Black Friday Tips & Tricks

Here are some tips on how to make Black Friday a sucess!

- Research the weekly ads on GottaDeal.com or BFads.net and start looking for the things you want to buy and make a list of brand names, model names, prices and stores they are being offered at (including opening times and when doorbusters end).

- When the ads come out in the paper (usually the day before Thanksgiving), go through each ad and circle the items you would like to buy with a bold marker. Make your shopping list!

- If the store has a price adjustment policy, it would be smart to buy the items on the day before Thanksgiving and just get the price adjustments done on Black Friday or just make sure to get the price adjustments on the days the prices are good for. I shopped at Target from 8 pm until 11 pm on Wednesday and purchased all the items that were listed in the Black Friday ad. As long as the items are not doorbusters, you can get the prices adjusted. I went up to the Customer Service desk on Black Friday morning and received $60 back just in price adjustments!!!

- If the store has a price match policy, then you can do one-stop shopping at that particular store. All you need is to have the original ad from the competitive stores with you and point out each item to the cashier as you check out. They will match the price right then and there! Some stores require you to go to the Customer Service desk, Target does not. I also shop from other stores' ads while shopping at Target and hope that they have the same exact item! As long as it's not a limited time sale (ex: early bird specials, doorbusters, available between 4 am and noon, etc) then you can price-match other stores! It's an awesome way to get the deals other stores are offering without having to drive all over the place.

- Don't forget to use coupons if you have any!!! I go into each store (that takes coupons) armed with my coupon binder, tote bags and all the weekly ads from all the stores. Search for coupons online prior to shopping and print them all out then take that along with your shopping list!

- Make sure you go shopping with people that have the same agenda as you. There's nothing worse than shopping with someone on Black Friday that is ready to move on to the next store when you're not. Make sure to work out a map of all the stores you would like to go to days before just to make sure you're on the same page.

- Use a credit card that is a rewards card. Christmas shopping is a great way to accumulate points to exchange for rewards! It's even better if it has a great interest rate. I use my Citi Mastercard that has a 0% interest rate until April 2011 and I also rack up points each time I use it.

- Make sure to browse for sales online as soon as Black Friday ads get leaked. If you find a better price than what's available on the ads, buy them right away! It's a lot better to shop from home than having to stand in line at the store. Always look for free shipping, promotional offers, coupon codes, etc. There are plenty of sites you can use to find these. I just google what I want (actually I use swagbucks.com) and I usually find what I'm looking for.

- If you are going to purchase items online, make sure to use cash back sites like Ebates.com, Fatwallet.com or Shopathome.com! Cash back sites usually offer double cash back or better on Black Friday!

- Be sure to get plenty of sleep, bring snacks and water for your shopping trip and get everything packed in the car the night before so you can make sure not to forget something in the wee hours of the morning. Drink coffee!

- HAVE FUN!!!

Black Friday 2010

Has it really been exactly a year since I last wrote in here? What a coincidence that I would post about Black Friday again. Actually, I have been thinking of posting in here for quite some time now. Originally, I started my blog to be able to just keep in touch with friends and family. Then I realized what a great concept it really is, a diary online, to keep track of all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) memories. It has been too long since I've updated this thing. So much for keeping friends/family up to date huh? Thank goodness for Facebook! Lol.

So here we are again, exactly one year later, talking about Black Friday. You know, when I started shopping on Black Friday a few years ago, I considered it a "special" shopping event. Now with stores opening on Thanksgiving Day, most having opening times of 3 or 4 or 5 am, and with deals being offered online basically all week long leading up to Black Friday...what's the point of going out on Black Friday anymore? I found that some of the best deals were offered days prior to Black Friday and I was sure glad that I took advantage of those deals while they were available. I just couldn't imagine camping on Thanksgiving night to fall in line for something that the store only has a limited quantity of (like 6 total!).

This year, I went out with Corinne again and her sister Tiff. We didn't even head out until 8 am and luckily, the stores weren't jam-packed crazy like we were expecting. The employees said that most of the craziness happened right when the stores opened so I guess that's one good thing about them opening so damn early. We ended up going to Target first and I was really surprised to see so many of the doorbusters still available. I don't know if it's due to economic hardships or what, but there simply weren't as many shoppers as prior years. Let's put it this way, we were able to park right in front of the store! We usually have to park way back in BFE at Target. Thank the Lord for 4 am opening time, I guess.

We only went to a few stores and I would have loved to keep shopping but there was just no way I could keep going. I was just too tired...and well I didn't really want to spend any more money. The best part about Black Friday honestly is just Corinne and I continuing our tradition. :)

Thankfully, my shopping list is always cut short due to Black Friday. I am able to find some awesome deals and leave the rest to shopping online. I only have 2 more people to shop for and I am done! Woo hoo! I even wrapped 90% of the gifts already. Yeah I know, I rock. Hopefully Cyber Monday will offer some great deals and the websites all don't crash like they usually do. As much as I love to shop, I just hate it when you fill your shopping cart online with all of what I think are super steals, only to have the website crash at the end and lose some of the items in the cart! Crossing my fingers!!