Everything You Need for 'Black Friday'
Nov. 23, 2006 — -- Just the mere mention of the phrase "Black Friday" conjures up images of stampeding hordes of shoppers trampling people and wrestling one another just to get their mitts on a cable knit sweater that's 70 percent off.
Yes, the holiday shopping season kicks off with what's traditionally thought of as the busiest shopping day of the year, where deals are plentiful and supplies are not. It's where many of the same people who last week ridiculed the gamers who camped out to get a PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii will wait in strikingly similar lines for great deals on home appliances and designer clothes.
Believe it or not, the day after Thanksgiving is not the busiest shopping day of the year, according to the MasterCard Holiday Shopping Insights report. Master Card says that designation is reserved for Dec. 23 -- two days before Christmas. But most retailers say that for the last few years, the last Saturday before Christmas has been the busiest. In any event, Black Friday didn't even crack the top five busiest shopping days last year, hitting only No. 6 in the Master Card survey.
And Cyber Monday -- the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend -- thought of as the busiest online shopping day of the year, is actually the ninth busiest day -- Dec. 5 won busiest online shopping day last year.
Regardless of those facts, millions will still be heading to shopping malls and national and local retailers Friday; with that in mind ABCNEWS.com went to the Black Friday experts over at Consumerist.com to get some tips and tricks to give you an edge in Friday's all-out shopping warfare.
The Black Friday Checklist
Print out store price-matching policies: Many retailers offer price-matching, which can cut down on the number of stops you need to make. Keep a copy of these guidelines on hand if a store employee gives you static.
Circuit City's "Price Protection & Price Guarantee"
Best Buy's Price Guarantee (price matching voids rebates!)
Sears Price Matching Plus Policy
Write down what you're buying in advance: bfads.net [a Black Friday Web site] even offers you a shopping list feature for compiling your items.
Keep a copy of the real-world Black Friday print circulars: If you're price-matching, you'll have a harder time wielding a computer printout.
Know the Store Hours: Find out which stores are running "Early Bird" or "Door Buster" promotions, and when their Black Friday sales officially start.
Reality Check: Research the web first to make sure going to the store is really a good deal.
Read the fine print: Look out for asterisks, rebates or other hidden agendas impeding you from receiving the listed price.
Just a few more things …
Research the deals you want ahead of time. http://www.fatwallet.com/c/1/ is a great place to start.
Study the leaked circulars by clicking here.
Comparison shop. Just because it's in the Black Friday ad, doesn't mean it's a good price.
Stores will often hand out vouchers for those first-in-line for "door busters" with the biggest savings. To snag these, you'll have to get there early, as in, camp out the night before.
Braving the Lines? Make Sure To Bring ...
Chair
Friends/Family -- They can snag vouchers and hold your spot in line for bathroom breaks.
Coat, mittens, gloves, hot cocoa thermos, hot pockets, hot tamales, whatever you need to stand outside in the cold for hours.
Most important, don't calculate the time/hassle cost of standing in long lines and elbowing your way through competitive shoppers. You'll just get depressed.
A Few Good Deals
There will be a lot of bargains out there for savvy shoppers -- and lucky ones. Here are a few of the Consumerist's favorites:
Best Buy
Garmin nuvi 350 GPS Navigation System 499.99
Insignia 2GB Video Mp3 player 99.99
Hitachi 51" Widescreen HDTV (Projection) 699.99
PNY 1GB USB Flash Drive 14.99
Circuit City
Creative Labs 8GB Zen Photo Mp3 Player 129.99
Polaroid 2GB Secure Digital Memory Card 29.99
Optoma DLP Digital Media Projector and Projector Screen 449.99
"Grey's Anatomy" Season 1 DVD 8.99
Walmart
ilo 26-inch LCD HDTV - 618.00
Sony PSP Video Game System 169.24 (Early Bird)
Fisher Price Can Play Piano Teaching System 64.77
Krempasky Blogging Workstation 49.96
Meijer
Sylvania 37-inch High Definition LCD TV 699.99
24 TV Series DVD Seasons 1-4 24.00 each
Samsung A503 Digital Camera 99.99
Target
Easy Bake Classic Oven 13.00
Samsung Mini-DV Camcorder 179.99
Atari Flashback Game System 19.87