by Heather Warner

Created on: November 19, 2008   Last Updated: October 16, 2011

How to make the most of Black Friday sales

For several years, Black Friday Shopping has been a Family Tradition that my brother and I created. Each year we have added an additional person to our shopping team. The deals we have gotten over the years have convinced other family members and friends that this is definitely the way to shop. While it is very tiring, it is worthwhile to us in the long run. We are all usually able to obtain everything on our shopping lists, at a fraction of the cost we would have spent otherwise, and we usually complete it in less than five hours. With each of us having large families, the smiles on Christmas are worth the extra effort.

We make an event of the entire process. With researching ads on the internet, utilizing sales papers, and insider information from friends that work in the retail stores, we each create shopping lists, and itineraries, in preparation of the big day.

Many retailers offer on-line Black Friday deals also, so at midnight; we begin on the net by purchasing any items that we have on our shopping lists. This saves time, frustration, and gas. The items we have left to purchase on our lists, we seek out in the ads, looking for the best bargain. A couple of the websites we utilize to get ads from are www.bfads.net, www.blackfridayads.com, and www.blackfridayonline.com. These sites usually have all of the retailer's ads, some have scanned copies of fliers, some include store maps, and some inform us whether the item is available at the same price on-line.

On a spreadsheet, we create a shopping list that is inclusive of all items that each person in our group is hoping to purchase. The column headers are labeled "Item", "Quantity Needed", "Ad Price", "Store", and "For Who" (naming the person or people who want this item).

Things to keep in mind are the time of opening, location of store, and highest value of bargains. Our venture starts at the store that is opening the earliest, we get in and out as quickly as possible, and continue to the store that is opening next. We achieve this by utilizing each person in our group, every one armed with the list, we each set out for different items; we usually determine who will get what while we wait in line and review the map of the store. Many retailers hand out a map of which items will be located where in the stores. These maps are VERY important. The stores very rarely resemble their everyday stock layout, with some electronics on sale being located in the center of clothing departments, etc. Without the use of these maps, physically finding the items once you are inside the store can be more of a challenge than anything else.

If there is a store that only has one or two items that we wish to acquire, we usually hit that store last, no sense in tripping over a dollar to pick up a nickel. We utilize our cell phones while on our scavenger hunt, to let each other know when list items have been obtained, and to check to see if we should pick up a list item that is advertised at another store but present in the store we are currently in. Some items may be found unadvertised in the stores that we hit early, allowing us to skip other stores.

With planning, and the assistance of persistent, energetic friends and family members, you can ease the financial strain of holiday shopping, and reduce your stress to just the one day. When the shopping is through, usually about 10am, we all come back to the house and nap for the rest of the day. I can't think of anything better to do with this day off of work. If I can't be making money, I may as well be saving it.

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