Black Friday specials: Bundles of joy, or retail sales trick?

One way retailers can bump up their average sales ticket while still offering savings for their customers is through bundling, or offering savings when you buy several items—say, a TV bundled with a Blu-ray player or sound system—as an assembled package.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, this is a tactic Walmart and some other retailers, such as Best Buy, will be using as part of their Black Friday strategies. This week, for example, Walmart’s pre-Black Friday sales include several TV-based bundles. One $698 package combines a 40-inch 1080p LCD TV, a BD-Live Blu-ray player, and a 2.1-channel sound bar, all from a brand called Viore, which is sold primarily through Walmart (although we’ve also seen it at the company’s Sam’s Club warehouse outlets).

If you’re more comfortable with a better-known TV brand and can live with a standard upconverting DVD player, there are two Vizio bundles, each of which provides a choice of TVs in two screen sizes. One package combines either a 37- or 42-inch 1080p Eco-series (VO370M, VO420M) LCD TV, at a price of $677 or $767, with an RCA-brand DVD home theater system and an HDMI cable. These TVs are selling separately on the Walmart website for for $547 and $648, respectively.

A different bundle packages the RCA DVD home theater system with either a 42-inch 1080p LCD (model SV420M, $888) or 47-inch 1080p (model SV470M, $1,074) and an HDMI cable. Both of these TVs have 120Hz technology to help reduce motion blur, plus the HDMI cable. Vizio sells these TVs separately for $797 and $997, respectively.

Save money on your holiday cards with these 8 photofinishers

Printing your holiday photo cards through a photofinishing Web site can save you time and money, especially if you do so in the next week or two. A number of sites are offering limited time discounts and free shipping. Below are some deals that I found at larger sites.

To take advantage of an offer, you must register with the site and provide contact information, such as your e-mail and shipping address. You'll also need to upload any photos you want to use on the card. Be sure to note the expiration dates on all offers:

• Shutterfly Save 20 percent on holiday cards. (The offer does not apply to note cards and calling cards.) Also, you can get free shipping on your order if you spend $30 or more. A comparison page lets you compare card types. Shutterfly has a wide array of other gifts, many of which are also being discounted.
• Kodak Gallery This site is offering free shipping on orders of $75 or more.
• Snapfish This site is offering free shipping on orders of 40 or more flat cards. They are also offering 20 percent off on everything in the Snapfish catalog.
• PEphoto.com They're offering 10 percent off orders of 25 or more photo greeting cards. Also, buy one photo album, get $10 off a second album.
• Walmart photo center Free shipping on greeting cards.
• Winkflash They're offering 40 percent off all holiday card orders.

• Clark Color labs Has several promotions: 40 percent off photo greeting cards; free shipping on photo gifts of $25 or more; 7 cents per prints; $8 off hardcover photo book orders of $20 or more.
• Photoworks Buy one photo calendar, get one free.

Get free Wi-Fi in airports, courtesy of Google and Bing

Google has announced its holiday "gift" to millions of travelers: free Wi-Fi now through January 15th.  The search giant is sponsoring the offer at 47 airports nationwide and on Virgin America flights. While you're waiting to board, Google hopes you'll make a donation to any of three participating nonprofits: Engineers Without Borders, One Economy Corporation, and Climate Savers Computing.

Not to be outdone (and looking to increase its visibility among Web searchers), Microsoft Bing is partnering with JiWire to offer free Wi-Fi at airports and hotels in exchange for one Bing search. —Nick K. Mandle

5 Black Friday deal sites to follow

Looking for Black Friday deals? So are the Consumer Reports electronics editors. Here are five sites we're following:

• BlackFriday.info
• TGI Black Friday
• Black-Friday.net
• Black Friday Ads 2009
• Black Friday 2009 @ GottaDeal.com

If you use an RSS reader, subscribe to the above feeds (or plug in the sites' URLs) for updates on stores' Black Friday ads and deals.

