How to score 'Black Friday' deals

Many bargain shoppers recommend doing one final search for coupons when you log on to your computer on Black Friday. Oftentimes, deal sites won't release all of their coupon codes until the eleventh hour, said Hoxmeier, of MyBargainBuddy.com.

But before you whip out your credit card to buy that digital camera, make sure you're getting a good deal.

Just because an item is a retailer's featured special doesn't mean it's a huge bargain. Check to see what it's going for elsewhere on price-comparison sites such as Shopping.com, Shopzillaor PriceGrabber.com. If you really want to cover your bases, Dealioeven checks out competing prices on eBay.

You can also try searching these comparison sites for that camcorder or digital photo frame by description rather than brand to see what other similar bargains turn up.

If your time is limited and you can't hit multiple sites for coupons, deals and price-comparison engines, you can find all of these tools aggregated on sites such as FatWallet, Dealio and Deals of America.

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Once you're ready to hit a retailer and check out, try doing it through a site that pays you back, such as FatWallet or Ebates. If you register with these sites, they will refund you a certain percentage of your purchase -- generally 2% to 8% -- just by clicking on their link to get there.

And if you're only a dollar or two away from the free-shipping minimum, Hoxmeier suggests making up the shortfall with cheap everyday goods that you would probably end up buying anyway at a grocery or drugstore.

SlickFillers.net, an offshoot of Slickdeals, has a list of so-called filler items at Amazon that range from a few cents to a buck or two that tip you over the $25 free-shipping minimum.

Lastly, it should go without saying, but if you aren't familiar with an online retailer, check out customer reviews and look for privacy and security seals on its site to ensure you won't be taken for a ride. And never log off without printing out confirmations of your orders.

Sometimes, you have to leave the house

There are some door-buster specials that the stores -- and only the physical stores -- will offer that you won't be able to match online even with a coupon, said Brad Olson, the founder of Gottadeal.com. So if you see a good deal on one of your must-have, big-ticket items, by all means, get in your car.

But weigh the price difference against the gas you will use -- and your time. A $300 laptop computer is probably worth the hassle, but a $10 discount on a cheap DVD player isn't, unless you're buying 10 of them.

"I remember waiting in line for hours just to pay," Hoxmeier said. At one point, she said, "I would have paid someone to do it for me."

If you do go out, go early for the specials and don't linger. Retailers are counting on you to throw more things in your cart to justify the time you are spending there. Those hot deals aren't called loss leaders for nothing.

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If you want immediate satisfaction but hate waiting in line, consider buying gifts online and specifying free in-store pickup. Many of the big-box electronics retailers and discounters now offer this service.

For most, however, there's little reason to get out there in the crowds, unless it's your idea of a jolly good time.

In fact, if you'd rather spend Friday procrastinating and taking in a movie, there are even more deals added to the mix the following Monday, also known as Cyber Monday because it has traditionally kicked off the online shopping season.

"Some retailers will be more promotional on Cyber Monday," said Scott Silverman, the executive director of Shop.org, an online retail trade group that has set up the site Cyber Monday to help consumers track these sales.

Does it pay to wait?

This raises the question of whether Black Friday is the best time to start your shopping. It certainly isn't the cheapest day to shop during the holiday season, Jupiter Research's Evans said. It's just the most heavily promoted.

If you can wait until the last couple of weeks before Christmas, you're likely to run into a lot more markdowns as retailers try to move more of the merchandise that's left.

But the risk is, you might not be able to track down that hard-to-find Nintendo Wii game system, and if you do, you might not receive it in time to put it under the tree.

"It's a game of chicken" between the retailers and customers, Evans said, with each waiting to see how long they can hold off.Start early, experts say, and slowly cross things of your list a little at a time. If you try to buy everything at once, you might wind up buying things that are flat-out wrong for that special person. Then you'll probably wind up buying more stuff just to correct the problem.

Here's a quick checklist of the seven steps you should take to make sure you're getting the best deals on Black Friday:

• Scan as many retail ads as you can before the day.

• Read reviews of the products you're considering.

• Use price-comparison search engines to come up with the lowest bottom-line prices, including taxes and shipping.

• Search for coupon codes and free shipping deals.

• Check price-matching and return policies at retailers where you are likely to make a purchase.

• Hit the online stores early -- as early as Thanksgiving or 12:01 on Black Friday morning -- to get deals before they sell out.

• Visit to your target retailers through sites that offer cash-back discounts on your purchases.

Published Nov. 16, 2007

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