
Other features of the Lenovo B570-1068AJU include 3GB DDR3 RAM, 320GB HDD, 6-cell battery, fingerprint reader, Intel HD Graphics 3000, webcam, media-card reader, and DVD burner.

This Lenovo Laptop is a good enough for serious work. Only 3D gaming will be a drag on it. More details on Best Buy (limited quantities).

Best Buy has offered bargain laptop deals in the past years ahead of the actual Black Friday. If you are in the market for a bargain laptop start watching Best Buy now or jump on the offer above. If you look for absolute bargain laptops this Black Friday, check out the Black Friday 2011 Bargain Laptop Deal Predictions on I4U News.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think. Expect the first Black Friday 2011 sales to start on October 28 online. Stay up to date on the latest Black Friday news via Twitter an Facebook.

BJ's Wholesale Club Black Friday 2011 Ad leaks

The Black Friday 2011 Ad leaking continues. Today the BJ's Wholesale Club Black Friday 2011 Ad broke cover prematurely. The BJ's Black Friday 2011 Ad has 17 pages and 73 items according to BFAds. The BJ's Black Friday sale will last the whole weekend, which is true form most other retailers.
The BJ's Wholesale Black Friday 2011 ad shows us the first time this year some Black Friday electronics deals. A 32-inch Sansui HDTV is advertised for $219.99.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think. Expect the first Black Friday 2011 sales to start on October 28 online. Stay up to date on the latest Black Friday news via Twitter an Facebook.

Chase Card Holders can Save Significantly on Black Friday 2011 and Cyber Monday 2011

Credit Card companies long know that handing out savings to their cardholders during the holiday shopping season is a big draw. Most of the time the offers are about collecting more bonus points or cash back credits. Chase has though a real solid offer for Cyber Monday along those typical promotions. According to BlackFriday.fm, Chase Sapphire and Ink Card holders get 25% off their entire purchase at Best Buy on Cyber Monday. So on top of the Best Buy Cyber Monday 2011 deals Chase card holders can take off another 25%. Pretty awesome.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think. Expect the first Black Friday 2011 sales to start on October 28 online. Stay up to date on the latest Black Friday news via Twitter an Facebook.

The Great ToysRUs Toy Book 2011 has leaked

Possibly the most anticipated Holiday toy catalog is the ToysRUs Great Big Toy Book. On the ToysRUs web site the retailer is saying that the book is coming soon. The toy catalog prices will be valid from October 30 to November 23. The ToysRUs Black Friday 2011 offers will then take over.
The 2011 ToysRUs toy book has 80 pages and features over 50 FREE offers. BFAds gives you an early look a the ToysRUs toy book, but at a bad quality. The ToysRUs Great Toy Book has been photographed with a camera and flash. Still most deals are out now and only the Free deals are really exciting.

Half Priced Books Black Friday 2011 Offer leaked

Here is another upcoming Black Friday 2011 sale. A Black Friday Flyer from Half Priced Books leaked on BlackFriday.fm. The Flyer says that the first 100 people that enter the store on Black Friday at 7am get a tote bag and a $5 Gift Card. One lucky person will even get a $100 gift card.
Additionally Half Priced Books offers coupons that give you either 40% off your highest priced item or $15 Off on you purchase of $50.
So for all HPB Store fans this is what you can expect on Black Friday 2011.

So far the Harbor Freight Black Friday 2011 Ad is the only leaked ad. The leaked Ace Hardware Black Friday 2011 Ad was not final and Ace Hardware asked Black Friday sites to take it down.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think. Expect the first Black Friday 2011 sales to start on October 28 online. Stay up to date on the latest Black Friday news via Twitter an Facebook.

Black Friday 2011 Coupon Codes List

I am not a big fan of Coupon Codes. They can save you a quite some money, but keeping track of them and finding them is a pain. CouponCodes.com has though now published a cool new interface for coupon code listings. They also offer a special list for the latest Black Friday 2011 Coupons.