See also: "Use an RSS feed to pounce on Craiglist deals"

[Update 11/12/09: Here's one more, recommended by a reader: BlackFridayAds2009.info (Thanks, Harold!)]

HDTV deals: Watch for doorbuster specials and “derivative” models

We’re always excited in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, the traditional three-day shopping period right after Thanksgiving. It's become almost a sport seeing how low prices on TVs will go—and what "doorbuster" deals we'll miss out on when we decide that it’s just not worth getting up before dawn to try for one of the limited-quantity offers.

Although it’s still early in the deal-hunting season, several Black Friday sites, such as BlackFridayInfo and GottaDeal, have already posted what they claim are Sears’ and Kmart's Black Friday ads. Walmart also jumped the gun with a series of weekly specials leading up to Black Friday. Amazon's now also doing something similar (in its Gold Box), apparently matching some of Walmart's deals.

A quick review of the promoted models we've seen so far doesn’t reveal any “gotta have” deals. But we have noticed some nice price cuts on several major-brand models, which this year dominate the Sears ad, for example.

Even Samsung’s 6000-series LED-backlit LCD TVs are making an appearance in Black Friday ads.

For example, a 42-inch 1080p Panasonic plasma, the TC-P42S1, s listed in the Sears ad at $650, or $150 less than in our plasma TV Ratings. An LCD set,  Samsung's LN46B650, which is priced at $1,450 in our Ratings, will be on sale for $1,310. An LED-backlit model, the Samsung UN40B6000, which is listed at $1,500 in our Ratings, is sale-priced at $1,400 in the ad. We're all about saving a hundred dollars or more, but it’s not the kind of savings that would drag us out of a warm bed on a cold morning—especially knowing that everyday TV prices seldom rebound to pre-Black Friday levels once those sales are over.

In fact, Kmart's ad has Panasonic' s TC-P42C1 set, a 720p model, listed at $550. That's the same price I saw the TV this weekend at Target as part of a "pre-holiday" sale.

Walmart joins the "Why wait for Black Friday" club

Joining the likes of Sears, which jump-started the traditional Black Friday holiday shopping period with pre-sales that started last weekend, this Saturday Walmart kicks off one week of special savings on everything from a $5 turkey to a $500 TV.

Starting on Saturday November 7th at 8 a.m., Walmart stores will offer a variety of deals, including its first one-week electronics savings event. Items include Sharp LCD TVs ($498 for 42-inch set, $698 for a 120Hz 46-inch model, and $898 for a 120Hz 52-inch set), a 46-inch 1080p Panasonic plasma TV, and a $148 Sony BDP-S360 BD-Live-ready Blu-ray player. Other deals include $200 Microsoft's Xbox Arcade systems, which come with a $100 Walmart gift card, and a $298 HP notebook computer with Windows 7.

For those looking for more elemental fare, Walmart is offering a complete Thanksgiving meal, including a 12-pound turkey, for $20. For complete information about special deals and price roll-backs, plus store locations, visit Walmart's Christmas Shop Web site. —James K. Willcox

Get the student discount for Windows 7–even if you're not a student

As the Windows 7 roll out continues, the folks over at PC Magazine have posted answers to their readers’ top questions about the new OS.  One in particular caught my eye:

Q: How can I qualify for the Student price of Windows 7? What about the OEM pricing?

A: You really just need an e-mail account from an institution of higher learning. When I tested a recent alumna coworker's address from the University of Colorado, it was accepted immediately. To get this bargain-basement price of $30, head to http://www.win741.com. OEM pricing is intended for system builders, and usually buying a major system component like a motherboard or hard drive qualifies you for a price considerably lower than what you'd pay for the retail box. But some part sellers will offer the lower price to all takers. Note that the OEM version won't come with both 64-bit and 32-bit discs, nor will it include support from Microsoft.

