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Business & Tech

Frugal Family Gets Up Early For Black Friday Sales

Stores open earlier than ever and tempt shoppers with up to 50 percent discounts on high-end items.

Love it or hate it, Black Friday, which marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, has become a celebrated event in itself. This year, in a scramble to win more shopping dollars, retailers began marking down items as early as October. Prices will head even lower in certain categories this Friday. Based on our review of the Black Friday ads, online circulars and discussion boards, you'll score the best deals this weekend on apparel, computers and tablets, HDTVs, toys and video game consoles. In order to save you both time and money, we've listed the very hottest money-saving deals from local retailers below.

Note: Check with the merchant for additional conditions that may apply.


Deal #1: Get a Playstation 3 160GB System, including the games Little Big Planet 2 Special Edition and Ratchet & Clank All 4 One, for $199.97 ($369.97 if purchased separately). Quanitity is limited and deal is valid in-store only.
Deal #2: Trade in a used Nintendo DS, get a new 3DS bundle from $99.99. Deal is valid in-store only.
Deal #3: Get a Microsoft XBOX 360 4GB Console for $149.99 (Reg. $199.99). Quanitity is limited and deal is valid in-store only.
Plus: See the Gamestop Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Thursday, midnight until supplies run out.

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RADIO SHACK
Deal #1: Get a Velocity Micro Cruz 2GB 7-inch HD Wi-Fi Touchscreen Tablet for $99.99 (Reg. $149.99). Quanitity is limited and deal is valid in-store only.
Deal #2: Get a Tom Tom XXL550TM 5-inch GPS with lifetime traffic and map updates for $99.99 (Reg. $199.99). Quanitity is limited and deal is valid in-store only.
Deal #3: Get a Nikon Coolpix S6100 16.1MP 7x zoom digital camera for $119.99 (reg. $199.99).
Plus: See the Radio Shack Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Friday, 5:30 a.m. through Saturday, while supplies last.


Deal #1: Get an XBOX 360 4GB console with Kinect plus a $50 Walmart gift card for $199.96. Quantity is limited and deal is available in-store only.
Deal #2: Get an HP 15.6-inch laptop with 3GB RAM and 320GB HDD for $248. Quantity is limited and deal is available in-store only.
Deal #3: Get a Nintendo Wii limited edition console in blue for $99.96. Quantity is limited and deal is available in-store only.
Plus: See the Walmart Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Thursday, midnight until supplies run out.

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EXPRESS
Deal #1: Get 40 percent off storewide.
Good through: Thursday, Nov. 24 through Friday at noon.

BEST BUY
Deal #1: Get a Sharp LC-42SV49U 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $199.99. There are 10 per store and the deal is available in-store only. Deal is restricted to one per customer.
Deal #2: Lenovo E-300 dual-core 15.6-inch laptop with 2GB RAM and 250GB HDD for $179.99. There are 10 per store and the deal is restricted to one per customer.
Deal #3: Save $60 to $200 on on MacBook Pro laptops and iMac computers. There are 3 total per store and deal is available in-store only.
Plus: See the Best Buy Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Thursday, midnight until supplies run out.

TARGET
Deal #1: Get a Westinghouse 46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $298 (reg. $549.99). Deal is available in-store only.
Deal #2: Get a Nikon L105 12.1MP digital camera for $99.99 (reg. $199.99). Deal is available in-store only.
Deal #3: Get a Sony Playstation3 160GB bundle for $199 (a $369 total value). Quanitity is limited and deal is available in-store only.
Plus: See the Target Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Thursday, midnight until supplies run out.

STAPLES
Deal #1: Get a Blackberry Playbook 7-inch 16GB tablet for $199 (reg. $499). There are 2 per store, and the deal is available in-store only.
Deal #2: Get an Acer Iconia Tab 10.1-inch 16GB Android tablet for $299 (reg. $399.98). There are 3 per store, and the deal is available in-store only.
Deal #3: Get an HP DV7-6b32 17.3-inch laptop with 4GB RAM, 640 GB HDD and Blu-Ray DVD drive for $599.99 after $50 rebate. There are 4 per store, and the deal is available in-store only. There is a limit of one per customer.
Plus: See the Staples Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Friday, 6 a.m. to noon.

MACY'S
Deal #1: Get a Cuisinart 7-cup food processor with dough blade and shredding disc for $68.99 (reg. $149.99).
Deal #2: Get a Tools of the Trade 12-piece stainless steel cookware set with glass lids for $29.99 (reg. $99.99).
Deal #3: Get a Circulon 2 11-piece nonstick cookware set for $99.99 (reg. $229.99).
Plus: See the Macy's Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Thursday, midnight to Friday, 1 p.m. and Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.


Deal #1: Get a Sony PlayStation3 160GB Bundle with free PS3 Power A wired controller for $199.99.
Deal #2: Get a Microsoft XBOX 360 4BG game system with Kinect plus a free $10 Toys "R" Us gift card for $199.99.
Deal #3: Get a free $50 Toys "R" Us gift card with purchase of any Apple iPod Touch. Quantity is limited and deal is available in-store only.
Plus: See the Toys "R" Us Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Thursday, 9 p.m. through Saturday, 11 p.m.


Deal #1: Get a Sylvania 7-inch MID tablet for $79.99 (save $50). Quanitities are limited.
Deal #2: Get a Samsung UN55D6000 55-inch 120Hz 1080p LED Smart HDTV for $1,099.99. Deal is available in-store only.
Deal #3: Get the Craftsman 5-drawer powered project center for $129.99 (save $70).
Plus: See the Sears Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Friday, 4 a.m. to 1 p.m.


Deal #1: Get 30 to 65 percent off all dress and casual shoes and boots. Offer is good in-store only.
Deal #2: Get a Samsung UN55D6000 55-inch 120Hz 1080p LED Smart HDTV for $1,099.99. Deal is available in-store only.
Deal #3: Get a Pandigital Planet 7-inch full-color Android media tablet for $139.99 after $20 mail-in rebate. Offer available in-store only.
Plus: See the Kohl's Black Friday ad for more deals.
Good through: Thursday, midnight to Friday, 1 p.m.

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