The 19 best Black Friday ads so far
As we inch closer to听, we're finally getting a clear picture of the 2014 Black Friday landscape. We've examined the advertised deals from stores like听,听, 补苍诲听, and we're ready to pick some winners. Keep in mind though that new ads may continue to trickle in 鈥� and we may even see some price wars affect deal pricing 鈥� but in the meantime, here's our roundup of the top Black Friday ads so far.
The Best Black Friday Ads So Far
听at Toys "R" Us
Skylanders fans take note: While听听will (barely) beat Toys "R" Us' price for the听, you'll want to head to Toys "R" Us if you're shopping for new figures. This BOGO sale will offer deeper discounts than听similar sale.听听补苍诲听听will offer select individual figures at cheaper prices, but if you're buying in quantity, Toys "R" Us is your best bet.
听at Target
Retailers rarely, if ever, discount their own gift cards. But from 6 am to 12 pm on Black Friday, you'll be able to score a Target gift card for 10% off. Although we typically see dollar-off coupons from Target, they're normally tied to select departments or require a minimum purchase. This gift card sale has no such limitations (other than time). Considering听, this is a stellar sale. Even better, you can take advantage of this sale in-store or from the comforts of your home online.
听for free at Radio Shack
We haven't seen a decent discount on a subsidized Samsung Galaxy S5 since August, and that one cost $100. Fast forward to Black Friday, when Radio Shack will offer this in-demand Android smartphone for free (with the activation of a 2-year contract). Until we start seeing for-profit deals, this is as cheap as this smartphone will get. Honorable mention goes to听补苍诲听, which will offer the phone for 1 cent and 96 cents, respectively.
听for $30 at Best Buy
Alien: Isolation consists of being mercilessly murdered, over and over again, by a horrifying, 8-foot-tall monster from outer space, says听. But despite the simple plot, Alien: Isolation sets a new benchmark for horror games. This title hasn't seen any major discounts since a preorder deal back in August. Best Buy will knock 50% off this AAA title on Thanksgiving, a full $10 below听听补苍诲听.
听with a听听for $79 at Meijer
Here's an ad that blows our听听right out of the water. Against all odds, here's the Fire HD 6 (the bottom-tier tablet in Amazon's recently refreshed lineup), marked down by $20 with an extra $20 credit tacked on for good measure. Assuming you'll use the credit, that'll be 40% off and the very first discount we've seen on this tablet. Furthermore, Meijer's leaked price beats听听by $11 once all credits are taken into account.
听for $79.99 at Best Buy
Sorry,听: Best Buy just became the place to buy a pair of Beats cans on Black Friday. Even we're floored by this $80 doorbuster; that ties the all-time best price we've seen for these headphones听refurbished.
听for $99 at Sam's Club
Although iPhone 6 deals have been mediocre since Apple's launch, this deal may be the one to open the floodgates. Outside of an early Walmart preorder, the 16GB iPhone 6 has not dropped below $179. This Sam's Club deal cuts the list price by 50% to just $99 (with a 2-year contract renewal), which is right on par with our听. Better yet, this price听听by $51. All of the听听go live on November 15, so proceed with caution because other retailers may swoop in and undercut them.
听for $99 at Walmart
Although the summer months typically see better grill sales than Black Friday, this gas grill is a steal. At $99, it'll be tied with a May deal as the cheapest 4-burner gas grill we've seen in thepast two years. Better still, this 6 pm doorbuster beats the听by $61.
听for $100 at Staples
We admit, this laptop isn't going to break any speed records. It's housing an Atom processor, only 2GB of RAM, and a 32GB eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard), the latter of which is听. Nevertheless, as far as budget systems are concerned, this deal is poised to blow all other deals out of the water. Not only does it听听by $78, but when this deal comes to fruition, it will set a new benchmark for cheap laptops 鈥� and become the cheapest laptop in DealNews history.
