Its November and you know what that means, holiday season is upon us. Time to get shopping. With Christmas, a season fraught with gift giving just in a few weeks, now is the time to snatch up those affordable steals while you still can. Thankfully, we have Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
What is it about Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
The name Black Friday may sound a little off considering what the day is used for, Many times when the title Black is attached to any day, it always connotes something negative.
It is widely believed to have started as a result of the American Thanksgiving holiday, where people called in sick at work and used the day to kick-start their Christmas shopping, before it was also declared a holiday. As a result of the large number of people shopping, it created traffic accidents and fights constantly broke out. So police used the word Black Friday to describe the day.
The retailers who made a lot of profit on that day, wanted to put a positive spin on it, so they adopted the name to reflect their success, and in order to encourage more people to shop, offered big discounts that were available only on that day.
Cyber Monday started in year 2005. The word was coined by Ellen Davis. It is held on Monday because retailers noticed that people like to shop while sitting at their office desks on Monday, on the weekend following thanksgiving. Probably because they had high speed internet access. Having Monday blues? Or a boring start to the week? no problem, just shop.
The main difference between the two, Black Friday involves a lot more in-store buying, while Cyber Monday is online.
This year, black Friday is on the 29th of November 2019, and if per chance you miss it, which you shouldn’t, you have Cyber Monday on the 2nd of December to still get in on those deals.
For Both black Friday and Cyber Monday, you need to do a little bit of research before hand, so you are not just sucked into making bad or impulsive purchases.
So here is how you can get the best deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
1. Note prices of goods beforehand
Almost every store during Black Friday will try to entice consumers to buy their products. They splash huge banners every where displaying amazing discounts, but on a closer look, you may discover that there is nothing really being discounted. They just increased the original price of the product and then offered a discount. You will probably find it at a cheaper price at a later time, if you wait. Not every Black Friday and cyber Monday deal is really a deal. You will avoid this if you study the previous market prices of products.
2. Check out the Ads
There will be Ads everywhere, on a lot of media outlets. Retail newspapers carry ads and coupon codes. So the week leading up to black Friday is the one time you really need to check those magazines, if you are not already in the habit of doing so.
3. Membership Cards
You can save even more when you have the membership cards for some of this stores. For example, If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can get the Rewards Signature Visa Card. This gives you 5% cash back on anything you buy from Amazon.com and whole foods market. Trust me, every penny counts in the long run, when you add it up. So you not only get what you need at a sale price, you also get it at a discount. Double win.
4. Coupon Codes and Price Match
When you shop online, there are add-on’s that you can install on your web browser that helps you find coupon codes. They also help you compare the price of a product at different stores. For Instance, If you want to purchase a Bose Home speaker on Amazon, the add-on alerts you if it is available at a cheaper price in another store. One of such add-on is called Price Blink available only for google chrome. Other options are Honey, Wikibuy, Camelizer. etc
5. Always be sure of what you actually want before hand
The saying, if you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail rings true here. Walking aimlessly into the stores will see you either walking out with nothing or with a ton of items you do not really need just because you found them discounted. Also be sure that that big product item you plan to purchase, is really a good product. Don’t allow yourself to be carried away by the cheap price. Always carry out product research and read online reviews.
6. Early bird, great prices
A lot of shops start their sales at midnight, so stay alert for that. The patient dog gets to eat the fattest bone, does not usually work for these deals. Some shops, start offering discounts on the Thursday before. Also stores offer online Black Friday deals. Meaning, you can order products online and then pick up in the stores later on.
7. Sign up for online accounts in advance
Make an account on the online stores that have the products you want to purchase. Go a step further and store items in your online shopping cart, or make a wish list. Also save your payment details and shipping address details. With the increase in the amount of site users, it can cause the websites to be slow on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
8. Check out products Return Policy
Find out the stores return policy on products you want to purchase. You don’t want discover that you have bought an item that you would like to return and can’t, because they can’t be returned.
Such an enlightening piece. Good job!
Glad you found it so.