Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States. It also marks the busiest shopping day in America. (Wikipedia, 2007)
on your mark, get set, shop!
unknowingly, it has been my tradition to risk my life out there and join in the stampede. i remember standing in line waiting to complete my purchases and mumbling under my breath how i will NOT be in this same line on this friday of the year (heck, you’d think they are giving out some free stuff!) syempre, guess where i am the following year?! i usually end up being in line an hour earlier than the last. i must be a sucker for frostbites! good thing, my hubby labs loves making me happy so he has painstakingly given up the lure of sleep (true love talaga!) and driven me (or me+ cousin, or me+friends, etc.) in the wee hours of morning to the war of our lives.
last year with cousin ganda, same friday,
post-turkey, pre-donuts/coffee mode.
so from a black friday veteran, here’s a few tips:
1. there is strength in numbers, therefore shop in teams. last year, this has worked for us, hubby lined up, cousin ganda and i got the goodies (including our auntie’s cruzer drive request), and out we were store # 1 in an hour while in the other side of town, auntie and uncle were knocking down their own christmas lists and picking up preschool toys for me.
2. come with a game plan. see item # 1 description.
3. research, research, research. according to my 684 graduate class, one benefit of research is how it can improve practice. with that being said, thanks to cyberspace (and tippers from all retails of life), there are a number of websites available that usually give the item lists and adscans of the sales before the sale. you may google, yahoo or firefox this information at your own risk. Hubby labs and I usually go through the actual ads after downing some turkey dinner with gravy.
4. protection. as sunscreen to the beaches, and payongs on stormy days, one needs to bundle up! come in layers para strip na lang ng strip as you gain your shopping momentum. not only that, ensure you have enough space in your amex if you plan to do an all day and all nighter like cousin ganda did last year. remember you, and the others around you are sleep-deprived so unless you are naturally able to wait in long lines, patience may come in limited dosage on this day.
5. eye on the price, go for the gold. black friday shopping seems to be also the time when retail stores offload their “loser” items or items that are hard to sell. as hubby labs say, “that’s why they are on sale na (accent included)!” don’t get me wrong, we have actually been able to get a lot of cool toys (a lot for my hubby labs‘ baby digital canon). so, with that in mind, know what you need and go for what you need. also note that some ads list the price with the savings coming in as mail-in rebates instead of instant savings. like the time i proudly shared about getting my 2GB cruzer drive for a dollar only discovering 6 months later that i neglected to mail the rebate forms in time to get my $28.95 back.
just a note though that bringing your kids, lolas, or in-laws might be hazardous. as much as shopping has always been an all-time family fun time for us (at least for my clan) black friday shopping isn’t and can’t be one of those days. however, if you are one of the braver souls to bring in your munchkins, ensure that plenty snacks and games are in tow to keep them occupied during the long waiting.
so as much as my bed will continuously lure me back for a peaceful slumber, i am sure i will be at the battlefield. hopefully this time, i will be early enough to get that $299.99 compaq laptop!
PS. Kudos to Best Buy for the smart idea of handing out doorbuster item coupons and providing donuts and coffee to your customers. Eventhough I had the background experience of Christmastime Divisoria and Greenhills, it was sure nice to not having to elbow my way into your lair to get my portable DVD player.
PPS. This post is thoughtfully dedicated to the two (2) best shopping buddies ever! (IZ and CAF, you know who you are!) here’s to more great deals and shopping endurance this coming doorbuster season. We may be miles apart, but we are still in the same time zone at 3AM freezing our *bleep* off!