We will keep an eye on this Black Friday Coupon list for you and will feature the inform you when there is a hot new coupon code that gets you significant savings during Black Friday.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think. Expect the first Black Friday 2011 sales to start on October 28 online. Stay up to date on the latest Black Friday news via Twitter an Facebook.

Let's Rock Elmo on Sale for $15 Off

ToysRUs already gives a taste of Black Friday Toy deals with a deal on the new Sesame Street Elmo toy for the Holidays 2011. The Let's Rock Elmo comes with his very own microphone, a tambourine and a drum set.
Your child can choose which instrument Elmo plays, and Elmo will recognize which instrument your child selects. Elmo also interacts with other Let’s Rock instruments (sold separately). Elmo sings six rockin’ songs, so your little one can grab an instrument and join Elmo’s band.

The list price of the Let's Rock Elmo is $69.99. Until October 22, you can buy the Elmo Let's Rock for $54.88 on Walmart.com and $54.99 on ToysRUs.

Toys are besides electronics a very popular product category during Black Friday 2011. We already posted Holiday 2011 Toy lists from Walmart and Toys'RUs. The big Holiday toy catalogs are though still coming. In the meantime BFAds published the BJ's Wholesale and the Blair's Farm & Fleet Toy Catalogs.

The image on the right shows a Fijit, possibly one of the hottest Holiday 2011 Toys.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think. Expect the first Black Friday 2011 sales to start on October 28 online. Stay up to date on the latest Black Friday news via Twitter an Facebook.

Skylander's Spyro's Andventure to be hottest Holiday 2011 Toy Gift?

Are parents hunting for a great deal of Skylander's Spyro Adventure this Black Friday season? The buzz is building around this video game and collectible figurines combination for 6+ kids. Skylanders packs for the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo 3DS just got released a couple days ago. Check out the different Skylanders packages on Amazon.

What do you think? Is this the hottest Holiday 2011 gift? Post your favorite Holiday Toy of 2011 below in the comments.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think. Expect the first Black Friday 2011 sales to start on October 28 online. Stay up to date on the latest Black Friday news via Twitter an Facebook.

Black Friday 2011 Music Releases

On Black Friday 2011, November 25, tons of new special releases are available in your local record store according to Record Store Day. The long list of releases includes a lot of the hip again vinyl format. These limited edition vinyl records make great gifts for music lovers owning a record player.
Artists include Soundgarden, Wilco, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, John Lennon and Bob Dylan. See the full release list on the Record Store Day site.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think. Expect the first Black Friday 2011 sales to start on October 28 online. Stay up to date on the latest Black Friday news via Twitter an Facebook.

Black Friday 2011 Rumor: Target to let only 30 Shoppers into Store at a Time

Crowd control is a major topic for retail stores on Black Friday. This got even more important when a couple years ago a Walmart employee got trampled to death by the waiting crowd. Walmart's solution since then is to keep the stores open 24 hours. The Consumerist reports that they got an insider tip that a Target Store in Indiana would allow only 30 shoppers in at a time. The doors would open at 4am, but only the first 30 get in to do their shopping. The question is when they let the next 30 in? I saw some stores that only let as many new people in as left. This sounds like a frustrating measure for shoppers.

Of course it also does not make sense that everybody storms in at the same time. How about a very British line? Or better do it the Walmart way and offer some damn free coffee.

Update:
This rumor is true. Read this new report about the new Target Black Friday Crowd control.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think.

Bath and Body Works VIP Bag offered on Black Friday 2011

An image from a Bath and Body Works Ad leaked revealing a 2011 V.I.P. Bag to be released on Black Friday, November 25. The 2011 VIP Bag contains 11 products valued at over $100. Last year Bath and Body Works sold the VIP bag for $20. More details on BlackFriday.fm.

Black Friday Bags are very popular actually. The Victoria Secret Black Friday 2011 Bag will sure again be a hot item.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think.

