Black Friday 2019

[tubemonkey]

Black Friday 2019 --- Tablets, eReaders, Media Players



Guess what? It's Black Friday time once again. So far, no ads have leaked. Last year, the first ad was posted on 05 Oct. They're late. Maybe it's due to the fact that BF is six days later this year. Anyway, I'm starting the thread up now so I can get it prepped.

Black Friday is an informal name for the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. The day after Thanksgiving has been regarded as the beginning of America's Christmas shopping season since 1952, although the term "Black Friday" didn't become widely used until more recent decades.

Black Friday falls on 29 Nov and Cyber Monday on 02 Dec, but don't let those two days fool you as deals will abound for several weeks before and after these dates. Some of these deals will have savings even greater than the traditional doorbusters. Expect to see stores offer bonus deals and earlier shopping times for their preferred customers (memberships, reward cards, etc).

On 01 Nov, this thread will be stickied and replace the Tablets, eReaders, Media Players thread. At that time all hardware deals will be posted here. On 01 Jan, this thread will be unstickied and all hardware deals will be posted back to the Tablets, eReaders, Media Players thread once again.

Feel free to post any BF stories and experiences you may have. Pics and videos are also welcome; especially those Walmart videos. So grab your credit cards and checkbooks and enjoy the ride. Until then, feel free to post wishes and general chit-chat about Black Friday.


Only book-related hardware will be tracked in this thread (tablets, ereaders, media players, computers, digital storage, accessories, etc). This post will serve as a master index for these categories, linking to ad scans and posts with device and pricing specifics.

Off-Topic Deals: I don't mind if you point out deals in non-book related categories, but discussions should take place in the appropriate threads and forums listed below. Remember, the primary focus of this thread is book-related technology.


Where do I look/post for BF deals about:

Hardware Deals

• Book-Related --- Black Friday 2019 --> tablets, ereaders, media players, etc
  
• Non-Book ------- Lounge --> Instant Pot, TV's, stereos, gaming systems, etc

Media Deals

• Audiobooks --- Audiobooks
  
• eBooks -------- Deals & Resources --> individual threads (Mystery, Sci-Fi, Romance, etc)
  
• Non-Book ----- Media Deals --> gift cards, music, videos, games, apps, etc

Table of Contents

• Store Index | Tablets | eReaders | Media Players | Smartphones | Computers
  
• Digital Storage | Accessories | Discount Programs | Shipping & Returns
  
• Shopping Tips | General Thoughts | Decipher Front Page | Wish List

Black Friday Websites

• BFAds.net --> ad scans
  
• GottaDeal --> ad scans
  
• SlickDeals --> ad scans

References / Sources

• Black Friday Sale Items by Category
  
• Stores Open on Thanksgiving Day 2019
  
• Stores Closed on Thanksgiving Day 2019

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[tubemonkey]

Store Index 2019

Below is a listing of stores with book-related technology. Links will be provided to each store's website, BF ad scans, and details about their deals.

Note that some stores will have multiple doorbuster sales with multiple opening times, while others will have multiple sales on different days. Because of this, each store will have a separate post with detailed information. If I missed a store, let me know.

Closed Thanksgiving --- Open Thanksgiving --- Customer Service


Stores --> Ad Scans 1 --- Ad Scans 2 --- Pre-Black Friday Sales

• Amazon (AMZ) --------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Army Exchange (AEX) -----> ad scan --- details
  
• Best Buy (BB) ---------------> ad scan --- details
  
  
• BJ's Wholesale (BJs) -------> ad scan --- details
  
• Costco (COS) ----------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Dell Home (DEL) ------------> ad scan --- details
  
  
• HP.com (HP) ----------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Kohl's (KOL) -----------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Lenovo (LEN) ----------------> ad scan --- details
  
  
• Microsoft (MST) -------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Navy Exchange (NEX) ------> ad scan --- details
  
• Newegg (NEW) --------------> ad scan --- details
  
  
• Office Depot (OD) -----------> ad scan --- details
  
• Sam's Club (SC) -------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Staples (STP) ----------------> ad scan --- details
  
  
• Target (TAR) -----------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Walmart (WAL) --------------> ad scan --- details
  
  
• Barnes & Noble (BN) -------> ad scan --- details
  
• Fry's (FRY) ------------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Indigo (IND) ----------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Kobo (KOB) ------------------> ad scan --- details
  
• Samsung (SAM) --------------> ad scan --- details

... ...

