Black Friday 2009 countdown: Sales, deals and tips

Search Google for "Black Friday" or "Black Friday Sales" and brace yourself for a stampede of information befitting America's second most popular holiday.

To avoid injury, we thought we'd keep an eye on all the happenings and pass along some sites, tips, and news between now and the big day.

Blackfriday.info, which bills itself as the "official site" for all the Black Friday ads, is one of the best clearinghouses for deals. So much so that it caught the wrath of Walmart by leaking news of the retailer's Black Friday plans. Or, as some cynics suggest, played right into Walmart's strategy -- either before or after the leak -- by creating a hubbub. Click here.

Or click here to read the Christmas Science Monitor's story behind the story of the leak.

In any case, Walmart has confirmed some of its deals and even has plans to roll out some items this Saturday:


Black Friday specials include 50-inch Sanyo plasma HDTVs for $598, Magnavox Blu-Ray disc players for $78, TomTom GPS systems for $59, $7 reversible fleece jackets and $3 children's sleepwear, according to Melissa O'Brien,a Wal-Mart spokeswoman.

Some of the toys that will be slashed starting this Saturday are EZ Bake Oven, Disney Princess Scooter and Nerf N-Strike Vulcan. Discounts are up to 60%. Customers who buy certain gaming packages such as "Band Hero" and "DJ Hero" will get a $40 Walmart-Mart gift card while supplies last.

Walmart, the world's biggest retailer, will also be opening 24 hours. This comes one year after an employee at a Long Island store was tragically trampled to death when the doors were opened up in the pre-dawn hours.