November 11, 2011

Black Friday Is Coming! (Oh, And Thanksgving Too)

I wrote about Black Friday last year at  Things I Can't Say. I gotta say, the response was less than stellar. Everyone thought I was crazy for going out to battle the crowds at 3 in the morning! (I do not battle the crowds, by the way, and I'd never trample someone for a $10 DVD.) While I am reasonably certain that I am not completely crazy, I understand that some people aren't as desperate for a good deal frugal as I am.  So, this year I am back with my tips for Black Friday On-line shopping. Here we go!

Many stores now have a lot of their items available on-line. Now, if Wal-Mart is selling 15 laptops at $198 each, NO- those won't be on-line. But lots of the toys, clothing and housewares are available on-line. Get your mouse ready and plop your butt on the couch with your laptop- the sales go on-line at different times, but it's a safe bet to start checking for the Eastern time zone. And then it's refresh, refresh, refresh.

But don't just think you can leisurely browse and get what you want. You need a game plan. Start studying the ads now (they're just starting to come out). Decide what items are most important to you- generally I look for at least a 50% off savings. You'll want to add these first, and check out fast. Items sell out in no time (and trust me, it's really maddening when items in your cart are no longer available). Make sure that you have an account registered and your payment info stored for a speedy check out.

One last thing to consider (are you still there? Almost done!) are those pesky shipping charges. Scoring all those good deals won't be worth it when you see a $70 shipping charge (true story, TOYS R US). Wal-Mart has some great shipping deals. 2 years ago I bought a GPS there which shipped for 98 cents. Toys R Us, like I said, has some of the most ridiculous shipping fees (and it is the worst store to go to on Black Friday! Do not attempt!). Fortunately, they have a service called ShopRunner (this is not an affiliate link). It's a shipping service similar to Amazon Prime. For $79 a year, you get free 2-day shipping to TRU and a few other random stores. But $79 is a lot of money just for free shipping on most TRU items- therefore, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU CANCEL YOUR FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP BEFORE THE 30 DAYS ARE UP. It's what I did last year, and it worked perfectly. I was even able to make multiple orders as different items became available, and my items came super fast!

WHEW, that was a lot of info for one post. I hope I haven't scared you off Black Friday shopping even more then you already may have been. I'm not sure if I'll be heading out to the stores this year or not. It may be my year to shop from my comfy couch.




Have any good Black Friday stories to share?

7 comments:

  1. I tried that 2 week trial thing. It will only let you sign up with an actual credit card. I no longer have any of those. First thing I have ever come across that would let me use a debit card backed by Visa or MC. I was a bit bothered by it too. Oh well. I guess my Black Friday experience is going to be limited. Nothing new there. LOL Have fun clickin' like mad on Black Friday!!!! :0)

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  2. I see that Kidlit! I've never had a Visa/MC that wasn't debit, so I must have used my Paypal to sign up. That's lame of them.

    Also, I see they offer free returns!

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  3. I have never ever been able to shop black Friday; I just don't have it in me. I joke about being to "ADD" but I really cannot handle it...

    I did not know about shopping black Friday over the internet -- thank you for sharing the tips.

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  4. Even if you're not brave enough to go out (and it's really not that bad! Esp with the earlier opening times), you can still score some great stuff on-line.
    www.bfads.net is a great site!

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  5. The joy of being unemployed is I won't have to bothered with that pesky Christmas shopping.

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  6. I have never participated in the crazy early morning shopping and I always say there is NO WAY I'm going shopping on Black Friday, but yet, somehow, after I've slept in way too late and the deals are gone, I venture into the stores. Maybe I'll give online shopping a try this year.

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  7. I love Black Friday! My sister and I head to the local outlets on Thanksgiving night at 10 - when they start their deals. It's not that bad, although last year the Coach outlet and some fancy pants jeans store had lines to get in. I wasn't shopping for either, so it didn't matter to me.

    I always, always, always do CyberMonday. Most stores offer great deals and free shipping. I use them for family in another state as it save me both money and time and I don't have to deal with the post office during the holidays :)

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