[tubemonkey]

Tablets 2019 ---> Tablets | Tablet Deals


Amazon Fire --> AMZ | BB | BJs | KOL | NEX | STP | TAR

Apple iPad --> BB | BJs | NEX | STP | TAR | WAL

B&N Nook -->

Google Pixel --> BB

Msft Surface --> BB | COS | NEX

Sam Galaxy --> BB | BJs | COS | NEX | TAR | WAL

Walmart onn --> WAL

misc Tablets --> LEN

================================================== ==========

References / Sources

• TBA

.

[tubemonkey]

eReaders 2019 ---> eReaders | eReader Deals


Kindle eReaders --> AMZ | BB | TAR

Kobo eReaders -->

Nook eReaders -->

misc eReaders -->

================================================== ==========

References / Sources

• TBA

.

[tubemonkey]

Media Players 2019 ---> Smart Home | Media Player Deals


Smart Speakers

• Amazon Echo --> AMZ | BB | BJs | DEL | KOL | NEX | OD | STP | TAR
  
• Apple Pods -----> BB
  
• Google Home --> BB | DEL | KOL | NEX | OD | Spot | STP | TAR | WAL
  
• Lenovo Smart --> BB | LEN | WAL
  
• misc Smart -----> COS | HP

MP3 Players

• Apple iPod -->
  
• SanDisk Clip -->
  
• Sony Walkman -->
  
• misc Players -->

================================================== ==========

References / Sources

• Smart Speaker Comparison

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[tubemonkey]

Smartphones 2019 ---> Cell Phones | Smartphone Deals


Alexa Built-in -->

Apple iPhone --> BB | TAR | WAL

Google Pixel --> BB | TAR

Sam Galaxy ---> BB | COS | TAR | WAL


unlocked ph --> BB | NEW

pre-paid ph --> BB | TAR | WAL

================================================== ==========

References / Sources

• Smartphone Deals
  
• I Need a Cheap Phone
  
• No Con Phns as Audio Players
  
  
• Cellphone Carriers in the US
  
• US Prepaid/MVNO Discussion

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[tubemonkey]

Computers 2019 ---> Laptops | Desktops


Computers

• Acer --> BB | BJs | NEW | NEX
  
• Apple --> BB | COS | NEX
  
• ASUS --> BB | NEW | NEX
  
• Chrome --> BB | BJs | COS | HP | OD | TAR | WAL
  
• Dell.com --> BB | BJs | COS | DEL | OD | STP
  
• HP.com --> BB | BJs | COS | HP | NEW | NEX | OD | STP | TAR | WAL
  
• Lenovo --> BB | BJs | COS | LEN | NEW | OD | STP
  
• LG.com --> COS
  
• MSI.com --> BB | COS | NEW
  
• other -- BB | NEW | OD | WAL

================================================== ==========

References / Sources

• TBA

.

[tubemonkey]

Digital Storage 2019 ---> Computer Peripherals


mSD Flash Card --> BB | BJs | NEW | NEX | OD | WAL

USB Flash Drive --> BB | BJs | NEW | NEX | OD | STP | WAL

Ext Hard Drives --> BB | COS | NEW | NEX | OD | STP

Int Hard Drives --> BB | NEW

================================================== ==========

References / Sources

• TBA

.

[tubemonkey]

Accessories 2019 ---> Computer Peripherals


BT Spkrs ---> BB | BJs | COS | DEL | KOL | NEW | NEX | TAR | WAL

Gift Cards --> AMZ | BB | BJs | COS | OD | TAR

Pwr Bank --> BB | BJs | LEN | TAR | WAL

================================================== ==========

References / Sources

• TBA

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[tubemonkey]

Discount Programs 2019 --- updated Oct 2019

These discounts and rewards are usually stackable, so you have a chance to save quite a bit if you take the time to seek each one out. Let me know if I've missed anything. Note: this post only contains a sampling of credit cards available. There are too many to list here.


