By Rebecca Olsen
While some students will enjoy sleeping in the day after Thanksgiving, others will rise as early as 4 a.m. to attend the biggest shopping day of the year: Black Friday.
The beginning of the holiday shopping season is said to move retailers from being unprofitable, or “in the red,” to being profitable, or “in the black,” hence, Black Friday.
“I just go for the fun,” said Joyce Terry, secretary for the Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling. “I”m not as serious about it as others, but I love it.”
Others plan to stay in bed and enjoy their vacation.
“I”d rather sleep in and spend a couple more bucks,” said Kevin Geddes, a freshman from Shoreline, Wash., majoring in landscape management.
The Bookstore will be open during normal hours on Friday, and will offer a “Thank You” sale with a 20 percent discount on everything in the store, excluding textbooks and computers.
“We usually have a big crowd,” said Stephanie Guerrero, a junior from Houston, who works at the Bookstore. “Lots of people like to come get their BYU gear, especially those coming in for the holiday.”
Other stores in Orem and Provo such as Wal-Mart, Costco and Shopko are all expecting large crowds.
Dave Fischer, the manager of Shopko, said electronic devices are the most popular at the Provo store.
“The hot items are PlayStation 3, the Wii [the Nintendo gaming system], and LCD screens,” Fischer said. “Those are always the hot items, hands down.”
Fischer”s store has even teamed up with Wireless Giant, a cellular phone company that provides service from all cell phone carriers in the area. With each cell phone activation purchase between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Friday, customers will receive a $50 gift card to Shopko.
There are even Web sites dedicated to the shopper”s holiday.
Bfads.net is a Web site founded in 2003, which includes comparison pages, a search function, ad lists and links to available in-store coupons and rebates.
According to the site, the company”s purpose is “to better help your Black Friday experience.” The site even allows you to make your own shopping list for more strategic shopping.
Consumerworld.org offers these holiday shopping tips for Black Friday:
1. Read the Ads: Thanksgiving Day newspapers will be full of ads and coupons. Friday”s papers will include additional sales. To preview some of the items now that will be on sale on Black Friday, visit www.bfads.net or blackfriday.gottadeal.com.
2. Evaluate the Deals: Not all advertised items are great deals. Compare products online at Consumerworld.org, Shopping.com, PriceGrabber.com, Shopzilla.com or NexTag.com. Check price histories, shipping, tax and seller reputation.
3. Research the Right Product: A low price on a lousy product is no bargain. Check Web sites where professionals evaluate products, such as Consumer Reports, Steves-Digicams.com (for cameras), Ecoustics.com (TV and hi-fi equipment), PCMagazine.com (computers), best/worst toy lists, etc. Also read customer reviews of the products you want. Check Epinions.com, and user comments after most product descriptions at Amazon.com.
4. Save with “Triple Plays”: To save the most, combine the primary ways to save: buy items at a good sale price, use percent-off/dollars-off coupons offered by many stores to lower that price even more and look for items that also have a cash- back rebate.
5. Be an Early Bird: Look for “doorbuster” deals at rock-bottom prices as early as 5 a.m., typically lasting only a few hours. Plot your route from store to store based on store opening times, and arrive before the doors open. Doorbusters often sell out in the first hour.
6. Beat the Early Birds: Some “Black Friday” deals may also be ordered online for pick-up at the store or for home delivery. Visit retailers” Web sites in the wee hours of Black Friday to see if you can beat the crowd. Some stores may open on Thanksgiving Day or at midnight on Black Friday. Check local newspapers.
7. Check the Return Policy: Before buying, find out the store”s return policy. Some return deadlines go into January, but others impose restocking fees, or use a returns tracking system to deny refunds to returns abusers.
8. Get a Gift Receipt: Make returns easier for gift recipients by asking the store for a gift receipt and include it in the gift box. Without a receipt, a refund may be denied outright, or may be limited to only an equal exchange or to a merchandise credit for the lowest price the item was sold for.
9. Use the Right Credit Card: Certain credit cards offer valuable free benefits. For example, don”t be pressured into buying a service contract when you can get up to an extra year of warranty coverage free just by using most gold or platinum credit cards. Check the terms of what your credit cards offer. Some also offer a return-protection guarantee, or a sale-price guarantee where they will give you back the difference if an item goes on sale within 60 days of purchase.
10. Save More with Price Guarantees: The bargain shopping process does not end with a product purchase. Keep checking the prices of the items you bought. Since many stores offer a price-protection guarantee, you may be entitled to get back some additional money if the seller or a competitor offers a lower price before Christmas.
