Steps to Save Money on Black Friday
Are you going shopping next week?
Even for people who don’t understand the couponing mindset understand that Black Friday is more than just any “shopper’s holiday”. However, no matter how dedicated you are to saving money and couponing throughout the year, Black Friday is a whole different monster when it comes to getting a bang for your buck
…and a growing one at that.
In fact, the traditional notion of Black Friday has morphed before our very eyes over the past decade. What was once a one-day-only event that had families pouring over sale papers following their Thanksgiving meal now encompasses not only Thanksgiving itself, but the entire weekend following it. “Cyber Monday”, a term coined in 2005, encourages people to shop online on the day they get back to work. Last year, Cyber Monday sales numbers topped $2.68 billion. Similarly, “Small Business Saturday”, which first appeared in 2010, asks concerned shoppers to stay local and patronize smaller establishments who offer their own brand of enticing deals and special events for loyal customers.
Even more noteworthy than those other monikered marketing traps, however, is the general stretching out of the holiday shopping season that has taken place over that same time. Nowadays, retailers consider Veteran’s Day (November 11th) the start of the holiday rush and the sales and coupons offered during that time seem to agree. In addition, many “Black Friday” sales literally start on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and last long after.
For those of us who hate the notion of crowds and knock down fights over flat screens, this is a welcome change. Still, for the die-hard deal hunter or for those of you looking for that ONE GREAT DEAL, you still cannot beat some of Black Friday’s finest.
Unfortunately, in this rapidly-changing retail landscape, the tricks you need to use to get that deal are not only important, they are critical if you want to avoid wasting time and money this year.
Step 1: Research, Research, Research
You cannot go into Black Friday blind. And, while anyone who coupons and thus spends 1-2 hours a week planning to shop as habit understands this, the utter importance of research when it comes to Black Friday cannot be emphasized enough.
Thankfully, the internet has made it easier than ever to start planning your Black Friday route now. To start, we’ve been posting Black Friday preview ads on Living Rich With Coupons as fast as we can scan them.
In addition, consider using other tools specific to Black Friday such as deal comparison websites like bfads.net and blackfriday.com, which offer deal-specific news and search features along with buying guides and tips especially catered to the Black Friday rush.
Step 2: Get Your Plan in Order
Black Friday without a plan is a free-for-all.
- You need to know what you want, where you want to get it, and how much it will cost before ever setting foot in a store next week. Start with a few basic questions:
- What are you looking for?
- How much are you realistically looking to spend and save in order to get it?
- How many people are able to go to different stores?
- What time do you need to be where?
Setting a budget is also critical since the whole design of Black Friday operates around the notion that if you draw shoppers in with great deals, they will stick around and spend more money on some not-so-great deals as well.
Step 3: Know the Competition
Despite the shocking headlines of shoppers literally battling and trampling one another to get a good deal, your competition on the Back Friday stage is not other shoppers, it’s the stores themselves.
Black Friday is a lesson in marketing manipulation for anyone interested in studying the craft. As a savvy shopper you need to know this and use it to your advantage because many Black Friday deals are actually designed to make shoppers “feel” like they’re saving without actually doing much of it.
Start by getting to know the stores you plan to visit. Check out loyalty programs and look for store cards which will offer additional discounts such as the Target RED card. Also, get to know each store’s policy when it comes to beating its competitors and stacking deals. Many of the big retailers like Walmart and Target offer price matching guarantees which means you don’t need to go to both places to get a good price. Similarly, stores like Kohl’s will not allow shoppers to use additional coupons, including Kohl’s card discounts, on certain Black Friday deals.
Step 4: Stay Skeptical
The marketing tricks used by Black Friday retailers are everywhere. Remember, they are professionals. So you need to be one as well. Know your product, know your prices, and stay skeptical of anything that seems “too good to be true” (because it is!)
To illustrate that point, I will leave you with one, final thought about the tricks you can expect to see next week:
Most people recognize that the best deals you can find on Black Friday are so-called Door Busters. Available in limited quantity, offered at specific hours, and purposely sold by the retailer at a loss, these are, in fact, where you can expect to find the greatest savings – but savings on what? Many of the items offered as Door Busters are on off brands(i.e. lower-quality). In addition, many retailers use items for Door Busters that are made specifically for Black Friday sales. That is, they are purposely made of inferior quality, which is what allows them to offer the items at such a steep discount.
**What are some of your top Black Friday deal-hunting tips?**
