Holiday Shopping Tips: Should You Wait or Buy Hottest Items of the Year?
Some electronics and gadgets may be worth the wait.
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.
Buy Now or Wait?
Microsoft Kinect -- BUY
Kinect is going to be the hottest gaming system this year. Because it is brand new, don't expect a price drop for a while.
Zhu Zhu pets -- BUY
Walmart has dropped the price 50 percent to $4, so grab them now.
Coats-Apparel -- BUY
A lot of retailers ordered coats in large numbers and had major sales by Black Friday. Many retailers are trying to get rid of them and they don't want anything left because they ordered so much, so buy now.
Cashmere Sweaters -- WAIT
The wonderful cashmere sweaters may fall into their own category and, historically, you want to buy cashmere after Christmas. Wait until after the first January. That's when you get the best sales on this item.