3 On Your Side: Black Friday Battle Plan
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In less than 36 hours, the leftover turkey will be in the fridge, the pies will be put away, and bargain hunters will already be out in force in search of everything from door busters to fantastic freebies.
Are you ready to hit the mall?
3 On Your Side consumer reporter Jim Donovan has you covered with this Black Friday battle plan.
Are you ready? Get set, go!
Lindsay Sakraida of dealnews.com says be prepared to hustle!
"Already we've seen a lot of deals in Black Friday ads that break price barriers that we've already seen. So new rock bottom prices especially on TV's and laptops," said Sakraida.
Black Friday sales now start on Thanksgiving Day!
Kmart kicks things off with door buster sales beginning 6 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.
At 8 p.m. Thanksgiving night, Walmart starts its door buster sales. Most Sears and Toys "R" Us stores are opening at 8 p.m. as well.
At 9 p.m., Target rolls out the red carpet.
And at the stroke of midnight, Best Buy, Kohl's, and Macy's get into the act.
Bright and early, 6 a.m. on Friday, JC Penney springs into action.
For those first in line, Black Friday is often freebie Friday.
"A lot of retailers want to give you a nice perk for waiting in line," said Sakraida.
Toys R Us will hand out free bags of toys, worth $30 dollars for the first 200 families in each store.
Sports Authority is giving out bonus bucks cards ranging from $10 to $500 to the first 80 customers in line at each store.
Old Navy is giving away free copies of Super Mario Brothers U to a limited number of shoppers who buy $40 worth of merchandise.
JC Penney is giving away buttons at registers giving customers the chance to win vacations and merchandise.
To navigate once inside a store, there may be an app for that.
Macy's and Walmart are among those with apps to help pinpoint the location of sale items.
"If you're looking for a special on TVs those may not be staged in the electronics department so the app, the maps really help you navigate the store," said Walmart spokesperson Steven Restivo.
Finally, for last minute deals, more and more retailers are going social.
"They will release them to their social channels, so the best way stay on top of that is to be friends with them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter," said Sakraida.
While you can expect to see some all-time low prices, not everything will be a good buy on Black Friday.
Jewelry and brand-name HDTV's are often priced cheaper at other times of the year.
Check out this list of 10 things you don't want to buy this Black Friday if you're looking for a rock bottom price.
LINK:
http://dealnews.com/features/10-Things-Not-to-Buy-on-Black-Friday/518931.html
