Black Friday Tips

I know Black Friday shopping is intimidating to some people, but it can be a great way to find awesome deals on the gifts you've been wanting for your loved ones. In my experience, toys, movies, video games, electronics, and kitchen items in particular are often deeply discounted for Black Friday shopping. And with so many stores and online retailers trying to get in on their share of Black Friday spending, you will probably have many options to save money. Whether you're a Black Friday beginner or veteran, I hope these few tips will help you score some bargains this year! 

1. First of all, you should be aware that this year most stores will be opening their doors as early as 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving night rather than waiting until Black Friday. If you don’t like the idea of going out shopping on Thanksgiving, you might want to keep an eye on the websites for your favorite stores. Many of them will start their sales sometime on Thanksgiving day, either at the same time as their in-store sales or even as early as 12:00 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. Last year, Kohls started their online sale the day before Thanksgiving, and Amazon.com usually starts some of their sales on the Monday before Thanksgiving.

2. Start planning early. Be thinking about your Christmas list several weeks before Thanksgiving so you know what to watch out for when the ads come out. Many of the ads—including Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, and Kohl’s—are now available online, so you can plan out your shopping in advance.

3. I like to start out at www.bfads.net. This great website has scans of the ads for all the different stores that you can peruse in one place. It also has convenient searchable lists of all the items in the ads. If you are looking for something in particular, you can simply type a keyword into the search bar at the top and it will pull up a list of all the advertised specials on items containing that keyword, organized by category. You can also narrow your search to particular stores or categories of items.

4. Keep a running list on all the best Black Friday prices you’ve seen for the gifts you’re looking for. That way, if a better deal pops up before Black Friday, you will know whether you should grab it. For example, Amazon.com often adjusts their prices based on what other retailers are doing and often marks their merchandise down earlier in the week. If you find a deal that matches or beats the ones you've found at another store, you can grab the item then and there! If you're a member of Amazon Prime, you can get free 2-day shipping on any order. If not, you could try Amazon’s free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime to help you with shipping over the holidays. For everyone else, you can get free super saver shipping on any order over $35.

5. Keep an eye on your deal blogs each day for great pre-Black Friday finds you don’t have to research yourself. And watch for additional advice from Thrifty Sisters Deals as Black Friday gets closer!

6. Start watching Amazon.com’s lightening deals. Lightening deals are short-term deals that come up throughout the day. You can usually scroll through them to see what is coming up so you know if you will want to be watching. Once the deal starts, you'll want to put it in your cart right away because there are only a limited number of each deal available. The movies, toys, video games, and jewelry seem to go particularly fast. Once it's in your cart, you have fifteen minutes to complete the checkout process or the deal will be passed on to someone on the waitlist. If you don't get the deal in your cart in time, you can request to be put on the waitlist. Once you're on the waitlist you will want to stay on Amazon's website and wait for a yellow box to pop up at the top of the page telling you that you have a certain amount of time to claim the deal. If you’re going the super saver shipping route, you may want to think about how you could pad your order to reach the $35 threshold if a lightening deal comes up that is less than $35, since lightening deals are time sensitive and you will need to make decisions quickly.

7. Once you've figured out where the best deal will be on what you're looking for, try searching for the item on the store's website periodically throughout the week before Black Friday. Sometimes the deal will go live on the store's website early. This happens most often during the day on Thanksgiving. You may be able to grab it from the website and not have to go to the store at all! You can also compare prices on other retailers websites, because sometimes they will offer unadvertised discounts on certain items before Black Friday, especially when another retailer has included that item in their ad. And many stores even offer free shipping if you spend a minimum amount or free in-store pick-up if you don’t.

8. When you go out to the stores on Black Friday (or on Thanksgiving night, the way things are looking), try to go with a group so you can divide and conquer! You also might want to have someone start waiting in line for you because those lines can back up quickly. 

9. If you are planning to purchase gift cards, especially for restaurants, be sure to ask about gift card specials. Many restaurants give bonus gift cards at this time of year with gift card purchases.

10. If you miss anything on your list, don't forget about Cyber Monday! Many online retailers will have deals again on Monday and most will offer free shipping!

11. Have fun and good luck!

Have more questions about Black Friday? Send us a message and we'd be happy to answer!