Credit Cards --- just a sampling of what's available

• Amz Rewards Visa ------> earn 3% at Amazon | variable savings at other businesses
  
• Amazon Prime Visa -----> earn 5% at Amazon | variable savings at other businesses
  
• Best Buy Citi Visa -------> earn 5-6% at Best Buy | variable savings at other businesses
  
• BJ's Plus Mastercard ---> earn 3% at BJ's | variable savings at other businesses
  
• BJ's Elite Mastercard ---> earn 5% at BJ's | variable savings at other businesses
  
• Costco Citi Visa ---------> earn 2% at Costco | variable savings at other businesses
  
  
• AmEx Blue Cash ----------> earn 1% at most places | variable savings at other businesses
  
• Chase Freedom Visa -----> earn 1% everywhere | earn 5% at select stores (see below)
  
• Chase Free Unlim Visa ---> earn 1.5% everywhere | no 5% program
  
• Discover Cash Back ------> earn 1% everywhere | earn 5% at select stores (see below)

Store Credit Cards

• Amz Prime Store ---> earn 5% at Amazon
  
• Best Buy Store -----> earn 5-6% at Best Buy
  
• Target RedCard ----> earn 5% at Target

Debit Cards

• Target RedCard ---> earn 5% at Target

Bonus Rewards

• Amazon Prime Cards ---> earn 10-20% on select products (incl current 5% back)
  
• Chase Freedom Visa ----> earn 5% at dept stores, PayPal, Chase Pay -- exp 31 Dec
  
• Discover Cash Back -----> earn 5% at Amazon, Target, Walmart -- exp 31 Dec
  
• Kohl's Cash --------------> earn $10 Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent

Shop thru Portals --- for extra discounts at select stores

• Cashback Monitor -- compares portals & programs
  
• Chase | Rakuten | Swagbucks | TopCashback

Coupon Discounts --- for select stores & services

• DoctorofCredit | Groupon | Honey | Swagbucks

Memberships --> Attention Veterans

• Amazon Prime ----------> $12.99/mo | $119/year (~$9.92/mo)
  
• BJ's Wholesale Club ---> $10/year | $55/year | $110/year
  
• Costco Wholesale ------> $60/year | $120/year
  
• Military Exchanges -----> free for active duty, reserves, retired, veterans
  
• Sam's Club --------------> $45/year | $100/year

Trade-In Programs

• Amazon Trade-In ---> $5~$60 + 20~25% off new device
  
• Best Buy Trade-In

Rewards Programs --- not updated yet

• BB My Best Buy ------------> Basic 1% | Elite 2% | Elite Plus 2.5%
  
• Dell Advantage Rewards
  
• Kohl's Yes2You Rewards ---> 5% back
  
• Newegg EggPoints
  
• OfficeDepot Rewards
  
• Staples Rewards
  
• Target RedCard
  
• Walmart Savings Catcher

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[tubemonkey]

Shipping & Returns 2019

This is a list of stores offering free shipping for the holidays. Some stores also offer free shipping in both directions - delivery & returns. Return periods vary depending on the item being returned. Since we're only concerned with technology returns, only those dates will be listed. This list is linked in the OP. Let me know if I missed any stores.

• Holiday Shipping Policies
  
• Holiday Return Policies

Free Holiday Shipping --- no minimum purchase

• Best Buy ----> starts 22 Oct | exp 25 Dec --- details
  
• Target ------> starts 01 Nov | exp 21 Dec --- details
  
  
• Dell Home --> year-round
  
• HP.com -----> year-round
  
• Lenovo ------> year-round
  
• Microsoft ---> year-round

Free Shipping --- membership required

• AAFES -----> Military Star Card
  
• Alexa ------> Prime Members
  
• Amazon ---> Prime Members
  
• Best Buy --> Elite & Elite Plus Members
  
• NEXCOM --> Military Star Card
  
• Target -----> RedCard Holders

Free Shipping --- min purchase required

• AAFES --------> $49 min
  
• Alexa ---------> $25 min
  
• Amazon ------> $25 min
  
• Best Buy -----> $35 min --- free holiday shipping in effect (see above)
  
