Black Friday sales have become more and more popular over the years. In some cases, people stampede into stores in the dead of night to pursue the hottest and latest deals. In others, bargains are only available to the first lucky few who grace a business's doors. Lastly, the spending atmosphere can empty your wallet faster than you can say Tickle-Me-Elmo.
Like any significant project, it is important to lay out a plan of attack ahead of time. Wandering aimlessly into stores hoping for the best deals can be treacherous, and being ill-prepared for the insanity of other shoppers can be a nightmare.
1. Collect as many circulars and advertisements as you can. Most will be published by Wednesday, though some stragglers will wait until Thursday morning. You need to get an idea of the specials being advertised by retailers. For those who are more comfortable with online searching, some sites will even aggregate all the circulars and deals for you.
2. Compare the deals. Having as many circulars on hand as possible can allow you to determine where to get the best deal on a specific product. Block out some time on Wednesday or Thursday to go through them all, and make a list of all the interesting deals.
3. Compare in-store deals to online deals. Many retailers also offer waves of discounts on products online the Monday after Thanksgiving. You may profit a bit from waiting until Monday and getting an even larger discount on your desired item.
4. Map out your route. Stores will open as early as 3 a.m.. Some stores are even going to open at midnight or even on Thursday night at 10 or 11 p.m. The deals advertised by the retailers may have a limited number in stock or only be available to sellers before a certain time. You should plot the stores you want to hit based on their opening time and their proximity to one another in order to reduce time spent going from one to another and to make sure you get all the early-bird deals you want to get.
5. Eat some food and get some sleep. The only thing worse than dealing with a ton of people in the mall is dealing with those same people when you are tired, hungry, and cranky. Make sure you get a few hours of sleep before rising to head out to the stores - even if it means taking a nap from 5 PM to 10 PM prior to going out for sales. Make sure to eat something healthy as well, so that you can keep your energy up through several stores, stay alert, and stay ahead of hundreds of like-minded shoppers.
6. Don't browse in the stores. While you may be inclined to think that i might find another deal if you search the stores long enough, the odds of that happening are probably pretty slim. Stores won't bother with marking down an item and then not advertising it. You've done your homework on items already; get in the stores, pick them out, and check out. There is no point dawdling, especially if you are trying to get to multiple stores. Dawdling leads to wasting time and picking out items that you don't need - and won't remember until you get the charge bill or look down to find an empty wallet.
7. Have fun. It's the official start of the holiday season. In most cases, you are not buying for yourself but for others. It will not be the end of the world f you don't get the very last custom-designed mixing bowl or the newest television, and taking out frustration on other shoppers and store workers will only make you feel worse. There's no reason to stress out so much once you're in the thick of it. Stay calm and focused and you'll be fine.
Michael Francis - I have a Master's Degree from Georgia State University. I have been writing professionally since 2008.
