Consumers are spending, cash registers are ringing and retailers hope to be smiling on this Black Friday.
Experts are predicting 77 million Americans will take to shopping centers and any store where big deals are to be had, giving the economy a much-needed jolt.
I must admit, I’ve never gotten up at 4 or 5 a.m. to wait in line and brave the cold, trying to sprint past a competing shopper to grab the last Tickle Me Elmo.
I do, however, look at the Black Friday ads to see what kinds of deals I could net if I’d stop procrastinating with my Christmas shopping.
Check out some of these big deals on one of my favorite things — electronics.
In the market for a laptop? I’m not, but for less than $200, I might be.
At Best Buy, $197 can get you an HP Laptop with Intel Celeron 2.2GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB, with a 15.6-inch monitor.
At Wal-Mart, $198 can get you an eMachine laptop with a 15.6-inch monitor with 2GB RAM, 160GB and a DVD burner.
These laptops for less than $300 are steals:
Wal-Mart: HP G60-519wm laptop 3GB RAM, 250GB, CD/DVD burner — $298.
Staples: HP laptop with Intel Celeron Processor — $299.98.
As are these for less than $400:
Staples: HP laptop with Intel Pentium Processor — $399.98.
Best Buy: Sony VAIO laptop with free antivirus software for one year — $399.99.
If you haven’t updated your home’s TV yet to HD or LCD/Plasma, these Black Friday deals should make it hard for you not to.
I upgraded to HD a couple of years ago, and the difference is huge — just like the price I paid ($1,200) as opposed to today’s sales.
Wal-Mart: Sansui 19-inch LCD HDTV, $128; Emerson 32-inch LCD HDTV, $248, and 42-inch, $448; Sanyo 50-inch Plasma HDTV, $598.
Target: Westinghouse 32-inch LCD HDTV, $246.
Best Buy: Dynex 32-inch LCD HDTV, $299 and $499 for the 42 inch.
Sears: Sylvania 37-inch LCD HDTV, $399; Zenith 42-inch LCD HDTV, $499.99.
Please stay alert and safe!
As shoppers head out with the best of intentions, please remember there are people out with the worst of intentions.
They know the crowded shopping center parking lots are full of cars that are full of merchandise. They know people are apt to be carrying more cash today.
As my football coach used to say, “keep your head on a swivel.”
Be sure to make every effort to keep your merchandise in the trunk and out of site of the grinches.
Harold Goodridge is the business editor at The Telegraph. Contact him at 744-4382 or e-mail him at hgoodridge@macon.com.