• BJ's Whole --> $75 min
  
• Kohl's --------> $25 min --- 25 Nov ~ 04 Dec
  
• NEXCOM -----> $50 min
  
• Ofc Depot ----> $45 min
  
• Staples -------> $50 min
  
• Target --------> $35 min --- free holiday shipping in effect (see above)
  
• Walmart -----> $35 min

================================================== ==========

Free Return Shipping

• Alexa --------> year-round
  
• Amazon -----> year-round --- details
  
• Dell Home --> year-round
  
• Lenovo ------> year-round
  
• Microsoft ---> year-round
  
• PayPal ------> year-round
  
• Target -------> year-round
  
• Walmart ----> year-round

Return Policies --- purchase dates | return by dates | Holiday Return Policies

• AAFES -------> 01 Nov~24 Dec | 31 Jan (some exceptions apply)
  
• Amazon -----> 01 Nov~31 Dec | 31 Jan
  
• Dell Home --> 01 Nov~25 Dec | 15 Jan or WIL
  
• HP.com -----> 01 Nov~25 Dec | 15 Jan
  
• Kohl's -------> 01 Nov~25 Dec | 31 Jan (electronics) | 180 days (everything else)
  
• Microsoft ---> 01 Oct ~31 Dec | 31 Jan
  
• NEXCOM ----> 23 Oct ~24 Dec | 25 Jan
  
• Ofc Depot --> 01 Oct ~24 Dec | 14 Jan or WIL
  
• Walmart ----> 01 Nov~24 Dec | 09 Jan (electronics) | 90 days (everything else)
  
  
• Staples ------> year-round | 14 days
  
• Target -------> year-round | 90 days | 120 days (RedCard purchases)
  
  
• Best Buy ----> tba
  
• Lenovo ------> tba
  
  
• WIL = whichever is later

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[tubemonkey]

Shopping Tips

• make sure all account information is up-to-date at the stores you plan to shop at
• smart monkeys do their Black Friday shopping online
• download leaked ads ASAP - stores have been known to order blogs to remove ads
• free gift card offers only have value if they're from stores you normally shop at
• always wear a football uniform if you plan on shopping at Walmart
• always get the one with the bigger gee bees

Important Account Information

Go through all of the online store accounts you currently have and update them now. Personal information changes over time and you may have neglected to make those changes; especially at stores you only order from during Black Friday. For stores you plan on shopping at that you don't have accounts with, set up those accounts now. You won't have time to do so once the deals go live.

• login - can you still do so? if not, update your username and password
• email - make sure your email address is current because this is the address they send order confirmations and other correspondence to
• address - make sure your home, shipping, and billing addresses are current
• phone - make sure your phone numbers are current
• stores - make a list of all store phone numbers in case you need to complete purchases over the phone because of computer or website problems

Credit Cards

For each store you plan on shopping at, make sure the credit card, account number, expiration date, 3-digit security code, billing address, and home phone number are accurately entered.

When shopping online, have all credit cards you'll be using in front of you because:

• you may have to re-enter your credit card info if there's a glitch in the store's website
• you may have to complete your order over the phone if the store's website goes down
• you may have to complete your order over the phone if you have computer problems
• you may have to call the credit card company if a purchase gets blocked

Remember - when shopping online during Black Friday doorbusters, every second counts. If you have to scramble to hunt down your credit card you may lose your deal.


Credit Card Blocks

Be prepared to have an order declined because your credit card company detects unusual activity. This frequently happens when you place several high-value orders at multiple stores in a short period of time. It happened to me several years ago when I placed two back-to-back orders for iPad minis. My credit card company blocked the second purchase. I had to call them to get the block removed.

You can head off possible blocks by calling your credit card company ahead of time and informing them of your plans for high credit card activity during Black Friday weekend. Some companies will flag your account so none of your purchases get blocked. YMMV

The only downside to a card block is the possibility of a lost deal. Not likely if the item is still in your cart, but a possibility nevertheless. Again, YMMV
.

