Wait until after the Super Bowl for that flat screen TV

Just before Christmas I wrote about how I was using super-human will power to wait till after the holiday to get a new flat screen TV. And I'm still waiting--thanks mainly to a suggestion from a reader named Dan. Prices are likely to fall further still after the Super Bowl. (Which is February first this year for those of you who care about football as much as I do.)

For years stores have targeted people who want a new TV for a Super Bowl party. According to USAToday, in 2007 stores sold 61% more TVs in the week before the Super Bowl than in the week before that. USAToday quoted NPD Group analysts figuring that Christmas sales spike because of sales (for gifts), but Super Bowl buyers want the top of the line.

The National Retail Federation said last year on CNNMoney that despite the recession, we would still buy 3.9 million TVs for the Super Bowl. Will we be so bold this year? The federation typically releases its projections at the end of January. I'd assume they'd be down. I'd also assume that the stores already know that and aren't going to over-order like fools. But that still leaves room--if you have the patience--to wait until the buying binge ends to go shopping.