New York
– Several major retail chains have formally released their Black Friday sales
circulars online.
The postings come days before the traditional unveiling of Black
Friday sales in newspaper inserts on Thanksgiving Day, but a fortnight after
most doorbuster deals were already leaked online.
Among those pre-announcing their Black Friday plans is Best Buy, which leads its
12-page circular with a 46-inch Samsung ToC 1080p, 120Hz LED, priced at $1,600,
down from $2,600, and a Garmin Nuvi 205W for $100, down from $200.
Walmart is starting off its 32-page Black Friday circular with a
42-inch, 720p Emerson plasma TV for $448; a $78 Magnavox Blu-ray Disc player;
and 46-inch, 1080p Sony Bravia LCD for $798.
As part of a new crowd-control approach, the discount chain is
also posting floor plans of its stores showing where each doorbuster will be
located. Black Friday shoppers are
instructed to form lines at the location of their preferred doorbuster item
within stores – which will be open 24 hours beginning Thanksgiving evening – rather than queuing up outside.
Also showing its Black Friday hand is Amazon.com. The e-tailer
has launched a Black Friday Deals page at www.amazon.com/blackfriday
that currently includes LG’s 37-inch,
37LH55 1080p, 240Hz LCD for $650, down from $1,400. The company says it will be
adding new sales items throughout the weak, including limited time “Lightning
Deals,” such as today’s 7-inch handheld Viore LCD TV for $105.38 with free
shipping.
In a statement, Paul
Ryder, Amazon.com’s electronics VP, said the company is monitoring competitors’
Black Friday deals, and is “working hard to meet or beat the lowest prices out
there.”
Other early entrants include hhgregg, which will offer a Wii
console with Wii Sports for $170 and a Toshiba Blu-ray Disc player for $80
beginning at 4 a.m. on Friday.
But for seasoned Black Friday watchers, many of the best deals were
offered well in advance of Thanksgiving weekend. Sears, which is teasing its
Black Friday promotion in TV spots this week, is presently selling a 54-inch Panasonic
Viera S1-series 1080p plasma TV for $1,100, down from $1,800, while Sixth
Avenue Electronics’ pre-Black Friday deals include a Sony bundle featuring the
KD40V5100 40-inch 1080p LCD and BDB-S360 Blu-ray Disc player for $854, down
from $1,449.
