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Best Buy bests Target?

Who's got the best Black Friday deals? Several big retailers have already released their day-before-Thanksgiving sale prices, so you can decide.

By MSN Money Partner Nov 11, 2011 7:38PM

This post comes from Melinda Fulmer at MSN Money.

 

Target's Black Friday ad was released to deal sites just hours after Best Buy's ad was posted.

 

And for once, it appears that Best Buy has the hottest deals on electronics. Sure, you'll find plenty of bargains at Target, which opens at midnight on Thanksgiving, including a Westinghouse 46-inch LCD HDTV for $298.

 

But the most sought-after TV deal will surely be a Sharp 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $199.99 at Best Buy. Name brands like Sharp go on sale a lot less frequently than brands such as Westinghouse or Vizio, says Michael Brim, who operates BFads.net, which posted the ad earlier this afternoon.

 

Still, Target posted some decent deals, including the Xbox 360 4GB game console for $139.99, which is good if you’re not after the Kinect sensor that Wal-Mart has bundled with it.

 

If you still haven’t gotten a Kindle, Target has a Kindle Keyboard 3G for $85, which is quite a deal, because they are currently selling for $140 on Amazon. Will Amazon outdo this deal on Black Friday? Let's hope so.

 

For the photography buffs on your list, the half-price Nikon L105 12MP Digital Camera is pretty enticing for $99.99. Post continues below.

Other bargains include:

Despite these prices, Target's ad isn’t as exciting as in years past, said Brad Olson of BlackFriday.Gottadea​lcom. In fact, for electronics it pales when compared to rival Best Buy.

 

"The prices are pretty much consistent with the other stores this year, but nothing that is super cheap," he said.

 

The ad does promise "surprise doorbusters" for shoppers who sign up for text deals, however.

 

What do you think? Is it worth a trip?

 

More on MSN Money

 

Tags: bargainelectronicsholidayhot dealssavings
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17Comments
John N.IL
Nov 14, 2011 10:08AM
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How many foolish people will be convinced to go out on Black Friday only to find that these great prices were on products merchants only had a few of. Only to be enticed to buy something else so their time was not a waste. This happens every year and people fall for it every time. You can find almost as good deals online as Christmas gets closer. Sometimes even better ones. People should not let the emotions of Black Friday cause them to over spend or buy on marketing pressure.
TL97
Nov 14, 2011 11:38AM
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I've never left the house on Black Friday. I'm more of a cyber Monday kind of guy. I wouldn't waste my time fighting crowds for that junk they sell on Friday.
YYAWannaNO
Nov 14, 2011 2:37PM
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Sharp 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $199.99???  So...there's only going to be like what?  FIVE of them in the store?

No thanks, I'll be sleeping in, digesting my turkey.
harleytoride
Nov 14, 2011 12:59PM
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Do not buy from Bestbuy they do not take care of there customers if product breaks this is a clear warning!!!!!
flockof4
Nov 14, 2011 3:58PM
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Gotta agree with John N. on this one.  The closer it gets to Xmas, the more desperate they become to unload merchandise. One year I did all my shopping on Dec. 23rd and saved a bundle. Of course that doesn't help if you gotta mail something but for the home-bound presents---why not?  Also I have never been able to fathom why anyone would want to get up in the middle of the night, get dressed, go stand in line most likely freezing their collective asses off, fight crowds and shop. Sounds simply awful to me. But hey, if it's your thing have a blast!
White Boy...
Nov 14, 2011 5:43PM
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Well you can be SURE of one thing. Best Buy will have two with NO Rainchecks.  Target will have 50 with rain checks... Best Buy will try to get you to buy a HDMI cable for $80.00 which you can buy at any computer store for $18.  Then of course there is their warranty that you must have, two times more than Target's, and in home set up for $250.00 with the un-trained techs. Yes I worked as a Geek Squader for about a year and realized they rip-off the consumer, so I quit...  Yes, Best Buy I Have A Conscience !!!
Doyle Robinson
Nov 14, 2011 2:52PM
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I will never buy another Westinghouse product as long as I live. My husband and I bought a 19 inch LCD flat screen TV with a DVD player for our bedroom in 2008 and we paid 450.00 for it . One year later it quite working. My husband called Westinghouse, but they say they couldn't do anything for us since our warranty had expired. Who buys an extended warranty on a TV?  Most TV's last at least 5 or more years, not Westinghouse TV's. We spent a lot of money on that  TV for it only lasting a year. You would think they would have gave us a discount toward another one. Nope! We got nothing!

