Black Friday has become an internationally famous shopping day, and even my friends in Peru get excited as the date approaches. It used to be that electronics were way overpriced abroad, and I had friends who would schedule trips to the US to take advantage of Black Friday sales. Sometimes they’d buy laptops or other portable items and return home to sell them at a profit.
It is possible to find amazing deals on Black Friday, but in order to get the best results you have to have a good shopping strategy. Remember that Black Friday gets its name because it’s the date that retailers get “into the black,” or become profitable for that calendar year. Read on for some Black Friday tips that will ensure you’ll find the best deals on the most popular shopping day of the year.
1. Go Early
The best deals will be found the moment the sale begins. Some stores offer tremendous deals on a very limited supply of items. This allows them to advertise a low price. As long as they put in the magical words “while supplies last” they can’t be accused of any marketing impropriety. Their goal is to get you in the store, and if the door buster deals are gone, they’re confident you’ll remain and purchase a higher margin item.
It’s important to know where the best deals are ahead of time, and to schedule accordingly so you can be assured of getting the advertised price on the items you want. If the advertised specials that interested you are gone, move on to the next location on your shopping schedule.
2. Resist Impulse Purchases
The whole point of Black Friday is to separate you from your money. There are a lot of great deals available on Black Friday, but there are also many high margin items sprinkled throughout the store. If you arrive too late to get any of the heavily-discounted, limited-supply items, don’t settle for the next tier of items the store has conveniently placed behind the discount display. Those are the high-margin items they want you to buy.
Always make sure you know what you’re buying. It’s important to independently verify the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, and not trust the sale price listed at the store. Retailers can print out a sticker for any price they want to create the illusion of a huge discount. Don’t get tricked into paying full price because you assume a sticker price is accurate.
3. What are the Best Portable Items?
If your goal is to purchase something in the US and then attempt to sell it abroad, it’s important to target portable items. It’s not practical to buy a 55 inch television and then try to bring it on your international flight.
Cell phones and laptops are good choices for portable items with good resale value. Some countries lag behind in the release of popular phones, and people will pay top dollar for the status of having the most modern phone available.
Smart phones and gaming consoles are two categories of items that are available for a great price on black Friday. These are good items to target if you aspire to make a quick profit on a Black Friday discount. Remember that there will also be great deals on Cyber Monday, so have the discipline to hold to your shopping strategy.
4. Have a Plan
Web pages like Slickdeals offer coupons and coupon codes and provide other great resources for researching your Black Friday strategy. It’s important to have information about advertised quantities, prices, and store hours. Devise a shopping plan, and then stick to it. Retailers count on shoppers getting caught up in the chaos of Black Friday energy. Don’t let missing out on a discounted item influence your purchasing behavior.
Black Friday is a lot of fun and there is the opportunity to acquire many items at a great price. If you are visiting the US on Black Friday, the date is in many ways the equivalent of a major sporting event. Go out and enjoy the chaos, but be mindful of your purchases. Just because it is Black Friday, does not mean that you are guaranteed the best purchase price. Be a smart shopper, have a plan, do the research, and you’ll be able to transform Black Friday discounts into considerable savings, and maybe even resale profit!