The Best Black Friday 2011 Discussion Forum

Over the years covering Black Friday, I found that the Black Friday discussion forum at SlickDeals has the most interesting information. If you take Black Friday shopping seriously you should follow the threads in the SlickDeals Black Friday 2011 discussion closely.
You will find the latest leaked Black Friday 2011 ads along with lively discussions on what the best deal for hot Black Friday items are. Users also post lots of valuable tips on the best Black Friday stores and tips and tricks on getting the best deals.
If you know of another great Black Friday forum, please post it below. I definitely check it out.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think.

Top 12 Black Friday Shopping Tips

The Black Friday 2011 sales season starts in about two weeks. Are you already prepared. Black Friday is not a single day sales event anymore. We are talking a whole month of deal hunting.

I4U News just posted a list of 12 tips to make the most out of the month long Black Friday sales event. Check out the list below.

Ace Hardware Black Friday 2011 Ad leaks [Update]

The 2nd Black Friday 2011 Ad has leaked. Following the early outing of the Harbor Freight Black Friday 2011 ad follows the Ace Hardware Black Friday Ad.

Update:
Ace Hardware requested to take down the leaked Black Friday 2011 Ad, because it is not final according to BFAds. Expect the final release early November.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think.

The Black Friday 3D TV Battle: Passive Polarizer versus Active Shutter

It is on this Black Friday season between two rivaling 3D TV technologies. Last year almost all 3D TVs have been using active shutter glasses. This year LG is changing the game and focuses almost entirely on 3D with passive polarizer glasses. The advantage of Polarizer glasses is low cost, no charging and 3D effect visible from virtually any angle.

The only disadvantage of Polarizer glasses is the sharpness or clarity of the 3D image and that can be disputed as it depends somewhat on personal taste. For me the difference is very apparent. I prefer active shutter glasses as I find it much more engaging because of the clarity that comes from the higher resolution. The polarizer 3D TVs do really work and the 3D effect is really good enough to outweigh the disadvantages of active shutter glasses. In the end the battle will be taken to price. This is where Black Friday comes in.

Harbor Freight Black Friday 2011 Ad is first

The first Black Friday 2011 Ad is here. BFAds published the first Black Friday ad of the season. For the second time in a row the Harbor Freight Black Friday ad is the first Black Friday ad to get published online. The two page Black Friday Sales Circular features mostly deals on tools. The Harbor Freight Black Friday 2011 sales is a three day event starting on Black Friday (November 25). If you are Harbor Freight Inside Track Member you get early access at 6am.
Other customers will get in the stores on Black Friday at 7am.

As most Black Friday deal hunters are interested in Electronics, the Harbor Freight Black Friday ad is not that exciting. It marks though the beginning of the early leaking of Black Friday ads that has already tradition. We will of course keep you up to date with the latest leaked Black Friday 2011 Ads.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think.

The Hot Holiday 2011 Toy Trends by ToysRUs

Besides Electronics, Toys are possibly the most sought after products during the Black Friday sales season. To prepare you toy shopping list early, retailers have already published what they think are the hottest toys of the Holidays 2011. We already featured the Top 20 Walmart Holiday 2011 Toys. Now we take a look at the rather comprehensive ToysRUs Holiday 2011 Toy Trends report that has for my taste much more cool toys.
The top of their list are App-cessories. Gadget and Apps for your iPad and iPhone. This is a huge trend as tons of kids and even toddlers play with Papa's iPad. My son is playing on the iPhone since he was a year old. ToysRUs highlights Disney Pixar Cars 2 Appmates, iCade Arcade Cabinat for iPad, iMarker Digital Stylus and My3D Viewer.

ToysRUs also highlights quirky stuffed characters including Uglydoll, Kookoo Zoo and Smurfs.