听for $119 at Target
Just when we thought 40" to 42" TV deals had plateaued, Target went and slashed the price of this 40" Element to $119. Not only does that destroy our听听for this size category by $59, but it's just $9 away from tying last year's best Black Friday price for a听32" TV. Without a doubt, this is the star of Target's Black Friday ad and easily snags a spot in our Top 10.
听for $199 at Walmart
Somewhere, a Dyson fan just fainted (the afficiando kind, not the room-cooling kind). We, and this 6 pm doorbuster demolishes that price by $51. Furthermore, this price is $40 below our previous all-time low for a new unit.
听for $199.99 at Best Buy
If you want to make a statement, offering a brand-name HDTV as your show-stealing doorbuster is a heck of a way to do it. This Panasonic 50" set comes in at an astonishing听听for the听46" to 47" class TVs. In fact, this deal will be tied as the best price we've seen for听any听50" HDTV by about $100 鈥� including refurbs. (We've only seen a 50" TV drop this low once before, on Thanksgiving last year.) Best of all, this price outshines the leaked Black Friday prices for every other TV in this size range, including听. The only drawback to this doorbuster is that you'll have to go to the store to grab it.
听for $300 at OfficeDepot
This laptop features mainstream specs at an extraordinarily low price. In fact, it beats our听听by $25, which is no easy feat. Our only gripe is that this deal might be limited to just four machines per store. (Though you can also purchase this laptop online).
听with a听听for $329 at Walmart
We've seen quite a few noteworthy Xbox One bundle ads, but this one is our top pick. Although Target is offering the听, shoppers might think twice about dropping so much cash on a game that one critic called "." On the other hand, this 6 pm doorbuster comes with four Halo games (as opposed to the other bundle's two), access to a beta, and more. The $30 gift card can even be used to further bulk up your Xbox One collection; Walmart will also have听听during Black Friday.
However, if you are interested in the Target bundle, know that the heftier gift card means it's effectively听听for a Kinect-less Xbox One.
听for $499 at Target
Target is currently the king of iPad Air 2 deals bundling a very generous $140 Target gift card with the purchase of the 16GB model. That's effectively $140 off the tablet's retail price and easily trumps last Black Friday's $429 iPad Air low. If you don't want to deal with gift cards or if you just want to pay the least amount possible, Best Buy gets runner up for shaving听.
听for $648 at Walmart
Even if you don't consider Vizio to be a brand-name manufacturer, this 65" Smart TV doorbuster is spectacular. Starting at 6 pm local time, in-store shoppers can grab this set for $648, which is a whopping $102 less than the best price we've ever seen for听any听65" HDTV, even refurbs. Better yet, this deal easily blows听听out of the water.
听for $779.99 at Best Buy
If you're shopping for a current-gen MacBook Air on Black Friday, this is definitely the deal to beat. That $780 price point not only听听by $19, but it blows past our previous all-time low by $70. Best of all, it knocks a delightful $120 off Apple's price.
听for $899.99 at Best Buy
Remember when we said听? Here's the glaring exception to that rule. You don't even have to brave the in-store crowds to score this incredible Samsung 55" 4K Smart TV deal; according to the ad, this doorbuster will be available online. At $900, this set beats our August mention of a听refurb, becoming the cheapest Samsung 55" 4K TV we've seen by $315.
听for $900 at Best Buy
Outside of refurbs, it's extremely difficult to find a sub-$1,000 iMac. In fact, the 21.5" iMac hit $980 just once this entire year. So at $900, this iMac is a stellar deal.
Every hour, more ads are trickling in, but the 2014 landscape is already packed with incredible offers. We hope we'll see more ads that are just as good as Staples' $100 laptop and Target's $119 TV in the coming days, but the deals above will certainly be hard to beat.
Excited for Black Friday deals? Consider subscribing to the听听to get a daily recap of all our deals; you never know when a Black Friday price will be released! You can also听, check out the听, or read听.
Louis Ramirez is a feature writer for , where first appeared.听
