How to Survive Black Friday – Tips from Veteran Shopper
Stores offer unbelievable deals on Black Friday and if you are braving the crowds you probably have your eye on a few things for your holiday shopping list. I love the challenge of finding a great deal on Black Friday and have been heading out in the middle of the night to wait for stores to open for years. I’ve gotten so good at finding deals and snagging deal busters that my family and friends now ask me to shop for them because they know I’ll find the lowest price.
I’ve learned some things in my years shopping Black Friday sales. As a veteran shopper, I now know what is worth my time and what isn’t. I’ve learned some great money-saving tricks and a few shortcuts and I’m sharing some of my best tips with you today.
Research deals ahead of time. The stores are competing with each other so it’s helpful to research which store has the best price. I like to hunt through a newspaper on Thanksgiving day and see what deals are out there. BlackFriday.com often leaks Black Friday deals ahead of time. One of my favorites is always Slick Deals. The Penny Hoarder has 24 hour coverage of Black Friday deals (they have 20 money-saving experts spending the night in the office to find deals for you and answer questions) so it’s definitely worth checking out their Black Friday portal this year.
You don’t have to be the first in line. There are people who camp out for days before Black Friday. I don’t do that anymore. I’ve found that I can often still get doorbuster if I just show up right before the store opens. What happens at most stores is the store hands out tickets for the doorbusters. The first people in line tend to take tickets whether or not they actually plan on buying the item. They want to leave their options open. If you show up just before the store opens and chat with the people in line they will often hand out the extra tickets they aren’t planning on using.
The other thing I’ve found, is even if all the tickets have been handed out, they often aren’t always used. The stores hold those items for a set period of time but they often have a deadline for the item to be picked up. If you chat with a store employee (usually a few hours after the store opens) and ask if any of the particular doorbuster you are looking for are still available they may one or two that haven’t been purchased (sometimes there are in the back of the store). I’ve had good luck talking with managers and asking when the ticket items that were not purchased will be released and coming back then.
Be aware, deals may not be in their normal sections in the store. Black Friday deals are sometimes placed in different sections of the store. If you don’t see what you are looking for try checking another area of the store.
Make a plan of attack. Many of the Black Friday deals are not located in their typical location in the store. They are often stacked out in the isles. You can often find maps online before hand so you can see where things will be placed before stepping foot inside the store. Look at where stores are located in relation to each other. You may make better use of your time by going to a store location that is near another store you plan on shopping at.
Don’t shop on Thanksgiving Day unless it is an item you “have to have”. Many stores are opening earlier and early with some offering deals on Thanksgiving day. You can generally find great deals on Friday or online so unless you are hunting for something very specific and can’t live with out it, stay home and enjoy your holiday. I’ve been hitting the Black Friday sales for years and, with very few exceptions, I’ve been able to find everything on my list without shopping on Thursday.
Prioritize. I no longer fight the crowds for $5 movies (the best movie deals are often online any way). I go out to save hundreds of dollars on large ticket items such as TV’s and computers. You can often find smaller ticket items on sale online and throughout the holiday season.
Don’t stress about it if you miss a deal. Deals come and go. You aren’t going to grab every single one and that’s okay. Have fun with Black Friday and enjoy the experience. It isn’t worth getting worked up over a missed deal and turning into one of the grumpy shoppers everyone complains about. If you are looking for something specific, be aware that Black Friday deals will often pop back up again on Cyber Monday if stores have extra inventory.
What tips do you have for surviving Black Friday?
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