Patch Picks: Tips for Making the Most out of Black Friday

Black Friday, the name, was adopted from an accounting term red ink, which denotes a negative profit margin. "In the black" denotes a positive profit margin, and many retailers make or break their sales goals between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the season kicking off on the Friday after Thanksgiving. So for those of you willing and able to help your local economy on this day, here's some tips of making the most of it.

1. Check Out the Ads: Your local Thanksgiving Day newspaper will be stuffed like the turkey on the table with ads, coupons, and circulars. This will also help organize your day to maximize savings with many stores offering special discounts that are time specific. In the age of technology almost any store also has the ad online well before Friday.

2. Do Your Research Before Friday: If you are hoping to get a good deal on a specific item, go ahead and get your research out of the way as soon as possible. A bad product is a bad deal no matter how cheap it costs so be sure to price and plan the product you want.

3. Compare Prices: Use the internet to compare prices. From store-to-store see which one has the best deal and if some honor other retailers Black Friday specials. Also be knowledgeable about the product as some specials may include a special on a stripped down version of the product. A good example of this is often seen with super low-priced computer without the cable or certain standard software.

4. Look for Early Bird Shopper Discounts: The Early Bird Shopper will be the real winner on Black Friday. Stores offering early-day shopper specials usually run the deals from 5 a.m. until 11 a.m. and with no "rain checks," which means once they run out of the products, you are out of luck.

5. Beat the Crowds with Discounts on Thanksgiving: You might as well say that Black Friday begins on Thursday with deals  starting the day prior. If you feel like it after you stuff the belly, research what retailers might have some special incentives for you to shop Thursday.

6. Bring the Ads: Many stores offer a "lowest-price" guarantee; however you may be required to produce a copy of the exact product being advertised for less.

7. Know the Store Policies: Some stores may have different policies for returns. Many retailers now include restocking fees stipulations for returns.

8. Get a Gift Receipt if Gifting: Gift receipts generally include a description of the item purchased but do not disclose the price paid, so any Black Friday deal can still be returned if not idea for the person gifted. 

9. Charge Incentives: Some retailers like Best Buy offer pretty good incentives for charging a Black Friday product like no interest if paid of in 18 months. If you know you can afford it and plan to pay off on time, why not swipe that card and reap some of the Black Friday benefits.