by Isabelle Esteves

Created on: September 25, 2010   Last Updated: November 01, 2011

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and has  traditionally been considered the busiest shopping day of the year. Shopping on Black Friday is a real challenge for some people, for others it is a family tradition. Depending on what you are looking for,  it can also be exhausting and frustrating or a great opportunity to snag a bargain. In order to get the results that you want on Black Friday,  you need to have a plan.

Plan ahead

You can give yourself an advantage over the other shoppers on Black Friday by signing up to receive the sales online. This will give you the sales early enough to be able to plan your strategy. Be careful though, the online sale brochures may not give you the hours for your local store, you will have to find that out yourself. If all else fails, call the store and ask them what their opening time is on Black Friday.

Know your prices

We all know that everything is not the lowest price it will ever be on Black Friday. There will be a select few items that are greatly discounted and the retailers use these to get you into the store assuming rightly that while you are there you will be tempted into buying other items which are not as discounted.  You need to know what the normal price is and be sure that it is the same model when you are comparing the prices.

Have a plan

To maximize the amount of savings that you can grab on Black Friday,  you need to have a plan. Making a chart is not a bad idea. Write down what time all the retailers open and what they are offering that you must have. Hopefully all the stores are not opening at the same time otherwise you will either have to divide and conquer or prioritize. You want to get the maximum savings, therefore you need to know where the items are that will save you the most money.

Do a dry run

In order to be able to work quickly and efficiently on Black Friday,  you need to know the layout of the stores you will be visiting. While they may not have the items out that you are looking for, you can at least identify where the correct department is in the store. If you will be shopping for a DVD player at Target, you need to know where the electronics department is in the store you will be going to. Don’t assume that all store of a particular chain  are set up the same, they aren’t. You can waste a lot of valuable time looking for the correct location in the store.

Dress correctly

This is not the time to worry about fashion. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. You will be walking quickly and in some cases even running so wearing spike heels is not a good idea. Also dress for the weather, pack a sweater or rain coat just in case it is required.

Get some rest

Try to get as much rest the night before as possible. Everyone can be a little slow after a big turkey meal and a lot of family fun but you may need to get up as early as 2 or 3 am so make sure you get as much sleep as possible. You want to be sharp to beat the other shoppers on Black Friday.

Have your information with you

If you have made a chart, bring it with you. If not have the ads with the items you are looking for circled. It doesn’t do you much good to arrive at best Buy at 3am and have no idea what it is you were going to buy.

Black Friday does offer some great buys, it also offers some great challenges. By following these tips you should be able to organize your thoughts and your plans and that will greatly increase the chance that you will have a successful shopping day.

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