How to Find the Best Deals on Black Friday

Nov. 18, 2010— -- Paging all shoppers: The deals from your favorite retailers on Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, have been unveiled or leaked, and it looks like some people are in for a fantastic holiday.

Big retailers, online marketplaces, and drug stores are all offering significant price cuts for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when many retailers can come out of the red by offering huge deals to consumers.

"What I am focusing: the drugstores," says Stephanie Nelson, the founder of online savings site CouponMom.com. "The drug stores have unbelievable black Friday sales between Nov. 25 and Nov. 27, and you can get all kinds of free things from medication to lotion to personal care items," says Nelson.

Users that log in to the CouponMom Web site can find a list of all the freebies available at CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid on Black Friday that she says could be used for a snazzy gift gift basket.

These free items that include everything from Advil to Colgate have stipulations but like door-busters are used to lure shoppers through the door. Low priced door-busters are often limited in quantity, however, and aren't always the best deals anymore.

"Some of the big deals are the limited-quantities deals, but there are so many great deals you don't have to subject yourself to the limited quantity deals," says Brad Wilson, founder and editor and chief of Bradsdeals.com, a daily deals website. To find out what the best deals are, Wilson created BlackFriday2010.com, which displays a countdown clock and some of the best deals and offerings across the nation. The website gets a half a million hits a day by disclosing top deals from retailers such as Sears, Lowe's, Walmart and Costco.com.

There are alternatives for people who have shunned Black Friday because of the dangers or crowds.

An estimated 138 million people will probably walk the aisles on Black Friday. "Approximately 60 million people say they will definitely hit the stores while another 78 million are waiting to see if the bargains are worth braving the cold and the crowds," according to the survey by the National Retail Federation.

Nelson, the coupon clipping mom, will shop online stacking her savings. "If I'm shopping online I look at retailers deal, find an online coupon code, and actually do my shopping through a cash back Web site," says Nelson.The savvy shopper maintains an online database that includes printable coupons and online coupons.

Are you looking for a place to start planning your Black Friday shopping list? Check out the numerous websites springing up to help shoppers research deals before standing in line at the stores and coming home empty-handed.

Walmart says its doors will open at midnight on Friday morning – only a few hours after many people finish their Thanksgiving meal. The discount retailer will offer Wrangler jeans for a low price of $9, and Nintendo Wii gamers can nab the game console for $199 with $50 Walmart Gift Card.

Five hours after opening, at 5 a.m., Walmart will begin its sale on electronics. A 14-megapixel Kodak C183 will retail for $59; a 32" LCD HDTV will cost customers $198; A Tom-Tom GPS for $79; a Nintendo DS Lite for $89; and a 15.6" HP laptop will come with a price tag of $298 for as long as supplies last.

Shoppers at Sam's Club can expect a free breakfast, which includes everything from an egg sandwich to yogurt, from 5am – 8am while supplies last. The store with more than 47 million members will offer a half carat diamond stud for $299, a Sony Blu-ray player for $94.88, and the Samsung Fascinate Smart Phone for 98 cents.

Online shopping market place Etsy will allow consumers to find the best Black Friday deals by searching on the Website using the term "Black Friday Etsy." The deals will "vary by shop and are determined by the shop owners. They may include free shipping, buy one get one, etc. All details will be clearly stated in the item descriptions," says media person Adam Brown.

Over at Best Buy, the company is being tight lipped on the exact items they will offer. But, for customers interested in door busters at electronics retailers, "anything listed as a store buster --those are going to be in very high demand-- and if you're looking to get one of those, you want to go early," says Sy Paulson, customer solutions manager at the Best Buy based in New York City. "Those products will have tickets that are distributed before the black Friday door open." The store will distribute tickets for door buster items that include an expiration time. We obviously wanted as good as any other day for customer service. The last thing we want is a mad rush."

He says the electronics retailer will offer deals in all product categories. "I think the E-reader category will be the new fresh addition to this assortment of great deals," says Paulson. "I think that's one of the newer categories of what customers are looking for at 5am in the morning."

Retailers tend to be mum about Black Friday deals.

"We've seen highly competitive weekend sales put on by Walmart, BestBuy and Amazon in what eventually turns into a big one-upping contest," says Michael Brim, founder of BFads.net. " For instance, Walmart will put an item on sale for a certain price, then we'll see either (or sometimes, both) Amazon and BestBuy come out and price-match that price."

Target would not comment on the buzz surrounding what may be one of its popular items. The best BF Ads founder Michael Brim has seen is the unconfirmed 1080p LCD HDTV 40" from Westinghouse," which is expected to be sold at Target for $298.

When asked for confirmation of the rumors circulating about the retailer, Target asked consumers interested in learning what the retail giant has to offer to sign up for alerts on Target.com/BlackFriday starting Nov. 17. "Our full 2-Day Sale ad will be available online Nov. 24 and in homes Nov. 25," says the company spokesperson Jessica Carlson.