Before you get ready to line up in the freezing cold and risk being trampled over in search of a great Black Friday deal, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Some retailers (e.g. Amazon.com) start Black Friday sales early with great deals showing up as early as the Monday during the week of Black Friday.
- Retailers offer doorbuster deals in limited supply — sometimes as few as five units per store. In these cases, “while supplies last” is a very short time so check before you decide to camp out overnight.
- Some of the electronics items offered at a low Black Friday price are “derivatives.” A derivative is a model with fewer features than the standard model. The only way to check whether you are getting a standard model or a derivative is to research the model number.
- Check the stores’ return and price adjustment policies. If you know that an item is going on sale on Black Friday (via Black Friday circulars), you may be able to stroll in and purchase it today, then get a price adjustment once Black Friday rolls around to bypass the early crowds. However, some retailers have been known to are exclude Black Friday deals from price adjustments, but it may be worth a try. This generally works when you expect an item to go on sale, and sell out quickly. In general, if the store’s policy is 14 days, you can be pretty sure you’ll get that price adjustment.
- Look for retailers that will price-match competitor’s offers. Often such price matching requires an in-store visit and proof of competitor promotion.
- Most retailers’ websites start their sales at midnight Eastern Time on Thanksgiving day. However, shoppers have figured this out, and websites have failed to handle the traffic in the past. You can also prepare by adding items to your cart in advance of midnight and see if prices change once the sale begins. Sometimes checking out faster means you get the item you wanted before stock runs out. Remember, if you live in Central or Pacific time zones, remember it’s earlier for you.
- Look for deals and doorbusters outside the big-box retailers. For example, Old Navy once gave away free Lego Rock Band games to the first 50 customers in line who made a $20 purchase.
But what about Cyber Monday?
If you miss out on a Black Friday deal, we’ve noticed some of the same deals can reappear on Cyber Monday — if they haven’t sold out. On the other hand, there are some extra deals that are held back, which only appear on Cyber Monday. Nevertheless, we don’t advise waiting until Monday unless you specifically know about an online doorbuster in advance.
Over the years we noticed Cyber Monday pricing across many consumer electronics categories is usually not better than what is offered on Black Friday. In some cases it’s higher, but regardless it’s still likely to be the best price offered for the rest of the year. On the plus side, some sales do extend through the week of Cyber Monday.
Our advice is to do your research in advance to know exactly what you actually want.
Tip: Check out our deals section all year round to save when things go on sale.
