The time of awesome bargains on electronics and other goodies will soon be upon us again; I'm curious if anyone's got specific things they're hoping to get a deal on this year. (Maybe we'll give each other ideas by sharing).Personally, I'm hoping to find a bargain on a nice camera of some sort.. right now all I have to take pictures with is a $20 phone and a webcam, so I'm obviously pretty limited in either quality or practicality.Some good earbuds would be nice, too. Like a set that would normally cost between $50 - $100. Hopefully something by Audio-Technica... (I'd just get some Oculus Earbuds but I don't think I can plug those into anything but the Rift itself, lol).

I think here in the UK with the crap exchange rate, ours is going to be called "not a chance friday" :(

Cyber Monday is a bit better than Black Friday, since manufacturers starting maker "lesser quality" products specifically for Black Friday. And the only good stuff is in such limited quantity that you gotta camp out for 48 hours and pack survival gear: stun gun, pepper spray, etc.All I ever do around that time is wait to see what games go on special. And I typically prefer to wait the extra 7-ish weeks for all the "after Christmas" sales.

It's around the same time but different to yours. It's just an excuse for most of our shops to rid themselves of unwanted and unsold crap mostly. The good stuff sells out in seconds. But like the US we get fights in the stores ;)

The UK does have black friday and it gets bigger every year. Amazon UK is the biggest one, and now all the other retailers are jumping on board to get rid of their old stock like Techy mentioned.You see people go crazy in shops and buying discounted TVs without even looking at the specs :P Thats why I sit at home/work and use those price tracking tools if I find something good to make sure I'm not getting conned!Hopefully Oculus will have a sale so I can buy a few more games :)

@CrashFu if you're looking at cameras it's a tough trade between DSLR's and portables. I own a Canon 7D and it takes amazing pictures but it's a pain to cart around. With digital developments recently, even smaller pocket cameras are taking amazing shots. Ultimately there are a few components that will determine the quality of your shots. There is no replacement for displacement This is a common saying for car engines but it applies equally to cameras. Lens size and quality strongly affect the quality of the image. High end optics are expensive for a reason, but they're also usually heavy and bulky to avoid optical artifacts and distortions.The other major "size" component is the sensor. My 7D has an APS-C sensor which means the image is magnified slightly but is also slightly worse than a full-frame sensor. Larger sensor sizes means higher pixel density - just like HMD's. MegaPixels is a number manufacturers like to throw around because consumers are idiots and just like to see large numbers. While the size of the stored images does matter for large prints, it's pointless if the size of the shots exceeds the amount of information captured by the sensor.I had an acquaintance tell me their iPhone camera was superior to my Canon DSLR because megapixels. Then again, portable pocket cameras are taking some amazing photos. As long as they have a quality lens and a good sensor, they perform very well in well-lit circumstances. They crush phones anyhow.Are you looking DSLR or portable?

So what's everyone planning to buy this Black Friday / Cyber Monday?

30 Replies

Techy111
MVP
10 years ago
I think here in the UK with the crap exchange rate, ours is going to be called "not a chance friday" :(
CrashFu
Consultant
10 years ago

Techy111 said:

I think here in the UK with the crap exchange rate, ours is going to be called "not a chance friday" :(

Incidentally, IS the concept of the "Black Friday Sale" a universal thing (and does yours happen at the same time of year as ours?) or are there countries that don't collect inventory taxes from businesses in a way that prompts such a specific yearly sale in the first place?
TwoHedWlf
Expert Trustee
10 years ago

CrashFu said:

Techy111 said:

I think here in the UK with the crap exchange rate, ours is going to be called "not a chance friday" :(

Incidentally, IS the concept of the "Black Friday Sale" a universal thing (and does yours happen at the same time of year as ours?) or are there countries that don't collect inventory taxes from businesses in a way that prompts such a specific yearly sale in the first place?

Nope, that's pretty much a strictly american thing.
Techy111
MVP
10 years ago
It's around the same time but different to yours. It's just an excuse for most of our shops to rid themselves of unwanted and unsold crap mostly. The good stuff sells out in seconds. But like the US we get fights in the stores ;)
ntwigbels
Expert Protege
10 years ago
Yeah, same here in NL allmost no real bargains, just a load of marketing BS ;)
zboson
Superstar
10 years ago
Interesting enough many countries in Europe have Black Friday now (but not Thanksgiving). Norway does and I know others do as well. . I have never bought anything on Black Friday though. My advice to anyone buying a big screen TV is to get the insurance! Those screens break a lot easy than people realize.
zboson
Superstar
10 years ago

Techy111 said:

I think here in the UK with the crap exchange rate, ours is going to be called "not a chance friday" :(

I am surprised the UK does not have Black Friday yet. Norway does and the UK has one foot in the US and one in Europe so I would expect them to follow the US even more.
Anonymous
10 years ago
The UK does have black friday and it gets bigger every year.

Amazon UK is the biggest one, and now all the other retailers are jumping on board to get rid of their old stock like Techy mentioned.

You see people go crazy in shops and buying discounted TVs without even looking at the specs :P Thats why I sit at home/work and use those price tracking tools if I find something good to make sure I'm not getting conned!

Hopefully Oculus will have a sale so I can buy a few more games :)
bigmike20vt
Visionary
10 years ago
black friday 2014 got a nice overclocked MSI GTX 980 for £399.99 delivered (great price at the time)

last year black friday got overclocked 6 core I7 bundle with 512gb M2, 16gb ram, decent mobo, AIO cooler and case for around £750.

this black friday... probably nothing.... may pick up a game or something if cheap but with the £ at an all time low i am not expecting much, and i may be out of a job soon (interview for my own job in 2.5 hrs time :( )
Anonymous
10 years ago
@bigmike20vt Hope it goes well man! :smiley: