The day of Thanksgiving now marks the start of a shopping frenzy that is known as Black Friday. For the truly dedicated Black Friday deal hunters must know that sales are starting earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving day this year, and Nerds on Call is here to help you score the best deals with the help of your tech! Gone are the days of having to wait for the printed ads that come out the day after Thanksgiving; thanks to the internet, ads are leaked several weeks in advanced so that the savvy shoppers can be rewarded.
One of our favorite sites that posts leaked Black Friday Ads is EarlyBlackFriday.com because they include full color ad pages from all major retailers. EarlyBlackFriday.com is also updated as changes are made to the ads by retailers in order to compete with one another. In the past, for deals to be leaked, a disgruntled employee or sneaky shopper could snap a grainy picture. Today, companies leak their own ads in order to entice shoppers to the store with door buster deals and limited quantity offers. By using the online ads to compare prices, as well as the nifty Store Hours tab at EarlyBlackFriday.com, you can plan your day of deals. If one store opens at 5PM and another opens at 7PM, you can map your route accordingly.
Another great website to use when preparing for Black Friday shopping is Dealnews.com. Dealnews.com offers a collection of articles with tips, as well as lists of the best deals around. Their “Best Of” lists compile the hottest deals on popular items such as computers, gaming consoles, TV’s, holiday gifts, and even Apple products. Other articles on Dealnews.com reveal which stores are offering things for absolutely free, and break down the days of savings to show you when you can actually save the most: Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday. With the exception of limited quantity door buster deals, the majority of discounted prices will be available online. This means that you no longer have to risk your life to snag a cheap TV in the middle of an angry mob.
Even with many retailers offering large discounts, most will still honor coupons for additional savings. Retail Me Not is a great place to search for extra coupons that can save you anywhere from 10%-30% off, as well as score you free shipping for online orders. Retail Me Not offers a mobile app so that you can access your coupons via smartphone, or printable versions of the coupons that you can print out at home through their website.
In order to score the best Black Friday deals without having to run across town searching for the best price on an item, do not be afraid to ask for a price match. DealNews.com posted an article last year regarding retailer price matching policies. Another great tool to compare prices is ShopSavvy. This app allows you to scan the item to see prices at stores in the area, as well as online retailers. By using ShopSavvy, you can ensure you are getting the best possible deal by taking advantage of retailers’ price matching policies. What all of this means is that you can get the best price for an item without ever having to leave the store.
The last bits of advice the Nerds have to offer is to do your research on any door buster deals you have your heart set on. Although that 50 inch TV seems like a steal at only $149.99, it is likely a piece of low quality junk that will not only offer poor picture quality, but a short lifespan as well. If you have had your eye on a new Macbook, iPad, or iPhone, Black Friday may be your only chance to get one at a discounted price. Black Friday is usually the only day of the year in which Apple offers discounts on their wildly popular product line. Now that you have heard it from the Nerds, get to saving this Black Friday and get all of this holiday gifts checked off the list!
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About The Author: Andrea Eldridge is CEO and co-founder of Nerds On Call, a computer repair company that specializes in on-site and online service for homes and businesses. Andrea is the writer of a weekly column, Nerd Chick Adventures in The Record Searchlight. She prepares TV segments for and appears regularly on CBS, CW and FOX on shows such as Good Day Sacramento, More Good Day Portland, and CBS 13 News, offering viewers technology and lifestyle tips. See Andrea in action at callnerds.com/andrea/.
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