Black Friday and Cyber Monday isn't too far away. Who had the best deals last year?

[MannDude]

Last year I got a good deal on a refurbished Dell e6410 laptop that I needed to replace my much older Toshiba and picked up a Seagate external drive at the same time too, I feel like I got both for about $350 or something combined from NewEgg. Was a pretty decent Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal, forget which. Curious who had great deals last year, whether it be for VPSes, electronics, or just general items/discounts that may be relevant to the interest of those here.

What companies should we be looking at this year to provide some good discounts/deals on things we may want? I'm not really needing anything personally, but may have to pick something up if I feel I must have it.

EDIT: Actually, I do need some things. Looking to upgrade RAM in workstation and need to find those blue drive brackets that are used in Dell tower servers. Neither is very important or critical so can hold off until a good deal appears. Something like free shipping or flat rate discount. For that I should keep an eye on NewEgg and TigerDirect I suppose.

 

[AndrewM]

Last year I picked up a 32" LG LED for $89 @ Wolly Wurld.

Honestly, I'd keep an eye on Ebay. There's going to be a lot of people reselling their "just purchased" items for a few bucks above cost, and then the general folk selling all their other stuff so they can acquire new stuff on friday/monday. 

 

[ChrisM]

Bought an AR-15 last year among other things: 

Not sure what I am getting this year. 

 

[HalfEatenPie]

SSDs

I want an SSD

 

[D. Strout]

I only really subscribe to Newegg's deals, but they do have some good ones. I've seen some $50 1TB HDDs, SSDs are down below the 50 cent per GB mark, and other hardware is getting good too. Also, if you still have a .edu e-mail from somewhere, you might be able to get in on an extra 10% academic discount, though I don't know exactly how the validation process works.

 

[HalfEatenPie]

I only really subscribe to Newegg's deals, but they do have some good ones. I've seen some $50 1TB HDDs, SSDs are down below the 50 cent per GB mark, and other hardware is getting good too. Also, if you still have a .edu e-mail from somewhere, you might be able to get in on an extra 10% academic discount, though I don't know exactly how the validation process works.

They use SheerID.

 

[D. Strout]

They use SheerID.

Yeah I know that, but I don't know what their process is.

 

[drmike]

I never really understood the whole Black Friday / fake sales day.

It's entertaining as the masses stomp each other half to death in shitty retail stores to save on the last item of fashion desire every year.

The e-version is more civilized, but some broken psychological thriller and nervous disorder / waste of time scanning their promotional rubbish and reading the small print. 

Like most frugal folks around here, I buy every day on the cheap where I can.  Not cheap Chinese dumped goods (i.e. Walmart or much of Ebay listings for off name goods), but real products at a better price with less middleman getting fat.

Compare products for best specs and other experiences via Amazon and sometime purchase there.

Move to Ebay for misfits, refurbs and straight used stuff at deep discount.

Craigslist for major items that are a pain to ship (i.e. appliance, vehicles, work tools, industrial stuff, agricultural, etc.).

Fact is, I spend less at these traditional holiday times than any other part of the year.  Mainly because I already shopped and avoid the stress, avoid the terrible shipping times, stressed support, etc.

 

[rds100]

I wonder how many people are delaying the online purchases they had to do in anticipation of the Cyber Monday. This whole marketing ploy might work in reverse for most online sellers, i.e. they sell less as a whole during this month, because people delay their purchasing.

 

[trewq]

I have a habit of waiting for stuff to go down in price then just keep waiting and then it's obsolete... I don't make many major purchases any more.


I've been wanting a laptop for the last 5 months, I just can't bring myself to spend $2k on something I know with be useless in a few years time...


I might grab a cheap SSD if Amazon does a sale that ships to Australia.

 

[rds100]

$2k for a laptop sounds a little extreme. One can buy a decent new laptop for around $500-$600 these days.

 

[trewq]

$2k for a laptop sounds a little extreme. One can buy a decent new laptop for around $500-$600 these days.

Welcome to Australia. That's for an upgraded Lenovo T440.

 

[MannDude]

I never really understood the whole Black Friday / fake sales day.

It's entertaining as the masses stomp each other half to death in shitty retail stores to save on the last item of fashion desire every year.

Yeah, I don't get out in the physical stores for Black Friday... If I want to be trampled to death I'll go to Spain and do a running of the bulls. As far as the online deals go, I'll do those for sure if I need something and can get it that day, no shame in saving a few bucks.

Actually after this was created I made a little mental list of things I could use that I can wait until Cyber Monday to order online. RAM, hard drive caddy for my Dell workstation, new PC fans (since they always seem to die... having a couple spares won't hurt) and maybe even a more ergonomic mouse. Things I can live without, but would be nice to have and would rather order them when I can get a deal on them or free shipping or whatever.

May also be a good time to get some x-mas presents for family as well. Last year I ordered -all- my Christmas presents from Amazon... I didn't step foot in a store once.

 

[RosenHost]

I wonder how many people are delaying the online purchases they had to do in anticipation of the Cyber Monday. This whole marketing ploy might work in reverse for most online sellers, i.e. they sell less as a whole during this month, because people delay their purchasing.

I am one of those people. Around late October each year, I stop purchases and wait for deals of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

 

[FHN-Eric]

I'm hoping to grab some cheap vps's on cyber Monday, and maybe even a rhaspberry pi. After all one can never have too many vps machines laying around. So, who is doing yearly vps deals cyber Monday?

 

[ChrisM]

Yeah, I don't get out in the physical stores for Black Friday...

@MannDude What if there was some good deals on Gun stuff at a physical store?

 

[Srvify]

Not really electronic related but as a father and home owner I tend to watch Toys-R-Us and Home Depot. I have in the past saved a ton of money on Christmas by waiting and picked up some new tools at a discount. 

To me the real problem with Black Friday is most of the sales really are not as good as other sales they do through out the year. As an example, again not electronics, I bought my daughter a doll house this year for Christmas. I purchased it in July for around $20, the same dollhouse is on sale at the same store for black friday for $40. 

 

[Licensecart]

Yeah, I don't get out in the physical stores for Black Friday... If I want to be trampled to death I'll go to Spain and do a running of the bulls. As far as the online deals go, I'll do those for sure if I need something and can get it that day, no shame in saving a few bucks.

Yeah it's a pain I bet, we don't celebrate Black Friday in the UK. But places do have promotions, I didn't grab a deal last year, but only 7 people have died in total from 2006-2013 and 90 injuries. http://www.blackfridaydeathcount.com/

 

[RosenHost]

I am planning to download Fat Wallet Black Friday app on my iPhone to follow latest deals and not miss anything 

 

[TurnkeyInternet]

Blackfriday really seems to be almost a brain wash on the masses, they all buy because everyone else is buying - and the media says this is the time to buy.  I've never been willing to stand in line to wait for that 'deal' that may or may not be there when the store opens.  But I admit years ago i was waiting in line online to buy at an online store, that sold out in 90 seconds, web site crashed, and said sold out when done (was for a TV years ago). 

Since then, I've been busy working on black friday vs shopping so I don't get to pay attention.