Post-Black Friday HDTV prices rise

The good news: many are now priced lower than before Thanksgiving

By James K. Willcox

As we’ve been reporting, Black Friday pricing on HDTVs -– particularly flat-panel models -- was as aggressive as we’ve ever seen it, with new low price points established for both plasma and LCD models in screen sizes ranging from 32 inches to 50 inches. And though flat-panel HDTV prices have rebounded from their Black Friday all-time lows, the good news for shoppers is that prices for many of our Quick Picks recommendations are still lower than what they were prior to the three-day Thanksgiving shopping holiday. 

For example, no TV was more aggressively targeted than Panasonic’s TH-42PX60U (pictured), a 42-inch HD plasma (and a CR Quick Pick) that was about $1,700 in most retailers prior to Black Friday. Wal-Mart cut its everyday price to $1,294, causing Best Buy to respond with a Black Friday price of $999, which was matched by several other retailers. The following week, its price jumped back up to $1,499 at most retailers we tracked, which is still $200 less than its pre-holiday price. Panasonic’s 50-inch TH-50PX60U (also a Quick Pick) had a $700 price swing when it went from $2,699 at some retailers to $1,999. Last week the set was selling at most retailers for about $2,399. 

Sony had some great Black Friday prices, but you may not have known about them: the company had an “unannounced” three-day Black Friday sale, where prices on some HD sets were cut by as much as $900 (a 70-inch XBR2 rear-projection model). For example, a 40-inch Bravia KDL-40XBR3 HD LCD, normally $3,399, was cut $600 to $2,799. The top-rated KDL-40XBR2 sold for $2,299 during the sale; it’s now $2,799. The deals were available for the three-day period at a number of retailers, as well as directly from Sony via its SonyStyle.com site. 

Other examples include Hitachi’s 42-inch HD plasma (model 42HDS69), which dipped in price from $1,709 to $1,299 – a $410 difference. The set is now selling for $1,619 at many dealers. For those interested in a rear-projection set, there was a wide -- $700 -- swing on Toshiba’s 720p 56HM66 56-inch model, which ranged in price from $1,899 prior to the holiday to $1,199 on Black Friday. The set is now generally selling for $1,699 to $1,899 at most retailers surveyed. 

Though Black Friday lived up to its considerable hype (at least for anyone willing to brave the crowds to get a deal) the latest prices show that there’s still plenty of holiday cheer to go around -- unless you bought your HDTV the week before Thanksgiving, that is. We’ll continue to periodically check advertised prices for our Quick Picks as the holiday season progresses.

Note: Links to CR Ratings and recommendations are included for reference; this material is available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers.

Comments

[Erich]

Costco had the Panasonic 42" Plasma at $1299 for a limited time and I could not resist. They are now back at $1599. I am sure they will come down again

[HW]

I'll wait to buy. These prices will fall again. Either right before Christmas or afterwards when no one has any money to spend (i.e. 1st week of January).