Brand-Name TVs Will See Black Friday Prices with Time and a Little Patience

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By , dealnews Media Editor

Black Friday brings with it some sweet deals on TVs, right? WRONG! Well, actually, it just depends.

Even though Black Friday might have some impressively low-priced HDTVs, these deals will mainly apply to "less-than-name-brand" models. And if there are great deals on "name brand" TVs, you can bet your bottom dollar they'll sell out faster than you can say "Tickle Me Elmo."

Thankfully, a little bit of patience is all you need in order to see comparable cuts on the big brands. For the most part, we'll see name brand TVs hit or beat these Black Friday price-lows fairly quickly. Our dealnews archives indicate that, as a general rule of thumb, we'll see brand name LCD HDTVs hit Black Friday price-lows during the December to February time frame (depending on your definition of "brand name"). So if you hold your horses and wait it out, you'll likely wind up with a better TV or a better price, or both!

Vizio the Quickest to See Comparable Discounts... if You Believe in the Brand

To determine when brand name LCD TVs see equal price-lows to low-end Black Friday deals, we analyzed our deal archives from last year. The two sizes that saw the quickest turnaround were 47" and 55" models. According to our data, we saw a brand name manufacturer beat Black Friday prices within days of Black Friday. The lowest total price for a 47" HDTV on Black Friday last year was $719, and that price was beaten two days later by a Vizio for $600. Better still, the lowest-priced 55" television we saw on Black Friday went for $970, which was beaten the next day by an $898 Vizio.

Right now, you might be saying something like, "Whoa there, why are you including this Vizio company as a name brand? I've never even heard of those guys!" It's true — despite their Super Bowl commercials — a lot of people have never heard of Vizio. But our editors agree that Vizio's TVs are great. They have the quality to be a name brand, just not the age. In a few years, their name will be bandied about in the same circles as Panasonic, Sony, and those other guys.


Check out these new Vizio HDTV models!

Sans Vizio, the Brand-Name TVs Catch Up Between December and February

If you're still unsure of Vizio as a brand name, you can get the better brands you've come to know and love for better prices by continuing to wait longer after Black Friday. An LG 47" screen appeared for $660 on December 2 and a Toshiba 55" screen showed up for $950 on February 8.

Similarly, 37" and 42" brand-name TVs fell into the December to February time frame. We saw a 37" Vizio (which was bundled with a $40 Walmart gift card) hit $378 on Black Friday, which remained a price-low until January 24, when there was a deal on a Panasonic VIERA for $375. Likewise, we listed a 42" set on Black Friday for $400, and Toshiba beat that price in February for $399.

Now squint your eyes for our data on 32" screens. On Black Friday, we saw a TCL brand TV hit $250, and we would not see this price low beaten until August 10 when a Toshiba model hit $249. Several other sets got close in price, before then, however, like a Vizio for $270 on November 28 — two days after Black Friday.

So as everyone goes crazy preparing for Black Friday sales, isn't it nice to know that if you skip the shopping excursion all together or perhaps pass up a deal, you won't have to wait too long to see a comparable price on a potentially better set? Of course, you'll have to be on the lookout for those later deals, so we suggest signing up for a dealnews email alert for the HDTV of your choice. Remember, a little patience (and the help our your deal-seeking friends at dealnews) can lead to a lot of savings.

Front page photo credit: Los Angeles Times Blog
Photo credits top to bottom: Silia Kusada's Blog, and Gadget Guy


Jeff Somogyi is the dealnews Media Editor. He spends a lot of time staring at TVs. Learn more about his viewing habits on Twitter or on his blog. You can also sign up for an email alert for all dealnews features.
DealNews may be compensated by companies mentioned in this article. Please note that, although prices sometimes fluctuate or expire unexpectedly, all products and deals mentioned in this feature were available at the lowest total price we could find at the time of publication (unless otherwise specified).

