DALLAS -- Getting your hands on the hottest Black Friday technology gifts this year won't be just a question of stamina.
Sure, you'll still need to be prepared to swallow your pride and camp out in a parking lot Thursday night.
But you'll also need a plan.
The web of price-matching offers and discount countdowns is complex enough to make a chess-playing supercomputer beg for a timeout.
Even the experts admit it's a bit overwhelming.
"What we're seeing more is retailers are trying to one-up each other," said Jon Vincent, founder of BlackFriday.info, one of several sites tracking Black Friday discounts. "They're having earlier sales and really trying to offer special promotions to draw people in."
Some of this year's tech deals are straightforward bargains.
Target, for example, will sell a 1080p 40-inch Westinghouse LCD television for $298, which seems to be the consensus pick for best Black Friday gadget price drop.
That TV normally sells for $549.
Snagging that prize will be tough, as Target notes in microscopic print in its flier. It says supplies of that set will be "limited."
But the deals get a bit ambiguous from there, and cross-checking with other retailers is critical.
For example, Wal-Mart will offer what it says is the "strongest price match guarantee in the market" for Black Friday.
Bring in a competitor's Black Friday ads and Wal-Mart will match the prices of identical products. Assuming Wal-Mart carries that product.
Wal-Mart won't match on products available for purchase on walmart.com.
But when it comes to TVs, Amazon.com will match prices for televisions found on several other sites, including walmart.com.
All items over $25 on Amazon's Black Friday page (amazon.com/blackfriday) are eligible for free shipping and generally don't include sales tax, which means a price match might actually cost you less if the original site charges for shipping or tax.
And while Amazon is officially only matching prices on TVs on other websites, the online retailer is also doing all it can to match or undercut all Black Friday promotions.
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