Everything You Need for 'Black Friday'
Nov. 24, 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.
Indeed, millions will head to shopping malls and national and local retailers today. And 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 for 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) offers 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 that impede you from receiving the listed price.
Just a few more things …
Research the deals you want ahead of time. 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
Wal-Mart
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