Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, but it is not easy work getting great deals. Here are some tips to help you make the most of it!

Retailers and shoppers alike eagerly anticipate this day, for the sales and the deals, but Black Friday can be overwhelming, so make sure you’re prepared:

• Get up early! If you like your sleep, plan to take a nap afterwards, but do not start shopping late on Black Friday. There will be shoppers camped out before any of the stores open (and they open early that day!) so if you want a deal or a parking space, make sure you set your alarm!
• Shop with a purpose. Black Friday is not the day to wander around, casually looking at gift ideas. There will be crowds, full parking lots, and better deals than you’ve seen all year! Do your research - look at the ads and pay attention to which products are in which stores and for how much. Then you can go directly to the stores that interest you and not waste time and energy fighting extra crowds.
• Shop in one place. Black Friday is not the day to drive all around town checking out every mall in the city. For one thing, once you have a parking space, you’ll want to keep it! Figure out which mall has the most of what you’re looking for and plant yourself there for the day, going to different stores, but not moving your car. I look for a place that gives me easy access to Best Buy, Kohl’s, Old Navy and Staples.
• Streamline. This is probably not the day to bring the stroller, the bulky diaper bag, or the dog on a leash. You’ll be moving in crowds and want to be as streamlined as possible. Make sure your purse is zipped or snapped closed and think about taking packages back to the car periodically. The less bulky packages you’re carrying, the easier it will be for you to move through the crowds!
• Get a team. Find out which of your family and friends will be attacking the stores on Black Friday and go together. You’ll be glad you’re all in one car looking for one parking space and not in four separate cars!
• Divide and conquer. The other great thing about shopping as a team is that you can spread out. If you are organized and have listed what you want from each store, assign certain people to different stores to get everything there. You will save precious time and sanity!
• Go with a sense of humor. You do not want to be one of those people who loses their cool and ends up on the news for attacking the person who got the last PlayStation! Instead, relax, be kind to your fellow shoppers and the stressed-out retail clerks, and plan to meet up with friends for dinner or coffee to share your shopping stories.
• Check the ads online first. You can see black friday ad scans (which are usually correct but not guaranteed) before the papers come out here.
• Think about using the Internet for your actually shopping. If you dislike crowds or getting up early, then you might want to do your Christmas shopping online! Some stores will give you the same deals on their website, while some will have different deals, so you’ll want to check on that. Be sure to check Amazon Black Friday Deals to vote on the items you want at ridiculous prices ($79 wii is sweet!)
• Check out coupon code database for additional saving when shopping online on Black Friday or any time!

Happy shopping!

This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 8:23 am and is filed under Money saving ideas, Shopping Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.