Today is the beginning of the huge holiday shopping season for those best deals around. But as I’ve mentioned before, I’m one of those people who will pass on the opportunity to save money by shopping this early since I am not too fond of big crowds and parking lot traffic jams. And who enjoys standing around waiting in a line by the checkout counter?
Here are some reasons why people believe that Black Friday is not worth the trouble:
- You can now do your Black Friday shopping online so why bother going out there to get hassled?
- The products that are discounted aren’t of the best quality or aren’t what the store considers their top products.
- Products on sale today may turn out to have the same prices by Christmas time.
- Black Friday enthusiasts are usually doing it as part of a habit or tradition, but for everyone else, trying it out once may be enough.
But for those of you who are into this shopping holiday craze, here are some tips. If it’s too late to apply them now since you’re out there braving the mobs or the weather, they’re still pretty useful for any form of shopping you intend to do this coming season.
Black Friday Shopping Tips and Tricks
#1 Get organized before shopping.
Get your Black Friday coupons together, finalize your list of stuff to buy, strategize with your family — if you’re serious about making this an event worth your while, then why not get your family all involved? Assign different family members different stores to visit in order to take advantage of the promotions. Without a plan, you may not get as much bang for the buck and you’ll just be treating the event like any other shopping experience, maybe just wasting your time. But if you’re out there to just window shop, then that’s another story of course.
#2 Prioritize your list of things to buy and stores to visit.
If you’re like me, then you’re not the type who can shop all day long. I used to enjoy shopping much more when I was younger and had more energy 
. These days, I budget my time as well as my money when I go out to shop — usually because I get either bored or exhausted after walking around the malls for a couple of hours. If time is an issue for you, then ensure that your list is prioritized, and you’ve planned your logistical route for the day.
#3 Black Friday is like Disneyland — get in early to save time and hassle!
Believe it or not but there are hard-core shoppers out there who look upon the event as an “experience” or part of their family “tradition”. If you see that line snaking out of a store the night before Black Friday, then those are some serious consumers who’ve decided to camp out to beat everyone else to the merchandise. Now that’s something just completely out of the question for me, but it could actually be “fun” for some people.
#4 Watch out for specials.
There are promotions that may only be valid for Black Friday. “Doorbusters” and “Early Bird Specials” may only run from 5 am to a few hours afterwards. If you miss these, not to worry, there are tons more shopping sales to find every retail season.
#5 Shop online.
Now that’s more like it. The web has its own version of Black Friday deals which I no doubt prefer over the offline shopping experience.
#6 Check out a store’s pricematch policy.
Find out if a store has a “lowest-price” guarantee or policy — if so, make copies of the pricing information for the products in question that are being advertised for less. Price guarantees may not extend to products available on the internet but you can attempt to persuade the store further by providing copies of the pricing from web sites (especially if it’s from their own web site) — but don’t hold your breath. What’s great about valid pricematch guarantees is the convenience of buying the products in one store at those lower prices; then you can avoid doing the extra legwork having to go to other stores for your items. As mentioned, this entails preparation and price comparisons of products available at various stores.
#7 Buy earlier, then return/rebuy on day of sale.
Another scheme is to buy before the sale, then on the day of sale, return the item you bought earlier and repurchase it at that time. This may not be totally “ethical” but some stores may allow this, so you may want to inquire if this is acceptable.
Some people will say you need to prepare several days in advance for an event like this, treating it like a sport. I say, bah. Sales come and sales go — I’m just a casual shopper who’ll be taking it easy. Don’t be surprised though, if you see a lot more foreign travelers in your midst. I hear they’re out to shop till they drop thanks to all the extra dollars they have this year!
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It’s certainly true that the biggest money saving tip for Xmas shopping this year in the UK is to buy from US$ websites. Even with shipping it seems to be working out cheaper with the exchange rate.
I am right with you. I prefer avoiding the crowds then save a few extra dollars.
#5 is the only tip I need nowadays.
#8 Get an helmet and leave your kids home
I heard that Black Friday could result into quite a mess!
We have something similar in Canada right after Xmas (Boxing Day) and it is definitely not a day to go out unless you really know what you are looking for!
Huge discovery made yesterday: Grocery stores are almost empty on Black Friday! Hot diggety.
Broke & almost out of food right before TG, I relied on family to bring the side dishes (I provided the lamb, out of the freezer). Money arrived yesterday and so I had to make runs on Trader Joe’s and Basha’s to replenish the larder. Was dreading having to share the roads and other public spaces with frenzied hordes of shoppers–I normally stay out of stores on Black Friday. But no: everybody’s either noshing on leftovers or fighting for bargains. I breezed in and out of three grocery stores in record time, and then saved $45 on my son’s Xmas present by ordering it online.
What a wonderful, calm day! Wish retailers would do Black Fridays once a week, so we nonparticipants could enjoy the peace & quiet in the World Beyond Acquisition.
There are just as many deals to be had in the weeks after Christmas, and the scene is a great deal less crazy.
I have got a report of Internet Customer survey and it says that near about 86% of them are 100% satisfied with there product which they have bought through the internet.
I think every internet user should go with internet shopping.
Tip # 5 is the best one. Definitely shop online during BF. You can get all the deals and avoid the crowded stores + long lines.
Like you, I’d rather not get mobbed at the stores on black friday, I’d rather do my shopping online. So far this year I’ve already seen some great online deals for black friday.
Great article. I’ve found that there are some little-known ways of shopping via RSS feeds. You can get real-time updates when items you’re looking for go on sale. You can also use RSS to get updates when the items you’re looking for are posted for sale on Craigslist. I actually just posted about it on Wednesday with several detailed screencast videos.
Wow, great strategies, for #1, people in my neck of the wood expand the buyer pool by coordinating with friends too. That way they get hit more stores, to get those really great items that go off the shelves too quickly.
Three little words. Steel toed boots. Great for kicking.
Black Friday is just crazy. Count me out.
No thanks… better strategy is to go the week before and snap up the nice stuff. Is an extra 10% off really worth the drive to acton;)
Mike