Black Friday survival guide
The basics
If you’ve never done Black Friday before there are some things that you should know and think about before you make your plan. First, if you’re going to go, you should make a plan. Second, you should expect craziness and no less. Don’t get up at 4 am on friday morning thinking that just because you’re an hour early you’ll get exactly what you want with no problems at all. No matter where you are, there are sure to be lines, crowds, and a few crazy people. But if you have the right attitude, and preparation, Black Friday can be a fun tradition for you and your friends or the whole family. Make a plan ahead of time and decide for yourself whether you are going to be a die-hard participant sprinting for the TV section or a casual shopper who will get up early but not battle someone for a Blu-ray player. You can have a good time and be successful either way, but it’s best to decide ahead of time what your strategy is and just how far (or not) you’ll go to get that deal.
Know what you want
The first step to have a successful Black Friday go is figuring out exactly what you want to get before you head out. Scan forums online, check official websites for important info on deals, and circle your favorites in the ads that come with your paper. Prioritize your items based on just how good the deal is; if it’s priced at a serious discount, put it at the top of our list; if it’s only $30 off of the regular price, keep it as a lower-priority item. This will help you make sure that you get what you want most first and don’t just go for that low-priority item first just because it’s closer to the door. Do your homework on what deals are worth the effort as well. Check online prices for the item to make sure that the price advertised in the Black Friday ad is worth putting yourself through a tiring early-morning run to get.
Know where to get it
Just like you prioritized your desired items in order of importance and biggest discount, you’ll have to prioritize just which stores are at the top of your list. It’s possible to get great deals at multiple stores, but you should still have a priority list, unless you are shopping as a group and can split up to get all of the deals you want. Check out all of the big-box-stores’ ads and compare prices on big-ticket items like cameras and TVs. Head to your number one store first and worry about the others later. Many stores (like Best Buy) hand out coupons for specific items to the folks in line, making for a less-frantic experience once the doors open and ensuring that you’ll get your coveted item if you’ve been waiting for hours. Most heavily-advertised discount items will have a limited supply, so put the most effort into your top-priority items and you won’t be as disappointed if the lesser items run out of stock.
Know when to be there
This might be the most important part of the whole Black Friday experience. Like we said before, that heavily-discounted TV (or other in-demand item) most likely has a very limited stock. The earlier you get to the store (even before it opens), the more likely you are to score that coveted deal. You’ll have to decide for yourself just how early you’re willing to get up (or stay up) to wait in line, or whether you’d rather sleep in until 7 am with the hopes that maybe there will be a camera left by the time you make it to the store. It’s all about your level of commitment, people. Either way, it’s important to know what time stores open and to decide just how early you are going to get to your number one store. If you’re going to camp out all night, we’ve got more advice for you ahead. For now, here are some opening hours for the most popular Black Friday stores.
Toys R Us – 9 PM Thanksgiving day
Walmart – 10 PM Thanksgiving day
Target – 12 AM friday
Best Buy – 12 AM friday
Old Navy – 12 AM friday
Kohl’s – 12 AM friday
JC Penney – 4 AM friday
Sears – 4 AM friday
Macy’s – 4 AM friday
Sports Authority – 5 AM friday
KMart – 6 AM friday
Office Max – 6 AM friday
Come prepared
The list of supplies you’ll need for your Black Friday excursion will greatly depend on just how long you’re planning to be out in the cold, but we’ve got some suggestions for what you might want to bring along. The most important things are to stay warm, dry, fed, and hydrated. Being comfortable is just icing on the cake if you can manage it.
Overnight: If you want to ensure that you get the really good deals, that sometimes means camping out in line overnight to make sure that you’re one of the first let through the doors in the morning. If you are hardcore enough to spend part of your Thanksgiving night sleeping (or staying awake) on the sidewalk, you’ll want a tent, a comfortable sleeping pad, a cozy sleeping bag, plenty of food and water, and some entertainment. Dress in warm layers and bring chairs and a lantern or flashlights. A camping stove with a warm meal on it will make the experience a little more enjoyable and might make you some friends if you’re willing to share.
Just a few hours: If you’re only waiting in line for a few hours, your supplies will be less extravagant. Dress in warm layers and hit up a Starbucks for a hot drink on your way. Put some handwarmers in your pockets, wear your most comfortable shoes, and bring a few stadium chairs if you want to get comfortable and chat with your line neighbors.
Be patient and civil
Take Black Friday as it comes. Try not to complain when you’re waiting in line because, guess what? Everyone is in the same boat. Whether you are playing it serious or more casual, use your time waiting in line to spend quality time with your buddies or make new friends in line. We’ve met some very interesting people in Black Friday lines, and that’s half the fun of the whole experience. You might even get more of the things on your list if you can make a few line buddies along the way. The doors will open eventually, but before that time, be patient and try to have a little fun instead of chomping at the bit or complaining about the cold.
Be considerate of your fellow shoppers in line. If you’re leaving to go to the bathroom, make sure someone is saving your place. Tell people ahead of time if you’ve got friends coming to join you in line so that they don’t accuse you of cutting. And don’t try any sneaky moves yourself. Fair is fair and those who make it to the line the earliest should have first dibs on the deals. Once you’re in the store, go after what you want but play nice. It won’t feel nearly as good to get that laptop at a good price if you grabbed it out of someone else’s hands. Think of it as shopping karma. We’re confident that if you’re civil to your fellow shoppers it will come back around to you sometime.
Work as a team and have fun
The best Black Friday experiences will come when you’ve got a fun group of people to go through all the craziness with you. Whether it’s friends or family, working together as a team on friday will help you get more of what you want and make it all more fun. If you plan ahead, you and your friends or family can split up and wait in line at different stores, ensuring that everyone gets their top-priority items, even if they are at different stores. If you’re all going to the same store, designate jobs and items for each person. Deciding ahead of time which items each person will be in charge of will prevent all of you from running for the same thing at once and missing out on all the other deals.
Whether you’re in a group or going it alone, try to have fun with the craziness. You’ll end the morning with a saner head and a better attitude if you can poke fun at the whole thing a bit. Make friends with people in line, bring games to play with your friends, and help everyone get the top thing on their list. If everyone in your group lands one great deal, you can call it a successful trip even if you didn’t score every last thing you wanted. There’s always next year, after all.
This article was originally posted on Digital Trends
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