The lines are already being drawn for the battle ground that is Black Friday. The Internet has once again proven that no secrets are safe as several sites have gotten advanced information on what sales will be happening at stores across the county. For example, bfads.net, a site that is tracking Black Friday sales, reported that “For anyone who is looking to purchase a PlayStation 3, but doesn’t want to wait in line for the chance to purchase one, Costco.com will be selling them online beginning 8:00am PST on Friday, November 17th.”
Of course not everyone is taking kindly to this. The site took down information on alleged Best Buy sales after it heard a rumor that the national retailer was going to hit them with legal action. Much of the information appears to be leaked by the printers that are reproducing the newspaper circulars and print ads for the retailers. One site, blackfriday.gottadeal.com contained an entry that read, “We’ve just received a copy of Target’s 2006 Black Friday ad scan and it is posted on our forum right here.”
What is clear is that pricing is going to be very aggressive, probably more than last year, especially as many of the television manufacturers deeply cut prices on flat panel TVs. CNN reported that Wal-Mart is going to be offering a 42-inch Plasma HDTV for $998 (one per customer); Compaq Presario PC media and entertainment center for $398 (minimum 15 per store and one per customer); Kodak EasyShare C633 digital camera and printer dock bundle for $189.74
