Not Made Of Money

Since Thanksgiving Day is growing closer, it’s time for my annual “Black Friday” post. If you didn’t already know, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. On that day, online and brick and mortar stores kick off the shopping season by enticing shoppers with special deals and discounts. (I have to wonder if the sales this year will be better than in prior years due to the current state of the economy.) I usually visit the GottaDeal Black Friday site to see the sale ads. I’ve already seen several Black Friday ads from this year, including Target and Kmart.

I do have some Black Friday strategies that I’ve shared in prior years but I’ve listed below just the basics:

1. Preview the ads as early as possible and compare current prices to sale prices. Sometimes you can get the item at the Black Friday price now, which would make it a lot easier than trying to fight the shopping crowds on that day.

2. Know the store policies on price guarantees, returns, refunds, and price matching. Price matching is a very popular method of maximizing one’s dollars in the Black Friday sales. You’ll also want to 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. Why bother to go wait in the line at the store (and fight for a parking spot) when you can order the same item at the same price from the comfort of your home.

4. Look for items that people have hidden on the morning of Black Friday. I know it sounds crazy but people like to “hide” items ahead of time to ensure they will snag what they want come Black Friday. I’ve found the same thing to be true during Target’s clearance times. 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.

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