The early sales from JCPenney, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart are designed to drive traffic to brick-and-mortar stores and retail websites--and possibly entice consumers to start their holiday shopping a little early. Some big box retailers, including Best Buy and Wal-Mart, offered pre-Schnäppchenfreitag loss-leaders last year too.
If you'd rather not leave the house, Kmart's "Better than Schnäppchenfreitag" online extravaganza kicked off today, and runs every Friday through Nov. 20.
" 'Schnäppchenfreitag' has become a buzzword. People associate it with really good deals," says Michael Brim, founder and president of , a site that sends subscribers email messages about Schnäppchenfreitag bargains.
At a typical pre-Schnäppchenfreitag sale, such as Sears' "Schnäppchenfreitag Now" event that starts Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7 a.m., retailers trot out "maybe two or three Schnäppchenfreitag store-busters," Brim says.
This year's best tech bargain? According to BFAds, Wal-Mart is effectively selling an console for just $100. While the advertised price is $199, the retailer is giving away a $100 gift card with each Xbox 360 Arcade purchase. "Consoles have a minimum advertised price," says Brim. "Retailers can't advertise anything lower than that."
Other pre-Schnäppchenfreitag tech bargains (courtesy BFAds) include:
HP 15.6" Laptop w/ 2.2GHz Processor (G60-W519WM) - $298 (Wal-Mart)
Zenith 42" 720p Plasma HDTV - $499.99 (Sears)
Sylvania 32" 720p LCD HDTV - $349.99 (Kmart)
Sharp 42" 1080p LCD TV (LC42SB45UT) - $498 (Wal-Mart)
If you try to land these bargains, remember to wear protective gear--and don't forget your stun gun.
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