For Tech Deals, Wait ‘Till Black Friday
Filed under: Technology, Apple, Wal-Mart Stores, Amazon.com, Retail, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Family Money
‘Tis the season to buy tech products — almost. If you’re looking to upgrade, it’s probably best to wait till Black Friday.
As we saw with Walmart’s (WMT) blockbuster $200 laptop last year, tech products like computers, phones, TVs and tablets will see sharp discounts for the holidays. Expect to see more deals on computers at the $200 range this year, says Brad Wilson, CEO of Bradsdeals.com, a coupon web site that monitors retailers’ promotional strategies year round.
Wilson says that prices on most tech products will get haircuts: High-end smarthpones with HD video recording, fast processors and high-quality camera phones for as little as $125 (with a two-year contract) from retailers like Walmart, Amazon.com (AMZN) and Best Buy (BBY). “That’s pretty remarkable. Typically high end phones are $200 or more,” he says.
Also on the chopping block: TVs prices. Retailers will be selling 32-inch flat-screen HDTVs for $200, compared to almost $300 today, Wilson says. Blu-Ray players will see price drops, as well.
Probably, the sharpest cuts will be to tablet computers — though not to Apple’s (AAPL) blockbuster iPad. The new Kindle Fire tablet sparked a price war when it launched at $199. In response, Barnes and Noble’s (BKS) Nook, which bills itself as “the reader’s tablet,” will drop from $139 to $99, and the Nook Color to drop from $249 to $199 or less,” Wilson says.
Shoppers will also find “no-name” 7-inch and 10-inch tablets for $60 and $90, respectively, Wilson says.
Amazon itself will likely sweeten the Kindle Fire deal with a short-term sale akin to its $50-off Kindle promotion from 2008, he says.
