The magazine said 85 percent of the people planning to shop the big day are looking to buy electronic devices, including video game systems (46%) and digital music players (43%).

Blu-ray video players apparently aren't that high on the list, despite plunging prices. Next week's doorbusters include Sony models at $249, but you can buy basic players this week for $100 less without the crowds.

Memorex models (they play 1080p discs but won't have the latest online interactivity features ...) have been available for $150 this week from Buy.com and Woot.

I noticed Wednesday that Costco has Sylvania models on the shelf for $180, including an HDMI cable.

A better deal next week may be the home version of Microsoft's Office suite, which will be available for $49 to $69 from some big-box retailers.

For those who really want to save, external storage devices are going to be on sale everywhere, with 8 gig flash drives falling to about $17.

If you can't wait for Black Friday ads that will be inserted into upcoming newspapers, they're starting to appear at sites like this but you'll have to wade through a barrage of Web ads to download fuzzy PDF scans, one by one.

Another reason to be patient (from last year's Black Friday deals and tips column): Many of the deals you'll see next week will soon become regular prices on this stuff.