mbward86
Nov 18, 2011 11:26PM
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First of all, yes they do sell a lot of junk on black friday. I used to work for a major retailer and can tell you that we get products from companies I've never heard of before. People think it's a great deal but it's a crappy product made just for black friday shoppers. That aside, there's also a ton of AWESOME deals to get on black friday from brands that we all know of. Like camera's. Who hasn't heard of NIKON? Best buy is going to have the S8100 for $149. That's an awesome price. You'll pay $244 on Amazon. I'm looking for a good camera and that camera has some pretty great reviews. But Target is also going to have a Nikon on black friday for $99. It's a L105. I google that model number and I can't kind nothing on this camera. It leads me to believe that maybe this camera has been manufactured for this sell. There's Nikon L120 camera's, but I'm not sure how they compare. My point is, most ad's have been leaked. Do your research and you'll be able to find out if what you want is junk or treasure.
Shagg Parry (art accident prone)
Nov 14, 2011 1:57PM
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i have been waiting 6 months for them to replace a charger for my daughters mini-laptop and never herd from them since and when i call i get the let me check after finally getting thru. won't waste my time there anymore. the so called geek squad didn't have a clue to a question on a unit i wanted fixed, said i should buy a new one it was outdated ,,only 4 months oldguess they sell outdated merchandise

 

macmaniac
Nov 18, 2011 11:06AM
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The one thing that I've found is that Target has larger quantities of their black Friday deals in stock than Best Buy. Typically, at Best Buy, they have a very limited supply in each store (in the past as few as 3 of an item). Target typically has much more. Last year Target had a 2 TB external hard drive for $60, a great deal even now. I didn't make it to the store until 9:00 AM (I think they opened at 5:00 AM), and they still had 20 or 30 of them available.
XBOX Man
Nov 14, 2011 8:00PM
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Anything i have purchased at Best Buy that I had any problem with has been repaired or replaced per the warranty agreement withou any issues, including one purchase that was out of warranty and was replaced at no charge.  Maybe if people approached customer service without trying to bludgeom people into doing what's right, but just talking, things would work out better for them.  I also purchased items on-line on Black Friday sale prices and had the items shiipped directly to me.   So, I'm confused with all this trash talk.
Kryzul
Nov 18, 2011 1:52AM
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Best Buy got rid of their restock fee's almost a year ago. Please learn the facts before slamming companies. They also have little to no debt and a huge cash flow, they are not going out of business anytime soon. Retailers would be fine opening later, its the consumer's that want them opening up early. They get lines of 100's and 100's of people Thanksgiving morning! 
azverbatim
Nov 18, 2011 8:30AM
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last year I bought a kerig coffee maker, a Acer computer and a Vizio TV from Tiger direct, I saved a booming 25.00 bucks on each item over buying at a local brick and mortar store.

 All 3 failed after 3 months.

Tiger direct 30 warantee, so I had to deal with the manuf. for warrantee .. (very time consuming)

 

never buy "Stuff" manufactured during/for the Holiday season, I believe the quality is far less then off season purchases.

 

 Oddly in march of 2011 I had to go to best buy for a replacement lap top to do last years taxes, I thought if it failed as the Acer did I could always bring it back for a relacement, NOT SO they also have a 30 day warrantee. fortunately it's still working.

jrsjoint
Nov 14, 2011 6:52PM
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Well.....I'm here to tell 'ya....BEST BUY SUCKS BUFFALO TESTICLES !! Baring teeth

 

My wife & I made our first & our LAST visit to Best Buy this past weekend. The aisles are much too narrow to actually shop without being trampled by other shoppers or sales staff. After 3 or 4 attempts to actually look at & compare the merchandise....we took our $1200 elsewhere.

 

Thanks Office Depot for all your help.Thumbs up

 

 

Someone (GOPhahahahaha)
Nov 14, 2011 3:22PM
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Both of these stores suck.  Both treat customers like they are doing a favor and neither supports the customer after the sale. Go to Costco!  Target is a major corporation that supports extreme politics and does not care if they hurt the customer because you are a nobody! Best Buy is on it's last legs and probably will be gone within a couple of years.
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