With Thanksgiving a week away, stores and shoppers are preparing for the battle of the best buys on Black Friday.
In the weeks prior to the sales, shoppers may search online and find the specials that will be offered on Black Friday.
Certain websites, like Yahoo and blackfriday.info, post information, sometimes along with ad scans, about the sales.
For example, Hastings will open next Friday and Saturday at 8 a.m.
Specials will include $4.99 sales on DVDs and $7.99 Blu-rays.
There will be a special four-hour sale on certain items in the store from 8 a.m. until noon on Black Friday.
Kohl's, Best Buy and Target will also have Black Friday Sales.
"We're having a 15 percent off deal if you sign up for the Kohl's card," said Darryl Touchet, area supervisor for misses', juniors' and men's. "There's also Kohl's Cash--for every $50 you spend, you get $10 back in credit that you can use the following week."
Touchet said the sale will start Black Friday at 3 a.m. and end at midnight.
With the Iron Bowl in Auburn last year, there was a steady flow of customers all day, but the store was not extremely busy, Touchet said.
Since the Iron Bowl is away this year and the store has established itself in Tiger Town, Kohl's should have no problem attracting shoppers.
"We expect it to be a bigger crowd this year," Touchet said. "We had deflation, so the prices are lower than they were last year."
While most stores are anticipating the sales to bring in large crowds Friday and Saturday, Gap is one of the only stores that will be open Thanksgiving Day.
"Our corporate office, the regional office down in Orlando, decided to make us open most street stores," said Jennifer Henderson, assistant manager of Gap downtown.
Gap will be open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, but Henderson does not expect a large crowd during that time.
"I just know that there will be a ton of different sales that we'll do, and I know that they should run Wednesday through Friday," Henderson said.
For shoppers interested in sales on electronics, Best Buy will open its doors at 5 a.m. Friday.
Sales focus on HDTVs, including a 32-inch Samsung for $327.99 and a 42-inch Insignia for $369.99.
Stores attempt to keep their sales secret as long as they can, but sometimes this hurts rather than helps the sales and shoppers.
"I wish the ads for Black Friday came out a little earlier," said Nathan Roche, senior in industrial design. "That way you don't miss the great deals, and you wait to buy things for the best deal."
Roche bought an HDTV on sale at a competing store two weeks ago, just to find that Target will have the same brand TV, but in a larger size, on sale for Black Friday at the same price he paid.
At the top of the Target ad for Black Friday is that HDTV, a 40-inch Westinghouse, for $298.
The store will open at 4 a.m. and offer a free $10 Target gift card to customers who spend $100 or more between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. Friday.
Although the prices seem hard to beat this year, not all students feel the pull of the sales.
"Black Friday always seems like it would be a great opportunity to get my Christmas shopping done on a reasonable budget," said Chelsea Byers, junior in industrial design, "but unfortunately, I usually find myself wanting to sleep in instead.
"We all know that unless you get to the stores at the break of dawn, you're not going to get anything you want."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
