Just unravelling the mystery and hype about Boxing day/week sales :

1. The really HOT deals are only the Door crashers - unfortunately, they are limited quantity only and you need to stand right through the Christmas night to have any chance of laying your hands on the item you really need. All the best to those who want to brave the weather and the crowd for thier 'steal'...These deals are BOXING DAY deals only available on that day.

2. The relatively MILDER HOT deals are available throughout the boxing week generally upto Jan 1st. The items on sale during this week, in most stores, can be bought BEFORE the week and you can still claim price match/refund. But you need to be lucky that the very same item goes on sale for the week.

3. In stores like FUTURE SHOP, the HOTTER deals (as compared to the boxing week) are generally between 1st to 15th of Jan, (even upto 31st sometimes in some stores). These are over stocked items, inventory clearance etc...items which did not move as expected during the boxing week. Remember, prices in FUTURESHOP are MOSTLY negotiable, specially after the boxing week. You also find good deals on OPEN BOXES if you are able to find a willing sales associate you can work on prices with you.

Hence if you do need to gift someone before christmas, you can safely buy it now, give the gift receipt to the receiver and keep the original receipt with yourself. If the item goes on sale during boxing week, you can go in with the original receipt for a price match.

If you are buying something for yourself, it is prudent to keep browsing throughout the boxing week, shop prices at multiple stores if you have time and safely buy around Jan 10th. OPEN BOXES are not bad deals as long as you check ALL the CONTENTs are present as mentioned in the user manual. Generally the prices are marked 10% below the current sale price, but you can still negotiate upto another 10%~20% depending upon the item and the quantity they have in stock, the condition of the item and box and the number of missing items....

Finally, remember for any customer service you need after the boxing week for refunds, exhanges or warranty claims, be prepared to stay in line for ATLEAST 1-1.5 hr and have tons of patience with irritated CSRs...

ALL the best to all the BRAVE BARGAIN HUNTERS... (not me though)...

Hiren