Ring the bells. Sound the alarm. Run for cover.
Prepare an army in the north and put Jon Snow on the throne because BLACK FRIDAY IS COMING.
This once-a-year stampede of greed is one of my favorite occasions. I’m always on the hunt for a solid deal and I live for online discount bundles. Black Friday is a day-long celebration of retail goodness, but it can also be a day of great despair and confusion. I’ve compiled some of my favorite tips and tricks for mastering the hours after Thanksgiving.
1. Decide what kind of Black Friday you want. I prefer to leisurely shop through the coupon codes and clearance racks in the afternoon, but some people view the day as a military attack on big-money electronics and Christmas gifts. For those individuals, the shopping begins weeks in advance with planned strategies and alarms set for 2 a.m.
2. Make a game plan. If huge savings and specific items are on the agenda, making lists of necessary stores and their discount bundles can help the day (or early sunrise hours) be most efficient and successful. I prefer to choose a mall or two and make a list of the stores I want to hit, then take my time enjoying the shopping. If a company is affordable to begin with, I’ll choose to go to a large department or specialty store instead.
3. Check loyalty plans. I think I have about 5 million store loyalty accounts hiding around that are the resulting children of harassment from cashiers and social anxiety. Stores often have extra savings for their loyalty customers on Black Friday that can help free up more moola for other purchases.
4. Keep up with social media. Monitoring favorite shops’ social media accounts in the days leading up to Black Friday can provide specialized coupons or bundles for certain items. They can also feature sales that last for a certain amount of time or retail secrets.
5. Investigate return policies. Some stores have different policies or restocking fees for Black Friday purchases and knowing these can prevent shopper’s remorse. Knowing return policies is especially relevant to expensive purchases and large items. Also, always get gift receipts.
6. If willing, go big or go home. Some stores will give credit or cash vouchers to the first number of people in line. I’ve never tried this, and can’t say that I will ever want to, but the payoff can be huge for a few hours of sacrificed sleep.
7. Take a pal. The holidays are all about celebrating friends, family and the reason for the season, and the typical greed that comes along with Black Friday doesn’t have to cancel that out. For me, Black Friday is an opportunity to combine two of my favorite things: hardcore shopping and time with best pals. The crowds provide perfect people watching and any time spent with loved ones is a treasure, not to mention an extra hand or two for shopping bags.
8. Be kind. “Black Friday” brings images of people getting trampled by stampedes and emotionally abused workers. No purchase is worth fighting a stranger over and nothing is an excuse for meanness. TIS THE REASON PEOPLE. If anything, Black Friday is a chance to spread holiday cheer to a stressed employee or share a smile with an overwhelmed mother.
Black Friday signals the passing of the torch from Thanksgiving to Christmas, and I can’t wait to get my shop on.
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