Black Friday ... and Beyond!

Unless you are buying an appliance [and even then, tax free weekends generally have better sales] 
Black Friday is not much more than a smart marketing move by most retailers. 
So what are my tips for shopping on Black Friday and the following weeks
 leading up to the holidays, because, well, we all 
obviously have to do Christmas 
shopping sometime?

Here they are.

 1.    Time Shopping Right

If you do chose to shop on Black Friday... Be strategic. Many shoppers will be going early in the morning so if you go mid morning, you generally won’t be dealing with as many crowds. BEWARE though, if you are looking to shop specific deals that retail stores have going on, many of them end between 12/1pm.

Also, Many stores extend their store hours leading up to the holidays and in my experience I have found the least busy times to shop in the busy weeks before Christmas is either early in the morning or later at night (not right after work because that’s when everyone goes) but maybe after supper or after you go to the gym. The stores are open anyways and most people will have stopped to shop right after work.

2.     Shop Clearance, Not Just Sales

My best bargain tip is always to shop clearance. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, stores are trying to move as much merchandise out of their stores as possible so they will be marking things down. Shop clearance and shop often. Also, if you are on store’s email lists they will usually send an alert when things have been marked down or there is an additional sale on clearance, which brings me to #3.

3.     Sign up for Email

I get SOOO many emails over the holidays of exclusive offers from brands both in store and online. It’s a great way to get a discount on something full price that you might have spotted in store earlier in the season.  AND a lot of stores will have free shipping promotions going on during the holidays, for added convenience.

4.   Shop Off Price

Don’t just shop the stores in the mall. Some of the best presents I have found for family and friends come from off price stores (TJMaxx, Marshalls, Homegoods, Nordstrom Rack,  Off5th etc.)

Now, let me be loud and clear when I say this:

OFF PRICE IS FOR THE MOST PART THE SAME STUFF THAT IS IN DEPARTMENT STORES. 

But at a way better price, so it should pretty much be a no brainer.

 5.   Don’t Toss the Receipt

Always keep the receipt. Some stores if you buy something within a certain time frame will do a price adjustment for you if the item goes on sale right after you buy it (I have had this bad luck on many occasions). Just check the store policy before trekking all the way back to the store…

 6.    Google

Please for the love of God if you choose to shop online, Google to see if there is a promo code first before checkout. It is pretty much the EASIEST way that you can find a discount for whatever you are trying to buy online, or maybe you will even find a better price on the same item.

Here are a few of my faves:

http://www.gwpaddict.com/

http://www.retailmenot.com/

http://www.couponcabin.com/

http://www.promocodes.com/