how do the black friday deals work? How do you know when to go?
last year my husband went to a store…I think it was best buy early in the morning and got in line to get something. When he got in the store and asked about the product, they said they had given tickets out I think the previous day. Does anyone know what the policies are for the big stores and what they know about being able to get the good black friday deals? What time do you go etc.? Thanks
October 25th, 2010 at 3:05 am
It depends on the store and the particular promotion. Details should be in their advertising circular in the paper, and on their website. It will tell you when the sale price is in effect (6 am to 8 am only or whatever), what the restrictions are (limit 2 per customer, limit 100 per store, no rain checks, that sort of thing), as well as what the price is. I’ve never heard of having to get a ticket the day before, but from a retail and marketing point of view it’s a good idea, as it gets a customer in the store twice, on two different occasions. You’ll want to start checking the paper and the stores’ websites the week of Thanksgiving to see who’s offering what and what the conditions are, then make a plan. It really can be almost like waging a battle. You’ll either have to split your forces to attack on more than one front (Wal-Mart and Best Buy and Target), or concede some territory and focus on just the most important item to you. Then make sure you understand the terms before you go shopping so you’re not disappointed. The store is going to make every effort to get the information out there so there’s no confusion. Legally they have to, but the idea isn’t making money on the Black Friday specials. They don’t. The idea is to get you to go to THEIR store, in the hope that they will sell you other things. If you get there and are mad because you didn’t know you had to be there before 9 a.m., or had to have a coupon or whatever, they’ve done more harm to their image than good. Most of the frustration customers feel from missing out is because they didn’t read an ad carefully and didn’t take time to understand when and how the deal was offered. It’s not in the stores’ best interest to deliberately mislead people. Yet customers are frequently angry over these promotions because they see what they want to see.
October 25th, 2010 at 3:07 am
Every place is different in every area. Research. Plan. Prepare. There are plenty of websites that will help you do all of those things.
Check out this article for more tips:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2392040/simple_tips_to_survive_black_friday.html?cat=46
October 25th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Check your local fliers. Many retail stores already have their ads out their for black friday. Walmart starts their deals at 5 am.
http://durmebugs.tripod.com/videogamefinder/blackfridaydeals.html