Gray Friday for gadgets

Is it bedlam where you are? Where I am, it's ... slightly busier than usual. The TV sections of the local consumer electronics shops are getting good foot, because that's where the best deals are. But the car lots aren't full and the traffic's not too bad. In Circuit City, I was the only guy checking out the laptops at 9:30 a.m.!

The only store I saw that was genuinely slammed was Bath and Body Works, which had checkout queues out the door: buying lotion futures now.

[#1 posted by Dean , November 28, 2008 10:09 AM]

I think that part of the reason for this is that the usual Black Friday sales-goers are the ones who really understand that they're getting a great bargain. Last year, lots of people went because the bargains they saw in the circulars were better than what they could get on Newegg or elsewhere online. Now, the deals the big box stores are offering aren't any better than what we can get at Pricewatch. You can even compare the prices easily online with sites specifically directed at Black Friday offers. I think my brother was a little bummed when I had to tell him I wasn't going to go because the deals weren't good enough.

[#2 posted by Rob Beschizza , November 28, 2008 10:35 AM]

Yeah. I looked at the prices on things I wanted, said "Ooo!," then looked it up at Newegg or Amazon, and found that the normal price online was as good as the stores. Why leave the house, braving sunlight, when one has FREE Super Saver Shipping?

[#3 posted by BBNinja , December 1, 2008 9:20 AM]

I'm in the market for a new laptop to take with me when I go out of country next summer for a year.

But, I've resisted the temptation to buy a new laptop now because I know I can get a better and cheaper one closer to my departure date.