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Black Friday is for die-hard shoppers who don't mind fighting fellow shoppers to cash in on the advertised bargains.
You won't be alone in lining up outside the region's big-box stores. Keep in mind that - |
JIMMY LEE WATCHED
An extreme sport in its own right, Black Friday is not for the weak of heart, spirit or health. We who enjoy it are the brave, the competi-tive, possibly even the undiagnosed insane.
But nothing rivals that thrill of waking up before the sun, or that sprint through the store for the perfect present, coupled with the race to the checkout line in what always feels like a real-life episode of "Supermarket Sweep."
"I'm just mad I won't be out there, too," said Lee, a senior sales associate at Central Park's Circuit City. "I used to shop it every year until I started working here.
To spare yourself excess bloodshed and hospitals bills this holiday season, here are some nonviolent tips to get the most out of your money--and precious time--on the first official day of the Christmas shopping season.
May the best shopper win.
Plan ahead
Contrary to popular belief, Black Friday's name did not, in fact, derive from the saying "out of the red ink and into the black," thus showing retail profit. According to linguist Bonnie Taylor-Blake, Black Friday actually received its name in the 1960s, when police officers compared the day's chaos to Black Tuesday of 1929--the day the stock market crashed.
The biggest similarity? Traffic jams on both roads and sidewalks--in this case, from shoppers.
And because every store in Spotsylvania Towne Centre opens at 5 a.m.; Central Park's largest retailers open between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.; and every store in Tysons Corner opens by 6 a.m., crowds will be hungry for deals all day. This means heavy delays, which of course means lengthy lines both in and out of stores.
To avoid any I-was-here-first fist fights or vulture-like lot circling for hours, know your terrain.
By simply checking your preferred mall's maps online, and prioritizing which stores you'll visit, you can see exactly where you'll need to park to get in and out as quickly as you can.
Listening to local traffic reports can also help in planning the most time-effective routes to the mall.
There's no way to avoid traffic completely, so a little patience is still necessary. For this, we suggest adding a stress ball to your list of "to buy" items.
Make a List, Check it Twice
Along with the impulse to slug a fellow competitive shopper for cutting in line, you may also feel the need to buy every item at its unbelievable sale price. But it's important to avoid acting on these urges--especially the latter--in tight economic times.
To avoid spending more than you should, try making a list of items you want to buy and remember to stick to it.
Don't let those door-busters and other gimmicks like large, colorful displays sway you into spending all your savings.
Lists and planned purchases also give you the edge you may need to snag the deal, as most retailers run out of merchandise quickly.
Last year, when Best Buy employees asked the 4 a.m. early birds exactly what they wanted, only the shoppers who received vouchers got the items.
"If you didn't have a voucher, you weren't going to get it," said Philip Pierce, a Fredericksburg resident. "Make a list, because it's mayhem. You've got to know what you need so you don't get distracted. Everyone stands outside all hyped-up drinking straight coffee and it's cold, so when the doors open, you don't go just to look around. There's no way you'll get what you need."
And besides, where's the competition if you don't set specific goals for your own athletic accumulation?
Shop around
True to Black Friday form, all of a store's deals won't appear in print for those who think ahead.
In fact, both Kmart and Wal-Mart are using unadvertised in-store "surprise" sales to lure consumers in tomorrow.
And while not every on-sale item can be found prior to stepping through those sliding doors, most retailers now post Black Friday discounts on their Web sites, so you can compare the sale and regular prices of the items you're looking for.
If at first you can't find savings, try and try again. Even if retailers don't post savings on their own sites, you can usually find them elsewhere. Check today's paper for ads, or Web sites like blackfridayinfo.com or bfads .net, which publish advances of Black Friday discounts.
Online shopping robots like those at shopping.com or consumerworld.org compare what a slew of online retailers charge for the same item, and can even tell you the price history of products and sellers' reputations.
Once you've shopped around for the best deal, try buying from the retailer online at the sale price and opting for in-store pickup on a later day.
You'll get the same Black Friday discount you'd probably be getting at the store--and you can wait a day or two until the bloodthirsty consumer competitors have duked it out to the last deal standing.
But where's the fun in that?
Stephanie Breijo:
Email: sbreijo@freelancestar.com
