Best Cyber Monday Deals on What Shoppers Want

The momentum from record holiday sales over the Black Friday weekend may spur new sales highs today (Nov. 28) on Cyber Monday, America’s traditional shop-at-home day when people look to the Internet for the biggest discounts on items they want to buy.

 

Overall, retail sales increased 9.1 percent during the long weekend to reach $52 billion, an average of nearly $400 per shopper, according to the National Retail Federation.  Online shopping increased a whopping 26 percent, with Amazon.com reporting a 50 percent increase in traffic on Friday. The top-searched items over the weekend were “55-inch LED TV” followed by PlayStation3, Xbox 360, Eos Rebel T3i and iPod Touch fourth-generation 8GB, according to PriceGrabber’s figures listed on its website. HDTV sales increased 30 percent over last year and overtook computers for the first time as the most popular Black Friday item.

 

But fear not, there are plenty of TVs, computers and cameras to be had.

 

The Internet is a big place, so we’ve made a list of the best Cyber Monday deals from big retailers. Stick with brands you know and stores you trust — you wouldn’t buy a TV out of the back of someone’s van, right?

 

HDTV deals

 

The best deal in terms of total cost for a 55-inch LED HDTV comes from TigerDirect. The online electronics retailer has Toshiba’s 55HT1U 1080p, 120Hz LED HDTV for $700, which is $300 off the regular price. This is a refurbished model, but carries the same warranty as new models and if you’re on a budget, buying factory-refurbished is a great way to save.

 

If you have $1,000 in your budget, the selection of big-screen HDTV deals widens. Try Sharp’s 60-inch AQUOS LC60LE6300U 1080p, 120Hz LED HDTV from BestBuy and save $700; a 55-inch Samsung UN55D6003 LED 1080p 120Hz HDTV at BestBuy for a $500 savings; or go huge with a 73-inch Mitsubishi WD-73C11 1080p 3-D DLP Home Cinema TV for $939 from Dell to save $370. Remember, a DLP TV has a flat screen in the front, but a deep casing in the back, so make sure you have the room and are not planning to mount this monstrosity on the wall.

 

Computer deals

 

The biggest savings in laptops are on the high-end models with top-of-the-line processors such as the 15.6" Lenovo Y570 08622WU Quad Core i7-2670QM, 8GB RAM, 750GB HDD, GeForce GT 555M for $799 at Lenovo where you’ll save $300.

 

However, if you’re in the market for a budget laptop, try Walmart’s laptop bundle for $419 that includes a laptop, case, USB flash drive and a printer.

 

Camera deals

 

The 12.2MP Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18-55mm DSLR Camera is available from Dell for $800 — a savings of $59. Plus, you’ll get an 8GB SDHC memory card and a shoulder bag as a free bonus.

 

If you’re in the market for a compact camera with pro features, try Panasonic’s LUMIX DMC-FH25 16MP camera for $100 from TigerDirect and save $62. You can also pick up Panasonic’s  LUMIX DMC-FP7 16MP camera for $100 at Panasonic, a savings of $100.

 

Gaming deals

 

Microsoft is offering a 4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect for $200, a $100 discount.  This one makes sense if you want to use an Xbox to put some “smarts” in your HDTV. The Kinect sensor alone usually retails for $150, so this deal is equivalent to buying a media-streaming player with live TV options — coming Dec. 6 — for an additional $50. Microsoft also has a variety of popular Xbox Kinect games such as Dance Central 2 at half price.

iPod Touch and other Apple products

 

MacConnection has the iPod Touch 8GB for $188, a savings of $11 over Apple’s online price of $199. Apple.com discounts are over, but the company is offering free shipping on everything until Dec. 22.