The holidays have ended, and the real sales have begun. Those choosing to sacrifice sentimentality for savings found retailers only too willing to help, as prices were slashed in the wake of the Christmas rush. Recipients of gift cards stand to see their purchasing power extended, as well, now that redemption time has arrived, and retailers are looking to squeeze in any extra sales they can to pump up their top lines before the books close on the fiscal year, which, for many, comes at the end of January.

Toys "R" Us has offered a deal on Nintendo (NTDOY) Wii games, with the second coming at half price, and Target (TGT) is nearly halving the price of wine glasses and dropping the tag on an argyle women's sweater by nearly a third. Walmart (WMT), which kicked off its cuts at the end of September, is throwing a $50 gift card on top of any Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360 buy.

Online retail sales are expected to increase 3% to $28.8 billion for this year's holiday season. The analysts at comScore include traditional retailers, like Macy's (M) in this estimate, but don't count auction sites like eBay (EBAY), travel or corporate sales. The estimate compares favorably against the National Retail Federation's forecast of a 1% year-over-year drop for all retail sales and exceeds the industry's most aggressive holiday season sales estimates of 2%.

Last year, online retail sales fell 3% for the holiday season, the first decline since the industry started keeping score in 2001. Even if we don't hit the 3% growth level this year, 2009 is still expected to be better than 2008, now that the economy has stabilized (at least relative to last year).

Toys R Us bought FAO Schwarz in May and is now ready to do something interesting with it.

It's a pretty bold move for a tough retail market. Toys R Us is opening FAO Schwarz boutiques in some of its stores. It's also relaunching the upscale toy seller's website, FAO.com. A year ago, this would have been suicide, but now, it might work out. With retailers in every sector fighting for an edge, this move may beef up the Toys R Us in-store experience, with the online play helping it reach higher-spending consumers that may not have access to an FAO brick-and-mortar spot.

This morning, Toys R Us Inc. announced that it purchased high-end toy retailer FAO Schwarz. FAO has struggled mightily for years, thanks to harsh competition from discount toy stores.

Toys R Us CEO Jerry Storch stated, "We will work tirelessly to preserve the distinctiveness and integrity of the FAO Schwarz stores and brand as we grow the business and, indeed, take the brand to even greater heights."

I have always disliked the moniker 'Black Friday.' Explaining that 'Black Friday' refers to the day that retailers go from losing money to making it strikes me as awkward -- particularly when my first instinct on hearing that phrase is to think of something very bad happening on a Friday.

Which is why today's deadly events combining shopping for the holidays and death seem so strange and sad. This morning, a Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) clerk at a store in Valley Stream, Long Island was trampled to death by a crowd of 2,000 people eager to grab bargains. "The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion," according to AP. If store cameras can identify who trampled the store clerk, criminal charges could be brought against them.

Later in the day, two people were shot dead at a Toys 'R' Us in Southern California. The Riverside Country sheriff's department reported an argument between two teenagers preceded the shooting. A third person, a male, apparently pulled out a gun, according to AP.

Back in March 2005, a group of marquee private equity firms -- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Bain Capital -- purchased Toys "R'' Us for $6.6 billion. It was certainly a leap-of-faith. After all, the toy retailer had been under assault from Net upstarts as well as mega retailers like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT).

Well, the environment got even tougher since then. As a result, Toys "R" Us hired Gerald Storch, a top-flight executive from Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT), to run the ailing toy retailer (he came on board in February).

And, he seems to be getting some traction. In fact, according to a piece in Bloomberg.com, the bonds of Toys "R" Us have been rallying lately. Keep in mind that during the summer, bond investors were pricing the bonds as if they would default.

What has Storch done? Well, he has cut 3,000 jobs, closed down a variety of stores and renovated other stores. Perhaps his best move was offering exclusive products, such as the Nitro Notebook computer.

But, the fact remains that the company has $6.72 billion in debt and the competition is not getting any easier.

However, this is high profile deal and it would be an embarrassment if things went awry. In other words, this appears to be an early test of the riskiness of the private equity world.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates DealProfiles.com.

Amazon.com second quarter earnings did not make investors happy, with net income down sharply from 2005 thanks the severed relationship between the internet retailer and Toysrus.com to $22 million, or 5 cents a share. Investors had driven the stock down below its 52-week low by the time the hold music had come to an end and the conference call had begun. Here's a link to the company's report.

5:04 p.m. After the usual disclaimers, CFO Tom Szkutak ("Tom") takes over to do a dry recap of the results. He sounds very, very, very softspoken. Even, a little ... afraid? Maybe he's just a master of zen.

5:08 p.m. I have to turn my volume up to hear him. "We continue to invest in increased selection." The SKUs in warehouses have increased by 48%, and Tom points out the new grocery selection, as well as the addition of German sporting goods.

5:09 p.m. Revenue grew 23% excluding the impact of Toysrus.com in North America. Gross profit grew 11%, although the gross margin decreased. I think he said 174 basis points of 220 total bps decline -- a huge part of it, but the decrease would have been there regardless. That's interesting and I hope management explains the reason for those missing 50-some basis points in operating margin shortfall.

5:10 p.m. He says that international operating income and margins decreased due to low prices, including free shipping, and a change in mix.