Surviving Black Friday and Cyber Monday
I don’t do Black Friday. I would rather have every hair pulled out of my head individually than fight hundreds of people for the last Nintendo DS on the shelf. But there are people who live for the deals offered by stores on the day after Thanksgiving – and there are some good deals if you’re willing to brave some serious crowds.
Cyber Monday, in my opinion, is retailers’ solution to people like me. They wait until the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend when people go back to work and offer hundreds of deals exclusively online. No crowds. No lines. No waiting.
Whether you shop one or both of these popular days, take advantage of these tips for finding the deals you really want before they are gone.
Shop before you can shop
The Internet has revolutionized the way shopper tackle Black Friday. Back in the “old days” as my son calls them, you would stop at a newspaper stand and pick up the Thanksgiving Day special edition, which was full of Black Friday ads. You can still do that, or you can view the ads and a whole lot more on these sites:
BlackFriday.info
Cybermonday.net
In-store, online or both?
Pay close attention to where the sale prices apply. A lot of stores have “in-store only” sales that start in the middle of the night and end before a lot of people normally wake up. Or, they offer online specials that are different than the ones in stores. Know where and when you can take advantage of special pricing.
Keep your expectations realistic
Just because you show up at the store doesn’t mean you will leave with the item(s) you want. At stores like Wal-Mart, people start lining up at 10 p.m. for sales that don’t start until 2 a.m. or later. There are limited quantities of those items that are price too low to be true.
Use Facebook and Twitter to find deals
Liking your favorite stores on Facebook and following them on Twitter could help you find special deals not published anywhere else. It also may save you a trip by indicating when sales are over or merchandise is sold out.
Use store websites and your mobile phone to your advantage
Many store websites will let you shop by location. If the store you are at is out of the item you wanted to buy, use your mobile phone to access to the store’s website and change and search for the item at a different location. If it’s there, see if you can buy the item online and pick it up at the store.
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy shopping!
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