2007 Black Friday - Some Thoughts and Strategies
If you didn’t already know, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. It is a day where stores kick off the holiday shopping season with special deals and discounts to attract large numbers of shoppers. I have yet to see any of the Black Friday ads for this year. In years past by this time the big ads (Target, Walmart, Toys R Us, etc.) had been leaked already and posted on some of the special deal sites like Gotta Deal. Being the advanced planner that I am, I like to review the ads as early as possible and make my shopping plans for Black Friday. It’s hard to find the time to go through the sale ads on Thanksgiving Day.
There are only a few items I am looking for but it would be nice to know if they were going to be on sale on Black Friday. Otherwise, I could just purchase them now and save myself the hassle of shopping that day. Sometimes I have found that current sale prices on items I am looking for are better prior to the Black Friday sales, so I am diligently watching the sales now (especially the Toys R Us Big Toy Book as well as Target’s Toy Catalog). Both of these have discount prices that expire on November 21, the day before Thanksgiving.
I do have some Black Friday strategies that I shared last year. Here are the basics:
1. Review the ads as early as possible and compare current prices to sale prices. Can you purchase the item more cheaply now?
2. Know the store policies on price guarantees, returns, refunds, and price matching. In years past some people have done quite well on Black Friday through price matching, where one store will match the advertised price from a competitor store. Also, find out if you can purchase an item prior to Black Friday and get a refund of the difference if the price on Black Friday is lower.
3. Check to see if the store will make their Black Friday sale prices available online as well. This can save a lot of time waiting in line. We purchased our digital camera at Target a couple of years ago this way.
4. Look for items that people have hidden on the morning of Black Friday. I’ve found that people like to “hide” items to make it easier for them to make sure they obtain the Black Friday items. This happens during Target’s clearance times as well. The most popular hiding places are in the bedding, housewares, and furniture departments. I once found an Oneida stainless steel flatware set (that had gone on clearance to 75% off) hidden between the boxes of bookshelves in the furniture department.
Great Tips! Thanks for sharing
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I love your post especially on the strategies. I love Black Friday, but I absolutely hate shopping any other time. I start preparing now also. GL to you on that day!
My favorite tip is to know who does price matching. I personally go to a 24 hour superstore that does pricematching. Take all your circulars, and your list of items, and go in about an hour or two before the “regular” stores open. Find all the items you wanted in your other circulars (often it has to be pictured or described exactly in order for this to work) and then wander up to the front of the store. Match your items to the appropriate circulars, and then waltz through checkout at 6:01 am (or whenever the “regular” store would have opened).
Since you’re not going for the 24 hour store’s loss leaders, you won’t run into nearly as many crowds, and you won’t have to sprint for the items in the regular stores. The trick is that you can’t check out until the item would have been available elsewhere, although sometimes they will overlook this.
Don’t overlook visiting all the nearby locations of your friendly 24 hour store, as they often have different selections.
You can find some of the ads in advance at http://www.black-friday.net. Good luck!!
Great tips, especially see if the store will make their Black Friday sale prices available online.
Best Wishes,
D4L
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