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20 comments
Lindsay Sakraida (DealNews)
It's always a little difficult if you're waiting for a specific price by a certain deadline, but perhaps this info will help... the lowest price we've seen for any 32" LCD HDTV was $199, but that was this past Black Friday. We'll probably see that price again, but there's no saying whether it'll definitely come before Christmas. We've seen a few deals since then fall between $218 and $250. So you should be able to get one for under $250, maybe closer to $200 if we're lucky. I don't know that I would hold out for $200 though unless you have a backup plan.
Mr. Monopoly Money
As everyone else who is trying to stretch every Christmas dollar, I am looking for a 32" for my sons bedroom and I look at every email alert like it might be the last one before Christmas... What do you think will be the bottom end of 32's so I should know when to consider pulling the trigger?
Thanks "patience not a virtue of mine"
Lindsay Sakraida (DealNews)
Most LCD HDTVs these days are LED-backlit, but this hasn't always been the case and we do still see models that aren't. So you shouldn't always assume it's LED-backlit. Moreover, we constantly see specification lists on vendor sites that are incomplete or incorrect. It's best to search the manufacturer website for that specific model to see if it does or doesn't have it. 
MASELLAJ
Is it better to get a LCD or LED?  I know some say both on description, but if only one or other which is the one with best at energy savings and OK in bright light room?  I have a friend who says if you get a LCD is is also a LED, but then it would say that wouldn't it?
thunderFence2
"one that will last.."
you sound old
Louis Ramirez (DealNews)
@dindush123 We currently have an editors' choice deal on a 46" Toshiba WiFi LED HDTV. (http://dealnews.com/...9-free-shipping/525764.html). I realize that's not 47", but it's the best that's still available today.

Deals on 52" LCD HDTVs are harder to find. To be honest, we see more deals on 55" LED HDTVs  than 52" sets. That said, the past few deals we've seen on 52" LED HDTVs have been Sharp AQUOS sets. In particular, the LC-52LE820UN -- we saw it at an all-time low of $979 back in August. Might be worth setting up an e-mail alert on the 52" sets bc like I said -- it's not often we see them.
dalieu
I'm also looking for a TV (LCD or LED) in that range. Nothing fancy, just a TV that will last.
dindush123
Whats best current deal for 47-52 inch tv sets.. Led only
thunderFence2
I purchased the 60" Sony led 3D 240mhz nx810 for an incredible price this holiday season and felt like i was walking along side a rock star walking through the store with everyone staring and S.
Thank You Jesus! even though you never really existed, your birthday specials crap  is kickin' . 
2damax
No worries Lindsay.  Hopefully prices will drop soon. 
Lindsay Sakraida (DealNews)
Ah, apologies, the 120Hz set came up in a search when checking that model number. The lowest we've seen then was $950, and it came with 10 pairs of 3D glasses. But I'm sure you know that, if you have an alert set up! I hope we're able to find a deal on it sometime soon!
2damax
I think that was a lw5300 model was it not?  I thought about purchasing it, but I really want the lw6500 model with TrueMotion 240Hz refresh rate and a few other extra features that it has. 
And yes, I have set up an email alert.  I also check Dealnews multiple times daily.  You guys do a GREAT JOB!!!  Keep up the good work.  Thanks.
Dan de Grandpre (DealNews)
They were limited to 10 per store. Let's argue that they lost $150-$200 per set at most. That's a marketing expenditure of $1,500-$2,000 per store, for all of the press they got. Jeez, why aren't they doing that set more often?
Lindsay Sakraida (DealNews)
Yeah, the Sharp was pretty unreal. It bucked all price trends we've seen for TVs on Black Friday, so it's a bit of a special case. It'll probably be a LONG time until we see a comparable name-brand 42" TV hit that price point again... But as poorboyjoe said, it was likely cut that cheap to generate excitement and media attention. And it perhaps worked! Best Buy had more people camped out for several days than I think any other store. Part of that might have been because there were so few available at each store.
Lindsay Sakraida (DealNews)
How cheap are you hoping for that model to get? Have you set up an email alert? We've seen it for as low as $898, bundled with an Xbox, about two weeks ago. (Expired now.) 
2damax
Been waiting and waiting for an LG 47LW6500 passive 3d tv model to go on sale.    Haven't seen any price cut.  I hope it goes on sale soon.  I'm waiting patiently.  I hope good things do come to those who wait.
one4love4truth
The Vizio quality may be alright, but they really took a bad hit about their service. If you're considering buying one, read up on their repairs out of warranty and see for yourself whether you want a disposal TV.
poorboyjoe
They def. lost money on all those sets but the hype it generated (news covering people camped out in front of their stores ect.) and accompanying sales was priceless...
wonderbrett
Wait, it was a Sharp. The model was LC-42SV49U.
wonderbrett
Yeah, but that 42" Toshiba Best Buy had was a sweet deal on Black Friday. I wonder if anyone will even come close to that. It's hard to believe Best Buy even made any money on that deal.