’Twas the day before Thanksgiving and all across the ‘Net, not an Apple reseller in sight without a deal, you can bet!

Following on the heels of last year’s early Black Friday sales, Apple authorized resellers are again jumping on the bandwagon, offering up to $220 off Mac desktops and $250 off Mac notebooks, according to AppleInsider.

Among the vendors participating are MacMall, ClubMac and OnSale.com, each with their own variation on 72-hour Black Friday sales that began at midnight Wednesday and will run through 11:59 pm PST on Friday.

AppleInsider notes that MacMall and MacConnection have the lowest prices thus far this year, with a white MacBook at $884.99 (a savings of $114) after rebates. New Mac minis also get a price cut at MacMall, with the 2.26GHz model for $549.99 and the 2.53GHz model for $744.98 (both after rebates).

iMacs and MacBook Pros are on mostly equal footing at all of the e-tailers, with the 2.26GHz 13” MacBook Pro and 3.06GHz Dual 21” iMac each for $1068.99 at MacMall (a savings of $130). Even Best Buy is getting into the act, offering the new 3.06GHz 21.5” iMac for $1,099 — a $100 cut and one of the few that don’t require a rebate. Not to be left out, there are also deals to be found on Mac Pro and MacBook Air models, with price cuts ranging from $200 to $220, depending on the retailer.

AppleInsider has a great Mac price guide online offering a side-by-side comparison of holiday pricing for both retail and educational buyers, updated throughout the week.

Finally, come this Friday, Apple itself can be counted on for their own Black Friday deals, both in retail stores and online, although such discounts have historically been modest compared to what authorized resellers offer.

The term “Black Friday” dates back to the 1970s, referring to the day after Thanksgiving that retailers have come to count on in the U.S. for heavy foot traffic to their stores in order to get financially out of the red and into the “black.”