This article was reported by DealNews, a site that scours the web for the best retail deals.
Amazon has been teasing its customers with Black Friday-like deals for over a week now, but today its official Black Friday ad has been confirmed. So what do Bezos and company have in store for us?
For starters, deals will start this Friday, November 21, a full week before Black Friday. Deals will be released as often as every 10 minutes for eight consecutive days. Amazon will also announce additional deals on Thanksgiving day and Black Friday. Amazon Prime subscribers will have early access to select deals, however, the retailer doesn't give specifics on any of its deals beyond what it has already announced. Nevertheless, shoppers can prepare for any given day's deals by viewing the "Upcoming" tab on Amazon's deal page.
As for the deals themselves, the Seattle e-tailer is taking major jabs at holiday veterans like Walmart and Target, which we expected after Walmart threw the first punch. What else is worth noting? Read on to find out.
Amazon Black Friday Ad Analysis
The Good Deals
Toshiba 50" LED LCD HDTV for $199
Best Buy isn't the only retailer in town with a name-brand 50" HDTV for $200. Amazon plans on offering a 50" Toshiba for a buck less, which makes it $100 under our prediction and tied as the best price we've seen for any 50" HDTV. It is truly the doorbuster price of the season, and Amazon is bringing it online.
32" LED LCD HDTV for $79
With this one deal, Amazon is undercutting Target, Kohl's, and our own Black Friday prediction for 32" TVs, proving to us all why its fans consider it the king of online shopping.
40" 1080p LED LCD HDTV for $119
This deal is a direct response to Target's Element 40" HDTV, which is also priced at $119. Without knowing the brand name or details of Amazon's deal, it's hard to recommend one over the other, so shoppers will have to check back when Amazon releases further information on its deal. Regardless, at this price it's better than anything we could have predicted.
LG G3 Android Smartphone for 1 cent with 2-year contract
We've only seen this phone at this price once before (via Amazon, no less), so this is a standout deal for anyone in need of a new Android smartphone. Of note, a 2-year contract or contract renewal is required.
HTC One M8 Windows Smartphone for 1 cent with 2-year contract
Like the aforementioned smartphone, this is a very rare discount for the HTC One M8. Nevertheless, it falls in line with our smartphone predictions and gets our nod of approval.
Roku LT HD Wireless Media Player for $28
Outside of refurbs (which have only once hit this price), we've never seen the Roku LT streamer at this price point. This deal also beats Walmart's 2013 Black Friday price for the Roku LT by $11.
Panasonic 3D Blu-ray Player for $35
If you're in the market for a new Blu-ray player, this is the cheapest 3D player we've seen to date. In fact, prices for 3D Blu-ray players haven't been this low since last December, when they bottomed out at $49.
Beats by Dr. Dre Studio 2.0 Over-the-Ear Headphones for $199.99
While the original Beats Studio Over-the-Ear headphones have dropped as low as $130 this year, the newer 2.0 model has only hit $210 once, making this the best deal of the year for these headphones.
Vizio 55" 1080p LED LCD HDTV for $478
This 55" Vizio easily beats our Black Friday prediction for name-brand 55" TVs. It's also the cheapest name-brand 55" TV we've seen in 2014. However, this deal falls short of being the cheapest of all time. That distinction belongs to the LG 55LS4500, which we saw for $448 in September of 2013. Still, this Amazon deal comes in at a close 2nd.
Need your 55" TV sooner rather than later? Walmart currently offers this Sceptre 55" 1080p LCD HDTV for $449 with free shipping. While the Vizio model has built-in WiFi and app support, this Sceptre costs $29 less and features an MHL port, which means it's compatible with the Roku Streaming Stick as well as other MHL-compliant tablets and devices.
LG 65" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for $648
This is an outstanding deal for any 65" HDTV. (The cheapest TV we've seen in this size cost $799). However, keep in mind that Walmart will offer a Vizio 65" 1080p LCD HDTV for the same price. Furthermore, Walmart's Vizio will feature built-in WiFi and Smart TV capabilities. We still don't know the full details of this LG TV.
Samsung 55" 4K Ultra HDTV for $899
Name-brand 4K HDTVs are the stars of this Black Friday, and this deal manages to undercut Best Buy's Samsung 55" 4K HD TV by a buck. If you're a fan of curved TVs, for a few hundred dollars more you can opt for curved 4K sets at Sam's Club and hhgregg.
Xbox One Console with $150 in Digital Content
We're not recommending this deal just yet since we don't know the price, but considering how Amazon is undercutting most of its competitors, we wouldn't be surprised if it undercuts Target's $330 Xbox One deal or matches Walmart's $329 Xbox One bundle, the latter of which is our favorite Xbox One Black Friday deal to date.
As far as electronics are concerned, Amazon's Black Friday ad won't disappoint. Sure, there are many missing details that could make or break certain deals, but for the most part Amazon's deal team wasn't joking around when it released its official ad.
Unfortunately, we didn't spot a single Apple deal in Amazon's first wave of Black Friday deals. Laptops, fitness trackers, and tablets were also notably missing. While this may change in the coming days, it leaves Target and Best Buy the undisputed champs of Apple deals and gives other retailers a head start in those departments. At least for now.
Excited for Black Friday deals? Consider subscribing to the DealNews Select Newsletter to get a daily recap of all our deals; you never know when a Black Friday price will be released! You can also download the DealNews app, check out the latest Black Friday ads, or read more buying advice.
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