Beware, not all Black Friday deals are good deals

Everyone I talk to seems to be getting really excited about the upcoming deals at most major retailers this Friday (known as Black Friday). I am no exception to this excitement. But at the same time I can't deny that I become saddened when I think about how many people are going to get a bargain basement price on a technology gadget this Friday that in reality is a piece of junk.

I'm not saying that everything with a bargain basement price is a piece of junk. What I am saying is that some of them are. And my fear stems from the fact that noobies usually can't tell them apart.

For instance, do you know that an DVD player that upconverts to high definition is not the same as a Blu-ray high definition DVD player? Most noobies don't. But a $60 or $70 price tag on a DVD player with the words "HD" on it sure looks like a deal! In this particular example an upconverting DVD player is not necessarily a piece of junk. In fact, they actually do a nice job of making standard DVDs look nicer on high definition televisions. But they aren't Blu-ray, which is true 1080p high definition quality and the idea that most people think they just bought an high definition DVD player upsets me.

Easy to hide inadequacies on computers and laptops

Deals on computers and laptops are another notorious rip-off. If you think you're getting a good computer or laptop for $200 this Friday, you're not. It may look nice on the outside but most techies would know to look for things such as how much memory it has, what the processor speed is and what kind of graphics card it has inside. A $200 laptop would fail all three of these tests.

I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. But I will give you one last word of caution. Occasionally you really will find a great deal on a great technology product. But beware of the bait and switch. Most stores only carry one or two of these in their inventory. And when they run out you can bet they won't tell you to come back another day. No, instead they will sell you on the "other" technology products still available that coincidentally aren't all that good of a deal.

So my parting advice to you is this. Trust your gut just like you would anything else. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Either that or look for a good return policy.