How to score 'Black Friday' deals

By Melinda Fulmer

Scoring great deals on "Black Friday," the big sales day after Thanksgiving, doesn't require getting up before dawn or waiting in lines that rival those at Disneyland.

You can get even better deals on this busy shopping day -- so named for its ability to shift retailers into the black -- by hitting the sales online. There are far more retailers to buy from on the Internet and many more ways to save.

This year, 80% of online retailers claim to be offering some kind of free-shipping deal in an attempt to woo shoppers discouraged by rising gas, food and utility prices, according to Jupiter Research. And one in five retailers say their discounts online, especially on consumer electronics, will be steeper than in previous years, said Patti Freeman Evans, Jupiter senior analyst.

When you factor in that most online retailers don't levy sales taxes, the savings can stack up.

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Finding the best deals on your Christmas list items, however, does take some research and a bit of strategy. Here's everything you need to know to navigate the Black Friday sales without having to put down your coffee cup.

Find the deals ahead of time

First, get an idea of the bargains the major retailers will offer by checking out sites such as Black Friday, Black Friday 2007 and Black Friday @ GottaDeal.com beforehand. (There are dozens of such sites; you can search for more by clicking here.)

Sale ads are leaked to these sites by third parties and are often marked "rumored" because they are posted without retailers' consent. But generally, experts say, their content is pretty reliable, giving you at least a taste of what's coming.

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Some sites note whether the advertised price is an early-bird special or after a rebate, and whether it's available only in stores. Many of these sites provide e-mail alerts to inform you when new ad circulars are posted.

If you see items that interest you, jot them down, along with their prices and the names of the retailers. GottaDeal will let you compile a Christmas list on its site with links to the stores and information on online discounts or coupons.

Once you've narrowed your choices, head over to coupon sites such as FlamingoWorld.com, CouponCabin and Currentcodes.com for percentage-off coupon codes and free shipping deals to make Black Friday sales that much sweeter.

On most of these sites, you can browse by category or by store. So if you're looking for a new tennis racket or a hockey stick, you might look through the entire sporting-goods category to see what discounts other stores are offering.

Get the scoop on what you want to buy

If there are some items on your list that look like good deals, but you're not sure of their quality, durability or performance, check out reviews on Amazon.com, Bizrate.com or Epinions.

With big-ticket items such as computers, televisions and other electronics, it also pays to check out the forums of some of the bigger deal sites such as Dealnews, FatWallet or Slickdeals for advice. Members here can tell you if something has been selling for less earlier in the year or if it can be purchased for less through smaller, online-only retailers. And many tech-savvy members can often refer you to competing models that are a better buy.

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Karen Hoxmeier, who runs deal-finding site MyBargainBuddy.com, suggests signing up for retailers' e-mail newsletters a couple of weeks before Black Friday (that's advice for next year) to score the coupons that many will pass along right before their sale.

Most importantly, familiarize yourself with retailers' price-matching and return policies. Then if you see a great deal somewhere else on that plasma television, you can go back to the store where you bought it and be refunded the difference. Or you can return it and purchase it elsewhere for the lower price.

Some stores exclude Black Friday items from their price-matching policies, so check with your favorite retailers to make sure these items are covered. For returns, find out who pays for return shipping and whether you can return items for a full refund at your local store. Some retailers, such as Toys "R" Us, offer only merchandise credit for returns of online purchases to stores.

To heck with the mall

The good news for online shoppers is that they can start shopping even earlier than those die-hards who wake up at 4 a.m. to hit the malls.

Some retailers quietly kick off their online sales as early as Thanksgiving Day, so you can jump right in while your food is still digesting. However, most will start their sales at 12:01 a.m. on Black Friday, allowing computer night owls to score hot deals before going to bed.

Indeed, many of the so-called door-buster specials that used to be reserved for the folks who camped out with lawn chairs and thermoses can now be found online. So log on to your computer early, armed with your list of coupon codes and ads.

Continued: Last-minute coupon deals

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