Get ready for Black Friday success
Ready to bag some Black Friday bargains? With all the early sales, cryptic coupons, doorbusters and other hair-trigger type deals, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. This guide below will help you plan your presentpurchasing journey and save money along the way.
The paper:
If tearing through the Times Union and analyzing all the Black Friday ads is as much a part of your Thanksgiving as the Macy’s parade, guess what? You don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving morning to fan out the fliers and circle the best deals. You can once again get your hands on the paramount edition of the paper a day early.
Filled with dozens of fliers and coupons, the paper will be available starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday at our main office, 645 Albany Shaker Road in Colonie (pull right in and we’ll pass it to you drive-through style) and 11 a.m. at 38 locations across the Capital Region, including select Stewart’s, Price Chopper/market 32 and Shoprite stores.
If you’re especially eager for the ads, you can preorder a copy at http://www.timesunion.com/ thanksgiving.
Store hours:
Here’s a list of confirmed Black Friday store hours to help you can plot your shopping plan of attack. If no Thanksgiving hours are listed, the store is closed.
■ At Home: 9 a.m.
■ Best Buy: 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Thanksgiving; 8 a.m. Friday
■ Big Lots: 7 a.m.-midnight Thanksgiving; 6 a.m. Friday
■ BJ’S Wholesale Club: 7 a.m.
■ Dick’s Sporting Goods: 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Thanksgiving; 5 a.m.10 p.m. Friday
■ Hobby Lobby: 8 a.m.
■ Home Depot: 6 a.m.
■ Homegoods: 7 a.m.
■ Jcpenney: 2 p.m. Thanksgiving through 10 p.m. Black Friday
■ Kohl’s: 5 p.m. Thanksgiving (shop doorbusters through 1 p.m. Friday)
■ Lowe’s: 6 a.m.
■ Macy’s: 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Thanksgiving; 6 a.m.-1 p.m. Black Friday (doorbusters; closing times vary) ■ Marshalls: 7 a.m.
■ Office Depot & Officemax: 8 a.m.
■ Old Navy: 3 p.m Thanksgiving through 10 p.m. Friday
■ Petco: 8 a.m.
■ Petsmart: 7 a.m.
■ Sam’s Club: 7 a.m.
■ Sears: 6 p.m. Thanksgiving through Black Friday
■ Staples: 7 a.m.
■ Target: 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Thanksgiving; reopens at 7 a.m. Black Friday
■ T.J. Maxx: 7 a.m.
■ Tractor Supply: 6 a.m.
■ Walmart: 6 p.m. Thanksgiving ■ Crossgates: 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thanksgiving; reopening at 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Black Friday
■ Factory Outlets at Lake George: Midnight through 9 p.m. Black Friday
■ Lee Premium Outlets: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Black Friday
■ Wilton Mall: 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day through midnight; 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Black Friday
Retail trends & tips:
Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to seizing the most coveted best Black Friday buys. Jon Vincent, co-founder of Earlyblackfriday.com offers some insight into retail trends, as well as some shopping tips.
1.
The best time to buy luggage, bedding, and children’s pajama sets (random!) is Black Friday. These are typically overlooked while everyone focuses on HDTV and electronics deals.
2.
If you are looking to score one of the in-store Black Friday doorbuster deals, be prepared to line up early. We suggest shoppers arrive to Target, Best Buy, or Walmart at least 9 hours before doors open to make sure you’re one of the first in line. For all other retailers, we suggest you line up 3 hours before doors open to ensure that you’re first in line.
3.
This year the HDTV deals seem to be exceptionally good compared to past Black Friday sales with Best Buy having the best selection/deals. 4.
Almost all of the Black Friday deals are available online and knowing when to shop is key. Most stores will launch their Black Friday deals on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Be the time Thanksgiving evening/black Friday roll around, all of the top deals will have sold out.
5.
This year Walmart is pushing their iphone/android app right in the ad. The app will offer store maps so you can easily find where the Black Friday deals are located throughout the store.
6.
While a lot of retailers are trying to move “Black Friday” to earlier in the week, Best Buy is trying to extend Black Friday even further this year by releasing new doorbuster deals on Black Friday and the Saturday after Black Friday. I haven’t noticed many other retailers publicly state new deals will be announced and released on Friday/saturday so this was something that stood out this year.
7.
As a general tip, if you are going to venture out to do some in-store Black Friday (or really Thanksgiving) shopping, we suggest that you park away from the main entrances of the stores. The further away you park, the less crowded it will be, which will allow you to quickly navigate out of the parking lot and head over to the next store.
Money-saving hacks:
Heed these practical hacks to keep more coin in your pocket this Black Friday.
Download all of the major store apps: Over the past few years, retailers have been adding more and more incentives for shoppers to download their apps. While the best deals are probably also going to be available to non-app users, it makes sense to have access to every single deal.
Online shopping is more important than ever: Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Kohl’s and all of the other large stores are going to have a ton of online doorbusters, so it is essential to be prepared. Set up an account at each store with current information in advance and familiarize yourself with the site. Time will be of the essence. Also, be sure to link to your favorite retailers’ websites via a cash-back portal like Ebates.com, Topcashback. com or Fatwallet. There you’ll earn back a percentage of the money you spend.
Early arrival incentives: While online shopping is taking over, certain retailers are still offering incentives to shoppers who arrive early to brick-andmortar locations. For example, Jcpenney is giving away the