[tubemonkey]

General Thoughts

Some of the stores on the front page are marked with an asterisk* because the deal involves a gift card/store credit. You buy the item at a set price and get a free gift card/store credit for later use at that store. I counted these as a discount and used them to calculate the final price for that store. Of course, this only works out if it's a store you routinely shop at because it's easy to spend the gift card/store credit on items you would normally purchase anyway. If it's a store you rarely shop at, then these gift card/store credit offers are false savings because you're forced into spending them on something before they expire. Take that into consideration before you make a purchase.

Also note that some devices come in multiple storage sizes (tablets, phones, mp3 players, etc). For the most part, I only included the most popular size, but that doesn't mean that other sizes aren't also on sale. So please check the store to see if they offer other sizes you may be interested in.

Many stores offer free shipping without a minimum purchase throughout the holidays. Some also offer free return shipping. Something to consider if the item you want is available at multiple stores.

Generally, stores extend their return policy to cover purchases made during the holidays, giving you a chance to return items until sometime in January. Please check the store's return policy for exact dates and items covered.

Many credit cards offer price protection, theft protection, and double the warranty on items purchased for up to an additional year. Some also increase the amount you get back from select stores from 1% to 5% for the last quarter.

Additionally, credit cards and cash back sites like Ebates also offer savings if you make the purchase by going through them to get to a store's website.

Oh, and don't go to Walmart unless you're suicidal
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[tubemonkey]

How to Decipher the Front Page

I do quite a bit of cross linking to help find things. So click the links.

Post 1: lists which BF categories get posted where, it also includes a table of contents for each major category, and lists the BF websites I use most.

Table of Contents

Store Index | Tablets | eReaders | Media Players | Smartphones | Computers
Digital Storage | Accessories | Discount Programs | Shipping & Returns
Shopping Tips | General Thoughts | Decipher Front Page | Wish List

Post 2: lists the stores being tracked. It includes a link to the store's website, the store's abbreviation, a link to the BF ad scan, and a link to a post (details) containing dates, times, items on sale, etc.

Store Index 2019

Amazon (AMZ) --------------> ad scan --- details
Barnes & Noble (BN) -------> ad scan --- details
Best Buy (BB) ---------------> ad scan --- details

Posts 3~9: each post contains a major category and sub-categories.

• Clicking the blue category link takes you to a third party website listing all of the sale items in that category. Those items are linked to the page in the ad where the item is found and also to the store's web page for that item.
  
• Clicking the Specs/Info link takes you to the post in the Tablets, eReaders, Media Players thread with a listing of major devices and other info.
  
• Clicking a blue product link takes you to that product's website.
  
• Clicking a store abbreviation link in a sub-category takes you to that store's Black Friday post with details and pricing about individual items in that category for that store.

Tablets 2019 --> Tablets | Specs/Info

Amazon Fire --> AMZ | BB | BJs | KOL | STP | TAR
Apple iPad ----> BB | BJs | COS | TAR | WAL
B&N Nook ----> BN

Posts 10~15: self-explanatory
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[tubemonkey]

Wish List 2019

As the title says, this is a wish list for members to list items they're interested in. If anyone sees a great deal on these items, please post the deal and/or send a PM to the member making the request.

Since I can't post details about the requested items here, I linked the requesting post to the member's name (or request) so you can get full details about the request.

To get on this list, just post your request and I'll add you.

• issybird --> Kobo Libra, Echo trade-in
  
  
• tubemonkey --> Fire Tab 7, no-con phn, Echo Show 5, Chromebook, BT spkr, mSD
  
  
• library addict --> AT&T phn, no-con phn, 7" tab, 10" tab, USB drive, ext HDD
  
  
• GA Russell --> AT&T/TracFone/no-con phn
  
  
• sufue --> small no-con phn
  
  
• Manabi --> 55" TV under $300
  
  
• Purple Lady --> Galaxy Tab S6
  
  
• CRussel --> Kindle Oasis
  
  
• sadievan --> Galaxy Tab A 8
  
  
• Froide --> Roku Smart Soundbar, Roku Wireless Subwoofer
  
  
• Jenga5238 --> iPad mini, Apple TV
  
  
• cc_in_oh --> small, cheap tablet to use on unsecured public WiFi
  
  
• ilovejedd --> Roku Ultra

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