Wal-mart Black Friday deals on HDTVs, Blu-ray players begin to leak online
As the 800-pound gorilla of retailing, Wal-mart can get away with teasing consumers before Black Friday, offering some early deals a couple of weeks ago, as well as even releasing some more today, like a 26-inch 720p Vizio LCD HDTV for $248 that will be available starting Saturday. Even worse, its Black Friday ad hasn't made it online yet, though today a few of the deals have been confirmed. If you like bargain brands at bargain prices, then get yourself ready for the following deals:
- A Sanyo 50-inch 720p plasma HDTV for $598
- An Emerson 42-inch 720p plasma for $448
- An Emerson 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV for $248
- A Magnavox Blu-ray player for $78
Of those four, the Magnavox price is the most eye-opening, as $99 has been the usual low-end "doorbuster" price for Blu-ray players in the past. The 32-inch Emerson is priced almost exactly the same as Target is offering a Westinghouse 32-inch LCD for ($246), though the Westinghouse brand has a higher visibility. Would you jump at that Emerson plasma when you can get a 42-inch 720p Panasonic plasma right now at JR.com for $499? Or for an extra $100 you can grab a Samsung 42-inch 720p plasma on Black Friday at Best Buy instead of the Sanyo, which isn't well known for its plasmas.
Of course, many people shopping at Wal-mart can't spend anything extra and for them, these could look like great deals. And these are the first leaks, so there may be more name-brand HDTV deals from Wal-mart still to be disclosed. At least you gotta hope so.