Online shopping is a great solution to the stress and long lines we associate with holiday shopping. The internet has virtually eliminated the need to navigate the insanity that takes over malls and shopping centers during holiday sales. Online stores, such as Amazon.com allow users to take their time finding the best deal from the comfort of their home or office.

Holiday sales, such as Black Friday, can mean deep discounts on gifts like flat screen TVs, computers, toys and just about anything on your holiday shopping list. Amazon has developed a Black Friday Deals Week, which claims to meet or beat Black Friday sales prices of brick and mortar competitors, such as Walmart.

Black Friday has been a part of Thanksgiving tradition for the last several decades. It occurs once a year, on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day in the United States. The term Black Friday originated in Philadelphia, PA, in the 1960s, and referred to the heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic that crowded their streets the day after Thanksgiving. Around 1975, the term began to spread outside Philadelphia, and eventually its meaning evolved. The meaning of Black Friday as we know it, referred to the beginning of the holiday shopping season, when retailers begin to make a profit, or are "in the black" budget-wise.

Generally, online stores, such as Amazon.com reserve their big savings deals for a new tradition, called Cyber Monday. The brick and mortar shops, like Toys 'R' Us and Walmart kick off the Holiday shopping season on Friday, while the online stores typically wait until Monday to offer their big savings. Amazon has blown this tradition out of the water, with their unique Black Friday Deals Week offers, which began on November 21st, four days before Black Friday occurs.

Taking advantage of Amazon's Black Friday Deals Week is most certainly worth your time, especially if you're the type of person that likes to avoid crowds. The deals are listed at amazon.com/blackfriday and are updated throughout the day, through November 26th.

Products range from Electronics, DVDs and Blu-ray, Music, Tools, Kitchen, Home & Garden, Books and Fashion, and the sales are listed anywhere from 10 to 92 percent off. Some of the merchandise is listed on sale for the entire Black Friday Deals Week, while others are listed as daily lighting deals. The lightning deals are posted for a limited time and supply, and include some great gift ideas.

Because Amazon's Black Friday deals are around all week, there is no need to choose one sale over another. Last year, Walmart boasted an average savings of 4 percent more than Amazon, so for the best savings, you might need to stomach the crowds of aggressive shoppers.

Alternatively, if you're too busy with travel and family commitments on Black Friday, you can still take advantage of Amazon's deals. When Black Friday Deals Week ends on November 26th, Cyber Monday Deals kick in from November 27th through December 3rd. Amazon will have huge holiday savings throughout the rest of the holiday season, and will likely offer some post-holiday deals as well.