Black Friday Tips and Our Kindle Fire Giveaway!

November 21st, 2011

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005. Practically every retailer in the country has traditionally offered sale items on that day, with in-store doorbuster deals, and later adding extreme online discounts as well. Hard-core bargain hunters look forward to this opportunity, when the stores promise to offer their biggest discounts of the year. Many stores extended shopping beyond their normal business hours, and recently even to other Fridays during the year. This season, promotions for Black Friday deals started in early November, with a Walmart Super Saturday on November 5.

Now the shopping frenzy runs through the weekend into the following week and overlaps with Cyber Monday sales, more deep discounts that are traditionally offered on the Monday after Thanksgiving.  Best Buy and Kohl’s are offering “Pre-Black Friday” promotions, while other retailers plan to entice shoppers with text messages and social media advertising. Macy’s has been announcing Black Friday deals on their Facebook page all month, a move that actually helps consumers plan in advance to get the best bargains. So “Black Friday” has evolved into a term that refers less to the actual day and more to the exceptional value deals.

Whether to avoid the crowds or simply enjoy the comfort of their own home, this year even more consumers are choosing to stay home and shop online. For those shoppers who still like to line up for hot doorbuster specials, Best Buy plans to entertain them while they wait with outdoor screenings of the latest Harry Potter film at about 120 of its stores. A growing number of retailers will also price match their purchases, so anyone who buys early can be assured that they will still get the best deals this season.

Take Advantage of Price Matching

Price matching is only offered in stores, and most will pay you the difference if you provide your receipt and the competitor’s ad, and they can verify that the item is in-stock. While Walmart has decided to price match even Black Friday deals (see their policy here), Target will not (see their policy here).  However, Walmart gives store credit rather than a refund. Home Depot and Lowe’s will not only price match Black Friday deals, they will add an extra 10%.  Sears does the same, but excludes Black Friday.

	Store Opens	Pricematch on BF	Pricematch Later
BestBuy	12:00 AM	No	Yes
Big Lots	6:00 AM
CVS	6:00 AM
Gap	12:00 AM
JCPenney	4:00 AM
Kmart	5:00 AM	No
Kohl’s	12:00 AM		No
Lowe’s	12:00 AM	Yes + 10%	Yes + 10%
Macy’s	12:00 AM
Meijer	4:00 AM	Yes	Yes
Office Depot	6:00 AM	Yes	Yes
PetSmart	7:00 AM
Rite Aid	7:00 AM
Sam’s Club	5:00 AM
Sears	4:00 AM	No	Yes + 10%
Staples	6:00 AM	Yes	Yes
Target	12:00 AM	No	Yes
Toys R Us	9:00 PM (opens 11/24)	No
Walgreens	7:00 AM
Walmart	10:00 PM (opens 11/24)	Yes	Yes

Additional Online Sources

More information has been leaked about upcoming deals than ever before. Walmart posted online specials and their own Black Friday ad preview here, and Target set aside this page for their ad, posting a 4-day sale and a countdown until then.  You can also preview Kohl’s 500 Early Bird Specials and the JCPenney ads for both their online and in-store sales.  Of course individual hot sale items and coupon codes can be found on Buxr for Walmart, Target, as well as other popular merchants.

Take Part in Our Giveaway!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the busiest shopping events on Buxr as well, and to mark the date we are holding our biggest giveaway to date. Head over to this discussion topic to read a compilation of Black Friday shopping tips and to enroll into the giveaway. The poll will stay open until Monday, November 28, 2011 and the winner will be selected randomly among all participants and announced the following day. Good luck!

Entry Filed under: Contests