Black Friday -- Shopping Choices with On-Line Ads from Many Retailers

Friday morning (in some stores' cases, starting right at midnight) marks Black Friday, the traditional start to the Christmas shopping season. This has become a spectacle of long lines of people waiting many hours to get a really outstanding deal on a big-ticket item, but it's also a question of whether the savings are worth waiting hours in line in the cold (and sometimes the rain) with little guarantee you are there early enough to get something in stock. Some people are probably lining up as I write this (okay, probably not yet, but they will be there sometime during the day on Thanksgiving).

I haven't planned what I'll do yet this year (the Staples ad I saw didn't excite me with any special items), but I wanted to post a couple of websites you may want to check if you are even thinking about doing any special shopping that day.

A few years ago I went by one of the "big box" stores for an outstanding price on a computer but when I saw the line I knew I wouldn't stand a chance. I have avoided the biggest of the stores the last few years but concentrated on some smaller retailers that don't have the traditionally gigantic turnouts. A couple of Thanksgivings ago, I just had to be at a local Staples about 45 minutes before opening to be in line safely to get a great deal on a Navigon GPS reduced from $299.99 to $99.99 (with free lifetime traffic service included). While there there were plenty of other specials around, and not so many people that it was untenable. I also stopped at a nearby Ink Stop for some of their bargains before heading to a Home Depot where they had a power tool set reduced from $159.99 to $59.99 with a bonus free tool added.

There are a couple of websites that have posted the Black Friday ads for a variety of stores. You can figure out which retailers are nearby. My feeling is that the really big-ticket items (such as big-screen TVs) will only go to those brave enough to spend upwards of three hours or more in line. If that's a crucial item for your shopping list, then maybe it's worth the time and aggravation -- it can probably be more enjoyable if you bring a friend or two and some supplies to stay warm and fed while you wait.

But look through the list of stores and an idea of alternatives may pop in your head. Maybe you can find some smaller shops with some great deals that morning. If you have a chance, you may want to scout out the store to figure out where they normally have certain items, although often there will be special displays added for that morning. Every location or retailer will have their own way of going about things, and maybe speaking to a manager or customer service may give you a clue, so when the doors open you know where to head.

Remember too, that on-line retailers don't want to get left out, so they have their own Cyber Monday right after that weekend.

But to take a look at the various deals in stores on Black Friday, here are two sites showing Black Friday Ads:
BlackFridayAds.com
BlackFriday.info