Despite low discounts the Apple Black Friday Sales event is always a big draw each year. Apple's strategy of keeping a tight leash on pricing makes 10% discounts a huge deal. On top of that most Apple products are ideal Christmas gifts. This year the iPad 2, iPhone 4S, new iPod touch, new iPod nano and MacBook Air will be the most gifted Apple products. The Apple Black Friday sale on the actual Black Friday (November 25) is at best the last resort to score an Apple deal. On most Apple gadgets you find a better Black Friday deal at other retailers during November.

Update:
Apple Black Friday 2011 Ad has leaked uncovering all deals.

Let's revisit the Apple Black Friday 2010 sale. Last year Apple offered a $41 discount on the iPad line, a $101 discount on the $1,299 MacBook Air, $21 off on the iPod touch and $11 off on the iPod nano. The only good deals have been the iPad and the MacBook Air deals. iPod deals and also MacBook deals have been better from other retailers (best Apple Black Friday Deals 2010). These deals often came via a free bundled gift card.

Last year I did not hear about Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday (SBS) was created in 2010 by American Express in response to small business owners’ most pressing need: creating more demand for their products and services.
Small Business Saturday follows Black Friday and is this year on November 26. The initiative got more support this year with Google, Facebook and Twitter joining.
Small Businesses can receive a free toolkit to increase sales that will be released in the next weeks.
The Small Business Toolkit includes $100 in free Facebook advertising to the first 10,000 business owners who sign up. There are lots of other guides and how-to's in the package.

What is more effective though to drive sales will be the FedEx $25 Shop Small American Express Gift Cards that you can get to shop at Small businesses on Small Business Saturday 2011.

Today you might have committed to pay $200 for the new iPhone 4S. If you are interesting in getting an Android phone or Windows Phone, Black Friday 2011 is worth waiting for. Many Android smartphones are already already free with new contract throughout the year. Amazon Wireless for instance has the HTC Droid Incredible 2 for 1 cent on sale along many others. So how do you beat free? Exactly. Cash back. Last year Walmart offered for instance $100 Gift Cards on over 40 smartphones. For many of them that meant you had up to $100 cash left in form of a Walmart gift card after purchase.

I expect similar smartphone deals during Black Friday 2011. I also predict that Microsoft Windows Phones will be offered with aggressive pricing. Microsoft needs to make an impact this Fall or they never going to make it. Nokia is expected to launch their first Windows Phone this fall as well. Several new Windows phones based on the new Mango update have already been announced.

What I do not expect are any special deals on the iPhone 4S. You might see some deals on the iPhone 4. I do not think though that you will see cashback deals on the now free iPhone 3GS.

We expect the best smartphone deals already before the actual Black Friday (November 25). As you know the whole month of November is the Black Friday sales season.

Black Friday Countdown counts down to Black Friday 2011 with predictions, rumors, deals, news and ads. When is Black Friday? It is sooner than you think.

Black Friday 2011 1080p TV Deal Predictions

Full HD TVs also known as 1080p TVs are have definitely arrived in the mainstream. While we still will see most bargain Black Friday TV deals feature HD Ready (720p) TVs, we will see much more 1080p TV deals compared to last year.

Last Black Friday the $198 32-inch Emerson HDTV from Walmart was the best bargain Black Friday TV deal. This was a 720p TV with 60Hz. The sweet spot for full HD TVs is a size around 40-inch. The best full HD TV deal on Black Friday 2010 was from Target. They offered the 40-inch Westinghouse VR4085DF 1080p HDTV for $298.
$298 is the base mark you should keep in mind when looking for 1080p HDTV deals. At these low prices of course you just get a TV without all the bells and whistles that more expensive TVs offer today including Internet and 3D.

1080p HDTVs also just make sense if you have a full HD media source like a Sony PS3, Blu-ray player or full HD TV service.
Because many consumers still do not need full HD, the most Black Friday TV deals feature still 720p TVs. The currently bestselling TV on Amazon is also a 720p Television. The Panasonic VIERA TC-L32C3 32-inch 720p HDTV sells for $313.72.

