The guys over at Dealnews have published a rather nonsensical list that will probably help you discern what exactly is a good buy and what’s not on Black Friday.

1. Know the Price History for the Item
2. Consider Other Colors
3. Compare to Prices on Similar Items
4. Consider Bundle Offers
5. Look for Coupons That Apply to Your Selection
6. Look for a Coupon for Competing Stores
7. Does Shipping Kill the Deal?
8. Don’t Forget Sales Tax

Sounds like common sense, sounds like something we all should already know, but let’s be honest. If you have 16 screaming, kung-fu grip mommies around you grabbing everything around you and you get caught up in the fever of purchasing a $79 dollar point-and-click camera made by a name brand that’s only sold in certain stores and perhaps isn’t the best name brand out there I’m not talking from experience… I’m really not… damn cheap friggin’ camera…

So yes. Head over to Dealnews.com and read the whole article. Who knows, you might be able to save some money on some rather useless camera gadget and buy more bang for the buck.

[ Links: Dealnews - 8 Tips to Get the Best Deals on Black Friday ]

After reading that a lot of my friends had hit up stores, waiting in line until 4am for $300 televisions or $180 laptops or some other madness, I decided to go the other way. I slept in – still suffering from the Thanksgiving food induced coma – and still got some killer deals via online purchases. But even that might pale in comparison to the upcoming Cyber Monday.

Where to go? Here’s a quick list:

Overstock.com – They have sales that have started on Black Friday and will continue through Cyber Monday.
Dealnews.com – Pretty much one of the deal sites that I go to almost daily.
Cyber Monday 2010 – Part of Bradsdeals.com that’s updated quite frequently.
Dealighted.com – A frequently updated list that scours Fatwallet, Slickdeals and other sites.
Top Hot Deal – A collection of heavily discounted Amazon offerings – I found Mad Men Seasons 1-3 on Blu-Ray for $9.99 here.

I’ll add more when I’m able to overcome my tryptophan overdose.

[ Links: Overstock.com, Top Hot Deal, Dealighted.com, Cyber Monday 2010 ]

I’ll have to admit that this is the first Christmas shopping season where I’ve yet to complete my shopping – been way too busy and there’s been way too many gadgets that I’ve wanted for myself. With that said, it looks like BradsDeals.com and Yahoo! Shopping are trying to find a way to make the next 60 (or so) days of this shopping season and beyond that much easier for all of us online shoppers.

BradsDeals.com, the leading website for shopping deals and advice, and Yahoo! Shopping, the #1 comparison shopping site are expanding their commitment to providing consumers with the best deals this holiday season. This year they are building upon their successful partnership on with “60 Days of Deals!” where each day through January 5, 2011, Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Deals and BradsDeals.com will showcase one exclusive offer from a major retailer.

“Our editorial team (at BradsDeal.com) is tracking sales and coupons for the season’s must-have items at nearly 1500 retailers. A ‘BradsDeal’ is what happens when we match one of those valuable coupons with a deeply-discounted sale item.”

With Yahoo! Shopping involved, over 20 million people have access to these 1500+ deals. Take the hint, don’t be lazy and check it all out. I know that I will.

[ Links: BradsDeals.com, Yahoo! Shopping ]

I love gadgets almost as much as I like saving money and finding deals. Got word about Bradsdeals launching Black Friday 2010, a website dedicated to bring together all of the upcoming November 26th Black Friday Deals.

Brad Wilson, Founder of BradsDeals.com is proud to announce the launch of BlackFriday2010.com, the leading website devoted to researching, planning and executing a fun and successful Black Friday shopping strategy.

BlackFriday2010.com is the source for pre-released Black Friday ads for major stores. Visitors will find the latest holiday shopping news and tips, plus printable coupons and Brad’s handpicked deals, many of which are provided on an exclusive basis by retailers to BlackFriday2010.com.

“Black Friday is more than great deals and it is more than shopping,” said Wilson. “It’s a social event. Mothers and daughters, cousins, friends – they all research for weeks, scouring through our leaked Black Friday Ads, planning the timing and tactics they need to get the best deals.”

Last year, more than 10 Million shoppers saved money using the Black Friday site. The average consumer saved nearly 25% on their purchase.

In order to make shopping as simple as possible, Wilson will provide a free Black Friday iPhone app that allows shoppers to take all the store ads and information on the go.

So the site combined with the free Apple iPhone app makes for a killer way to save a lot of money this Black Friday. Oh… and Brad’s Deals isn’t just a one or two trick pony. Immediately after Black Friday, Brad’s Deals will unveil CyberMonday2010.com to help you save even more online.

Be smart, use BradsDeals.com and BlackFriday2010.com and don’t miss out on the savings this year.

