Holiday Shopping Tips: Should You Wait or Buy Hottest Items of the Year?

Some electronics and gadgets may be worth the wait.

ByABC News
November 26, 2010, 5:19 PM

Nov. 27, 2010— -- It's that time of the year when coupons and sales can leave consumers boggled about when to buy and what to buy.

ABC News takes a look at whether you should wait or buy some of the hottest shopping items of the year.

TV -- WAIT

Television sets are a popular item around the holidays, but their prices may not always be the best this time of year. TV prices in 2007 and 2008 were lowest in December. But the best prices didn't come this past season until January of 2010.

iPad -- BUY

Either buy now or wait until 2011.

Apple does not usually drop prices through the holiday season, so if you have to have one now, buy it. A new iPad is expected to be released in 2011 that has a built-in camera and a few other upgrades. As with other Apple products, that will likely lower the price on the first generation.

e-Reader, Kindle and Nook -- WAIT

This is tough. The price wars were in the fall, but Best Buy dropped the Nook's price tag from $149 to $99 on Black Friday. So, if you are willing to gamble, it's best to wait.

Blu-ray players and Netflix streaming media devices such as the Roku box -- WAIT

These are expected to be hotsellers this year and retailers may have overbought, so this is a good product to gamble on.

Toys -- BUY

This is the time of year when retailers play for a mass exodus of parent shoppers, so if you're looking for a deal on toys, now is the time to invest in them.