I predict that we will see several 40-inch 1080p HDTV priced under $350 this year. The $298 Target 1080p deal was the exception last year. Most 1080p 40-inch TVs sold for around $400.

See also our most recent Black Friday 2011 Deals Prediction round-up.

Top 20 Holiday 2011 Toys from Walmart unveiled

Toy are one of the hottest items that parents hunt during Black Friday. To help you what to look for, Walmart published their Top 20 Holiday Toys. My toy highlights from this list for the holidays 2011 are the LeapFrog Leap Pad Explorer, Elmo Rocks and Hasbro Yahtzee Flash Games. Check out the list after the break.

The Black Friday 2011 Sales season is starting in less than a month. We have already analyzed based on market developments, product releases, economic situation and trends what deals you can expect to score during the Black Friday 2011 sales bonanza. Like every year TVs are of dominant interest, but I am expected to see the best bargains this year in the tablet and video game categories. Below you find our top Black Friday 2011 deal predictions.

Black Friday 2011 Deal Predictions:

Black Friday Countdown will continue to bring more predictions, but we will actually see the first Black Friday 2011 ad leaks and deals soon. Our Black Friday blog is enhancing this year the I4U News Black Friday coverage and we will also soon launch a great tool that will help you make the most out of the Black Friday 2011 shopping season. Stay tuned. We will announce this new Black Friday service soon.

50 Days until Black Friday 2011, First Black Friday Ads expected Soon

Our Black Friday 2011 Countdown clock shows 50 Days left until Black Friday 2011. The Day after Thanksgiving is this year on November 25. If you read our Black Friday blog regularly you know that Black Friday sales start much sooner. The actual Black Friday just marks the climax of the Black Friday Sales season. We currently predict that the first Black Friday 2011 sales will be on October 28. Most retailers will host Halloween Sales, but we think that some online retailers will skip Halloween and straight launch their first round of Black Friday 2011 deals.

We expect also the first Black Friday 2011 ads to leak already this month.

Over the last couple of months we have provided you with Black Friday deals predictions. We expect Black Friday 2011 to be again better than Black Friday 2010. The economy is still bad and retailers need to make attractive offers to lure customers into buying. In recent weeks it became clear that Tablet Black Friday deals will be off the hook. Current Android tablets are not selling well and a new wave of Android tablets is expect to arrive soon. There will be plenty of bargains from retailers clearing out their tablet stock.
For more Black Friday 2011 Deal Predictions visit our archives.

Black Friday 2011 iPod touch 5G Deals to hit $149

Apple has made my Black Friday price prediction of the new Apple iPod touch 5G a reality before it is even Black Friday. Apple unveiled the new iPod touch 5th generation yesterday. The surprise is that pricing is now lower. The 8GB iPod touch is now selling for only $199 instead of $229. The best deal without gift card for the 8GB iPod touch 4G during Black Friday 2010 was $199.
The new iPod touch is basically unchanged in terms of hardware. The new things are that it will ship with iOS 5 and that you can now also get a white iPod touch.
With iOS 5 you can use the new iCould service and also the new messaging app iMessage. The iPod touch is becoming the ultimate gadget for teenagers to play games, surf the web and message without causing major phone bills. The iPod touch will be yet again one of the hottest Christmas presents for the Holidays 2011.

As reported in our previous post, we expect the first Black Friday 2011 deals arrive on October 28. Over the last couple of month we have posted numerous predictions of what kind of Black Friday deals you can expect this year. I think we have identified the major trends like TVs, Tablets, Laptops and Video game hardware, but what products do you specifically want a great deal on during the Black Friday Sales season.

Please post what you hunt for during Black Friday this year below in the comments.

Black Friday 2011 Deals will be here sooner than you think. Get your research done now to score the best deals on TVs, Laptops, Tablets, Video Games, Phones, GPS, Blu-ray players and other gadgets as soon as they become available. Read up on the latest Black Friday 2011 News.

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