After participating in this, my 3rd season of Black Friday sales, I've learned a few things.

You do realize that each year, the stores change their strategies a bit, right? As do the shoppers!

Check out this summary of approaches you can take to Black Friday shopping. Most notable is the unique opportunity to take part in a Black Friday day of protest against consumerism where everyone is encouraged to "get out there and buy nothing!" Originally known as "No Shop Day"... this effort has officially been organized into International Buy Nothing Day.

Based on the stores' unique strategies -- and the shoppers' -- here are my best tips for Black Friday shopping...

We recently purchased a 42" widescreen, flat screen, HDTV set.

And now, it's hard to watch TV on anything smaller. (But we do... our other TV is an "old-fashioned" 20-inch television set.)

The point is... we're really happy with our 42" TV set. And depending on where you're going to put it, it seems like the perfect size that would fit in most places.

A lot of people ask us for computer advice...

Good news. Black Friday sales are upon us, and where else can you find brand new laptops from $299 to $799 and full-size desktop computers ranging from $199 to $699 outside of Black Friday sales events?!

Here are the best deals to be found on computers at sales events taking place on the day after Thanksgiving -- November 23, 2007.

Did you know that the Monday after Thanksgiving (November 26th) is called "Cyber Monday"?

Yep. Cyber Monday is the day that online traffic and online sales significantly increase for the year, and they don't really let up until after Christmas Day.

That means... all is not lost if you were unable to make it to the post-Thanksgiving Day sales to take advantage of Black Friday specials.

I want a Cricut cutting tool... and I don't even scrapbook anymore or do many crafty things these days!!!

I can't help it... it looks like one of the coolest gadgets around. Anyone who is into crafts like cardmaking, scrapbooking and such would probably enjoy one of these. Oh, and teachers would probably find a lot of great uses for it, too.

So whether it's for yourself... or as a gift.

Here's the best price you're gonna find on the Cricut this season. Yep, it's another great Black Friday special!...

Here's a good (and fun!) Black Friday deal for you...

I actually purchased 2 of these ornaments from QVC the other day when they were a "Today's Special Value". That means they were priced exceptionally low ($39.00 for 2) on that day only.

But wait... there's more!

The Tom Tom One (3rd edition) has been a hot item in stores for some time now.

But if you're looking for one of the best bargains at the Black Friday sales this year, put this GPS unit at the top of your list!

Here's the scoop...

This will be the third year now that I've had my eye on Black Friday sales. Last year, we snatched a few good deals... but nothing big.

While Black Friday events in general guarantee that you'll hear things like "Prices slashed!"... "Rock-bottom prices!"... "Lowest prices of the season!"... and "Best sale ever!"

Each year, a handful of really "hot" items seem to make their way to the top and attract all of the media's attention... and the consumers'.

For example, last year it was the 42" Plasma HD TV. And the year before that it was the laptop for under $400! (We have friends that tried for both, and failed.)

Wondering what the hottest items are this year???

What is Cyber Monday?

The term Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving and the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season. Similar to Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year when retail stores often offer significant discounts, Cyber Monday has in recent years become a busy day for online retailers, and one in which online stores offer similarly low prices and promotions. Source

According to MasterCard, three out of four shoppers plan to shop online. And, people are expected to spend $300 online out of a total holiday spend of $700 each this year.

Even if you don't plan to participate in online shopping the Monday after Thanksgiving, you may want to be prepared for the fact that Internet speed may be significantly lagging on computers all across America, as a result of Cyber Monday.

Here are the biggest discounts, the best prices, and the most slashed prices that will be honored at this year's Black Friday sales events (the day after Thanksgiving).

This is based on what I'm hearing in the news, as well as our own personal experiences and knowledge about electronics & gadgets.

The prices have been SLASHED on these items!...