[ Links: Brads Deals, Black Friday 2010, Cyber Monday 2010 ]

Being up-to-date and/or being an early adopter in the realm of gadgets is very expensive. In this edition of Save Money Mondays, I’d love to share with you one of the places that collects a lot of software and hardware deals in one place for your perusal. I’ve been a fan of Deals2buy.com [ site here ] for years. I’ve bought my previous Aliph Jawbone 2 earpiece via a link from their site and saved about $45 dollars off of retail among other deals for software, coupons and other gadget deals over the years. Definitely a site worthy of bookmarking.

They also collect those hard to find Dell coupons as well.

[ Deals2buy.com ] [ Related: RTL Deals ]

In this edition of Save Money Monday, I’d like to direct your attention to the ever-changing Dealighted.com [ site here ] which lists some of the absolute best sales, deals and coupons for everything from computer products and upgrades to fashion to even travel and website hosting and vitamins.

Subscribe to Dealighted’s RSS feed for the best chances at savings.

[ Dealighted ] [ Related: RTL Deals ]

Everybody loves Amazon.com, right? It’s convenient, it’s trusted, it’s huge and sometimes it’s the cheapest place to shop for certain items. And every now-and-then, it’s incredibly cheap. But those heavily discounted items can be hidden under all of the items offered at the Amazon site. And did you know that Amazon sometimes has coupons? That’s right, certain items can be bought for even a bit cheaper. But how?

Enter Top Hot Deal [ site here ] who brings to the table a unique way to save money via Amazon discount codes and percentages off on a site I use (honestly) at least twice a month for quite a few purchases. For instance, let’s say you’re looking for a belt you’re in need to replace. Hit up Top Hot Deal, click Amazon discount deals, then click Apparel & Accessories then click on (and I’m being greedy here) 90% discount. In my search via the site, I came up to a belt that could take a buckle for 77 cents in the first few search results.

Go to Amazon directly, search for belts. Then change to Men’s, then sort by price. That same item price still doesn’t initially show up. It was hidden a bit on the third or so page – the price on my initial find came up still under its original price of $18.95 instead of the killer 77 cent deal I found on the same belt. This isn’t saying that the Amazon.com search is a pain in the butt horribly flawed, but I found my experience via Top Hot Deal rather easy and quick.

Just wish I went to the site first when I just bought “The Lost Symbol”. Found a coupon that could have saved me a few more dollars. Live and learn I guess.

Note: Sorry for the delay on this week’s Save Money Monday feature. Due to a server issue, things got delayed but all is fine now.

[ TopHotDeal: Amazon Discounts Codes ] [ Related: RTL Deals ] [ Amazon ]

Keeping up with the newest technology is expensive. Being in the know about what is already out and how it compares to what’s coming down the pipe and ultimately what’s the cheapest you can find that newest thing you might be obsessing over is just downright time consuming. Not all of us are or have a direct line to a “gadget guru” that can answer all of our questions on the spot via a phone call or text message. And to be perfectly honest, given the current economic situation, unless you’re Bill Gates, each and every dollar counts.

If you have a Facebook account – really, by now, who doesn’t? – you can log into Freshdeals.com [ site here ] and ask questions that will be answered by other Freshdeals.com members that have found or saw products that you are also searching for for cheaper or give you insight as to why you wouldn’t want to buy that gadget in front of you because a newer version is coming out in a week or so. Also, the site itself gives you the opportunity to buy certain things at a much discounted price as well from business partners/websites that have what you’re looking for at a heavily discounted price.

Even without logging in and asking questions – that’s really the draw of the site though, to be able to interact with real live people – the site covers it all. From children’s clothing to plasma HDTV televisions to home decor and furniture to hair products and just about all points in-between. In fact, a quick glance around, I was able to locate some GNC Mega Mens Vitamin for $19 dollars, down from the typical $45 dollars I tend to spend with the $5 off coupon that I clip out from time to time. Saving $26 dollars that quickly makes Freshdeals.com a site worth a second look and worth my time. Give it a spin!

[ Freshdeals.com ] [ Remove The Labels: Deals ]

Have you visited Best Buy yet?

Best Buy has made several resources available to help people understand what’s happening with this transition. I’ve got press documents I can send you, but the major points are these:

-Beginning in early 2006, Best Buy began providing consumers with in-store and online information about the DTV broadcast transition including brochures and a dedicated page at BestBuy.com/DTV.

-In October 2007, Best Buy was the first CE retailer to exit the analog business, pulling all analog tuner products from store shelves.

-Best Buy has launched a dedicated hotline – 877-BBY-DTV9 – where consumers can call and speak with a trained home theater specialist to ask questions about the DTV transition and to learn about their options to get ready for the switch.

-Customers will also be able to redeem their DTV coupons and order converter boxes through this hotline if they are unable to get to a Best Buy store.

-Best Buy store employees across the U.S. have received training on the DTV broadcast transition and the options available to consumers. Store employees in positions that are most likely to assist consumers with DTV broadcast transition inquiries have participated in an additional series of in-depth training sessions since June 2007.

Hurry up… February will be here sooner than you’d think.