By Richard M. Sherwin, Executive Editor

The best way to get the best deals for your tech holiday gifts may be to wait until the holidays are over.

Yes there are $35 Blue Ray players and $250 40 inch LCD TVs and your Sound-bars

might even be free with a TV bundle deal. And yes, for those who want mobility, there are $40 Android Tablets, $39 Smart Phones and $200 laptops as well as high end headphones for under $50. But you know that unbelievable deal your friends got? They should have realized that the model they were buying was last years or even a two year old product.

A quick check of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales indicate that many of the products in audio, video, PC and mobile sales flyers were discontinued SKUs or the slowest selling models.

And if you thought that the first tier manufacturers like Sony, Panasonic, Dell, HP, Vizio and Samsung were deeply discounting their best products you are probably wrong.

“We are entrusted with getting rid of our unsold, slow moving or discontinued models at this time of year,” said senior VP of sales for a major Japanese manufacturer, who requested anonymity. “And it’s easy for consumers to see that by just checking the date of production which is now required on the back of TVs, computers and many other products,” the former VP claimed.

So if you actually want the best in class and the latest model, and still get a great price without haggling, here’s some advice:

Industry and consumer experts surveyed by DFA were unanimous that margins at Best Buy, PC Richard, Frys and, of course, Walmart and Target, are so slim that you could and should wait until after Christmas if you want to buy the latest and greatest because by then the actual newest models and latest production line SKUs are more readily available.

What if your friends and family absolutely want something RIGHT NOW? That 50 inch LED TV from Panasonic or the super fast, thin Android Tablet from Asis or the Mirrorless Digital Camera from Samsung or 12.1 channel home audio system from Yamaha or those spectacular speakers from Boston Acoustics?

“Make sure, especially with Internet deals, that the product comes with a U.S. warrantee, a full refund (no re-stocking fee) from a prominent brick and mortar retailer. And then you should still use many of the free Apps on your existing smart phone or tablet to check the lowest price available at the time of purchase, ” stressed a secret shopper for a major research firm.

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