So even if you’re technically no longer in college, but have access to an ".EDU" email address, you qualify for the Windows 7 student discount could potentially still take advantage of the offer—at your own risk (see update below). If you’re a student at a college or other educational institution that doesn’t provide an email address, you might still qualify. Check this link at Microsoft.

[Update: Should you possess a ".EDU" address and decide to take advantage of the student discount, note Microsoft's terms and conditions: "Microsoft or Digital River may contact you to verify that you are a current student. If documentation is not provided indicating that you are a current student, you will be liable to reimburse Microsoft for the difference between what you paid and the estimated retail price of the software."–Ed.]

For more, see our ongoing Windows 7 coverage and commentary, including “Windows 7: To upgrade or not to upgrade?” –Nick K. Mandle

Forget Thanksgiving—this year Black Friday starts on Halloween

For those looking to scare up some early holiday shopping bargains, this year Sears is adding a new trick to the traditional Halloween treats: Black Friday deals that kick off tomorrow, October 31st.

Sears says its "Black Friday Now" deals were created for customers asking for after-Thanksgiving-style deals earlier in the season. Special pricing, including "doorbuster specials," will be offered every Saturday until Christmas. The events run from at 7:00 a.m. to noon, with the exception of this Saturday, which is Halloween. Instead, doorbusters start on Friday October 30th at 5:00 p.m. and run until noon on Saturday. An example of an upcoming deal: a 42-inch 720p plasma TV from Zenith, priced at $500. The deal will be offered on November 7th, or as a pre-order on October 29th.

Sears says that it will include Black Friday Now offers as part of its layaway plan, available both in stores and online. Layaway allows you to purchase an item and pay it off in installments prior to pickup or shipping, and Sears will match competitors pricing on the same product.

Stay tuned to our blog for more Black Friday news—even when it kicks off as early as Halloween. —James K. Willcox

Holiday Headstart: Why wait for Black Friday? Get a $100 Blu-ray player now

If you’ve been eagerly anticipating the three-day Black Friday shopping period to get a great deal on a new Blu-ray player, you may not have to wait: Best Buy is now selling a BD-Live model with access to streaming movies from Netflix for just $99.99.

The player, NS-BRDVD3, is the same one we wrote about recently when it was priced at $180. Apparently the everyday price is now $150, but the model is currently on sale for $100.

Though we haven’t tested this specific player, we do have another Insignia model in our labs that has excellent HD picture quality. It didn’t do as well with standard DVDs, however.

Insignia NS-BRDVD3 Blu-ray player, on sale for $100 at Best Buy. (Click to enlarge.)

The real question is whether prices will fall below $100 during the Black Friday holiday shopping spree. Based on the first major Black Friday ad we’ve seen, from Sears, the answer is no. Sears will reportedly have special $150 price tags on two Blu-ray players: Samsung’s BD-P1600, and Sony’s BDP-S360. Both are BD-Live-ready models, which require optional memory for the BD-Live feature to work, that currently sell for about $200.

We’ll continue monitoring Black Friday websites such as BlackFridayInfo and GottaDeal to see what new entry-level Blu-ray price points emerge as we get closer to Thanksgiving. And look for similar blogs on other CE products, such as TVs. —James K. Willcox

Holiday Headstart: The electronics deals are starting early

It’s never too early to start planning for a major electronics purchase during the holiday season—and it may make more sense than ever this year.

Traditionally, the season’s first (and often best) blowout sales on electronics are on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. But in anticipation of tightfistedness among electronics consumers, retailers are already cutting prices sharply, as many analysts have been predicting since early in the fall.

We’ll track some of the pre-season deals in a series of "Holiday Headstart" posts in the coming five-or-so weeks that lead to the bird and Black Friday. First up, our audio-video specialist Jim Willcox will blog on some of the enticing early offers on Blu-ray players and flat-panel TVs. We’ll also offer buying tips and in other product areas, too.

Meantime, where are you at on your buying plans? Are you already planning your purchases? Share your thoughts with us below. —Paul Reynolds