Hype must be cultivated like a delicate flower. Peak too soon and people who are not paying as much attention go to stores too early looking for it. Start too late and people miss the advertising in the bustle of the quickly approaching holiday.
I expect good sales on the week between the 11th and the 18th, but I am sure Bethesda will be watching its sales on Black Friday and into the first two weeks of December as well.
All I can say is that one month before release (Oct 11th) I am quitting these forums and all gaming sites cold turkey. I don't want any leaks or unintentional admissions to spoil anything.
I would like to know when they will be updating their website with new information (e.g. info on races, monsters, etc.). Similar to what they did before the release of Oblivion (and I think Morrowwind as well)
I have to admit, my buzz in Skyrim comes from my experiences with the previous games and doing it all again in this one, NOT from what i've seen in gameplay/trailers.
Edit: And I dont expect it to take long for Bethesdas RAGEing PR to die down so they can get to the good stuff, not with the way it flopped on PC like Brink did.