The Skinny on Post-Holiday Sales
Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:43PM EST
See Comments (250)
Sure, HDTV deals abound, but nothing beats the discounts you get on electronics after the holidays. Retailers eager to move gadgets and components in time for the new stock in February (fresh off the announcements for new products and technology at January's Consumer Electronics Show).
Ideally, you'll have a hefty gift certificate or card to apply to heavily discounted big-ticket purchases.
Now, you can start flipping through the circulars that will come in newspapers most likely to find deals, or you can use a much more efficient method by visiting a site like Dealnews, which rounds up the best deals on all kinds of items throughout the year. Like last year, Dealnews plans to offer specific information as early as December 25 on post-holiday sales and deals at more than 30 electronics retailers, including Amazon, RadioShack, and Geeks.com. You can also check online comparison sites like BizRate and Yahoo! Shopping or visit sales blogs such as The Bargainist or The Consumerist.
What kinds of things can you/should you look out for: I'd say HDTVs (CRT, DLP, or flat-panel LCD). Ignore the EDTVs or SDTVs that'll probably be heavily marked down and pushed. You can also get deals on cameras, GPS systems, refurbished iPods (follow the happenings at the January Macworld Conference and Expo for a new product announcement of some sort, most likely), among other items.
Other post-holiday deal roundups are sure to surface: Check through some of the earlier posts on Yahoo! Tech about holiday shopping deals for Web addresses and sites to find deals (see links below).
Related links:
Online Shopping Strategy for the Weekend
More Holiday Shopping Deals
Top 5 Posts
More About HDTV & Televisions
Comments on The Skinny on Post-Holiday Sales
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Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
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27 Posted by longgonecrazy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:56PM EDT Report Abuse
The big price reductions have been due to improved yield and process improvements in flat panel fabrication. Markup has much less to do with the reduced costs of TVs.
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28 Posted by atv_rider2000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:59PM EDT Report Abuse
I have to agree with 'castertvs' post. The electronics technology is constantly changing. You buy a TV/computer/digital camera today, and a new faster/bigger/smaller/better one comes out tomorrow. Enough already. Get the best deal you can on what you have available and enjoy it.
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29 Posted by longgonecrazy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:56PM EDT Report Abuse
The big price reductions have been due to improved yield and process improvements in flat panel fabrication. Markup has much less to do with the reduced costs of TVs.
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30 Posted by bill7142 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:07PM EDT Report Abuse
I got a sweet deal on a Panasonic 52" LCD from Circuit City for $1000.00 and I jumped on it. I had been waiting for 2+ years because of articles like this.
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31 Posted by bernardhartken008 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:05PM EDT Report Abuse
Thanks for telling me something I've heard before. What would be good is if experts can give you a real number, like stating 42" HDTV plasmas will drop under $1000.00 after Xmas.
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32 Posted by jazzyjmay on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse
This is not true at all and here is why. Check Best Buy (BBY) and Circuit City (CC) stocks over the last 2 weeks. The results were very poor. Flat panel TV prices are why that is the case. Margins in these TVs have fallen so low that companies are not making money off them. Prices are going back up very very soon on them unless TV makers (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, ETC) start selling them to retailers for less. Second, after Xmas, people look at the upcoming Super Bowl for their TVs and the demand for TVs go up so retail stores don't have to be so aggressive in their pricing to sell them. Now is the time to buy unless you plan to wait.
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33 Posted by steven_lits on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:43PM EDT Report Abuse
In response to jleary11... The problem with that is that Best Buy requires a Newspaper or Circular Ad from the Vendor (advertising the lower price). They do not honor Internet Ads or websites (which is where you might find a lot of those sales).
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34 Posted by jazzyjmay on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse
This is not true at all and here is why. Check Best Buy (BBY) and Circuit City (CC) stocks over the last 2 weeks. The results were very poor. Flat panel TV prices are why that is the case. Margins in these TVs have fallen so low that companies are not making money off them. Prices are going back up very very soon on them unless TV makers (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, ETC) start selling them to retailers for less. Second, after Xmas, people look at the upcoming Super Bowl for their TVs and the demand for TVs go up so retail stores don't have to be so aggressive in their pricing to sell them. Now is the time to buy unless you plan to wait.
