Plan your Black Friday assault

By Debora Vrana

The day after Thanksgiving, though not the busiest day of the holiday shopping season (the Sunday before Christmas is), has evolved into a holiday of its own -- one whose traditions include rising before dawn and fending off line jumpers.

And there are the deals, of course, with details leaked weeks beforehand to whip up buzz about $500 flat-screen TVs and $5 Barbies. Black Friday, so called because it's the day traditionally that retailers go from being "in the red" to in the black, is the ceremonial kickoff to the shopping season.

"To me, it's the best day of the year. It's practically a holiday," said Tony Luna of St. Louis, who has launched a line of Black Friday T-shirts, sporting slogans such as "Line Jumpers Beware," for $16.99 each.

"Every year it's getting crazier. Even if you don't want to shop, it's worth going out there and seeing what lengths people are willing to go to save some money," he said.

That meant some fistfights and hair pulling last year as more than 60 million people swarmed stores for bargains and spent more than $27 billion.

"It comes down to people who love the frenzy," said Phil Rist, a vice president of strategy for BIGresearch, "and people who don't love the frenzy."

But if you're going for more than the frenzy, you'll need a plan.

Know your target

"It's a job," said Ellie Bernstein, who shopped on Black Friday last year but found herself cruising the parking lot of an outlet mall in Camarillo, Calif., for hours.

"You have to stay focused and be a sharp shopper," she said. "Know what you want in advance. Make a plan."

You'll want to keep your sanity and, perhaps more importantly, your dignity. Here's how:

• First, be prepared. Several Web sites, including Black Friday, FatWallet.com and DealTaker.com, are posting the upcoming sales circulars and bargains of the major retailers. Already available online are sales at Target, Wal-Mart, Circuit City and Toys R Us. Some retailers such as Best Buy have successfully forced the sites to remove the advance circulars, but you can typically find details in their reader forums.

• When scrutinizing the advertisements, remember to watch for such abbreviations as "AR," or after rebate; "MIR," meaning there's a mail-in rebate; and "B&M," or brick and mortar, referring to deals available only at retail locations.

• Try a dry run. Before the sale, find out where all the items you want are in the store. "At Best Buy or Circuit City, you can make one wrong turn down an aisle and it'll cost you 30 minutes in the checkout line -- and maybe being able to grab your item before it sells out," Luna said.

• Some veteran deal sharks purchase desired Black Friday items a week in advance. On Black Friday, they come back and take the item to the customer-service desk and price-match. Some stores are making their Black Friday prices good for a week, so you may be able to make your returns over the weekend.

• On Friday, leave the kids at home.

• Get someone to drop you off so you aren't searching for a parking space for hours.

• Dress in layers. Bring down comforters or blankets while waiting in line if you live in a colder climate.

• Make friends in line with those around you, so if someone jumps in front of you after you've been waiting two hours, you have the weight of a group of angry shoppers behind you.

• Don't take on a line jumper. To avoid direct conflict, grab a police officer, usually on the scene at big malls and stores to handle the issue.

• Beware of thieves, and try not to use cash. Bring credit cards instead.

• Put your purchases in a locked trunk, not your car's back seat.

• Wear tennis shoes.

• Divide and conquer. Have each family member take on a certain store, buying purchases for the group. This doesn't work if everyone wants the same item and the store has a one-per-customer limit.

Continued: Where the deals are

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