Tyler Cowen wonders:
In fact it seems that early December has in general the cheapest prices of the year, not Black Friday. Dare I suggest that some people like waiting in those lines with their thermos cups and stale bagels.
Yglesias says that "to get a really good deal on anything what you actually have to do is wait until after the shopping rush and see what excess inventory stores have that they're desperate to purge. "
The Dish 