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35 Posted by jazzyjmay on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse
This is not true at all and here is why. Check Best Buy (BBY) and Circuit City (CC) stocks over the last 2 weeks. The results were very poor. Flat panel TV prices are why that is the case. Margins in these TVs have fallen so low that companies are not making money off them. Prices are going back up very very soon on them unless TV makers (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, ETC) start selling them to retailers for less. Second, after Xmas, people look at the upcoming Super Bowl for their TVs and the demand for TVs go up so retail stores don't have to be so aggressive in their pricing to sell them. Now is the time to buy unless you plan to wait.
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36 Posted by terry2070 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:01PM EDT Report Abuse
Yeah, my wife begged me to wait but when I looked at some of the prices and talked with people, some of the prices are already so low in attempt to get us to buy big purchase items that it didn't make any sense not to get a new 40 inch LCD HDTV from Samsung. True widescreen images at last! Can it get any better? I think not!
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37 Posted by terry2070 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:01PM EDT Report Abuse
Yeah, my wife begged me to wait but when I looked at some of the prices and talked with people, some of the prices are already so low in attempt to get us to buy big purchase items that it didn't make any sense not to get a new 40 inch LCD HDTV from Samsung. True widescreen images at last! Can it get any better? I think not!
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38 Posted by lori.ellis@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:56PM EDT Report Abuse
Why should you ignore an EDTV and SDTV? If you do a little research, you will find that EDTV means enhanced resolution, which is slighlty better than a tube tv. Basically, it's crap. It is not High Def, and that is why it is called an EDTV insted of HDTV. Same thing for SDTV, it is just like what you have at home now. Don't wasrte time on these, buy an HDTV.
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39 Posted by wigginsray on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:45PM EDT Report Abuse
This is always the way with technology - it rarely goes up in price. It's like telling someone in Colorado in July 'wait for December, the snow will probably fall more'.
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40 Posted by jaynlottyd on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:29PM EDT Report Abuse
i love my 42 in. Panasonic, EDTV...i stared at this and the Panasonic HDTV for at the time $1000 difference and could tell really NO difference between the two except the price tag, i have had mine a year and again, I LOVE IT!
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41 Posted by marsminute on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:09PM EDT Report Abuse
rkcampbell above is correct. Stores simply do not do post-christmas discounts anymore. Sure, they'll advertise that they're having a big sale, but they prices won't really be different. Retailers have found that people like to spend and buy before christmas, so they make the cuts then to get the business. Afterwards, the prices, at best, stay about the same. However, prices are falling, and will continue to do so. The longer you wait, the less you'll pay, but the longer you'll do without. I can do without until I can get a 50 inch flat LCD with built-in tuner for around $500. More than that, and my wife won't let me!!!!!!!
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42 Posted by aminomidi67 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:53PM EDT Report Abuse
Under which facts you said that comment about HDTV I am pretty sure it won't happen very soon at least during next month for that product although when you buy a new TV still you have one month left to rebate your money with cheaper prize from some stores like future shop. Any ways yesterday night I bought a Sony 40" HDTV and wanna enjoy that during holyday buddy!
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43 Posted by jaynlottyd on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:29PM EDT Report Abuse
also, my 42 in. Panasonic is a plasma EDTV, and the manual says it broadcasts 1080i, i watch football on the NFL network, which is broadcast in HD and it is as perfect a picture as i need, i don't need any better than that for, like one person said, to sit my sorry butt in front of for a few hours a week, or to watch dvd's to....
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44 Posted by m_obeck on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:32PM EDT Report Abuse
I have a 20" cathode ray tube color TV and somehow my life goes on. I see no reason to purchase one of these outlandishly priced devices to stare at untalented, blithering so-called actors in badly written shows.
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45 Posted by daddy2knk on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:34PM EDT Report Abuse
Go to best buy. they offer to match anyone's price along with an extra 10% off for 60 days after your purchase.
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26 Posted by inskymarie on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:24PM EDT Report Abuse
For good deals on HDTV's go to tweeter, they pricematch anybody, plus they have people there to install it for you. I just bought a TV, and they had the best customer service, even over Best Buy and Circut City.