Top 10 Tips for a Successful Black Friday

Black Friday is by far the biggest shopping day of the year. Prices are cheap and people start out as early as 5 AM. This year there will be many great deals on gadgets and electronics. Plan ahead and create a winning strategy and you might be able to save a few hundred dollars on your holiday shopping.
Here are 10 tips for making Black Friday successful:
1. Show up early! Seriously, many of the stores that have massive sales will sell out fast. The whole purpose of having super cheap items is to get a ton of people in the door. Then, once they sell all of a particular item the plan is for you to buy a more expensive item. Let me explain this again...Get their early, but c'mon, there is no need to camp out in front of CompUSA with your uncle's moldy tent.
2. Keep an eye on the prices of items that are not on sale. Many times these items will be over priced to compensate for the super cheap advertised items. If the store that you are shopping at has run out of the advertised item, make sure you don't over-spend on a similar product.
3. Beware of cheap brands. Sure, you may be able to find a DVD recorder for $60 but it is made in a country that you have never heard of and will probably break before you finish recording the "Saved by the Bell" marathon. A couple of years ago I stocked up on cheap DVD players and their life span was about 3 months.
4. Make a list of people you are shopping for. If you are like many other people, you will not only be trying to score a great deal for yourself, you will also be shopping for others. Spend some time before the big day to make a list of people who you will be shopping for. Next to their name, include a budget and a gift idea. Make sure you keep this list handy while you are strolling through the stores.
5. Make a list of specific items that you MUST have from the ads. Most black friday advertisements come out on Thanksgiving day. As you browse through the paper, circle the items that you think will sell out and grab those first thing in the morning. You don't want to lie to your 8 year old son on Christmas morning and tell him that Santa ran out of Gameboys...he WILL catch on.
6. Don't overlook the DVDs and CDs for great gifts. Stores such as Wal-Mart should have a few bins of super cheap new releases. Everyone loves movies and music, so take advantage of this cheap-o gift selection and snag as many as you can for the holiday. Trust me, nobody wants another red turtleneck for Christmas!
7. File rebates AS SOON as you get home. Black Friday is known for having tons of rebates. Some products have 4-5 rebates attached to them so make sure you are fully aware of all rebate porchases. Trust me, you will feel like a complete dweeb when you are in need of $200 in the new year and realize that you never sent in any of your rebates. Do it ASAP!
8. Be aware of your store's price matching policy. Many stores will honor the sale price if you bought the item a couple days before. You can simply purchase your items in advance and then simple show up to the customer service area and request a price match...it's that simple.
9. Create a winning team. If you plan on hitting multiple stores, create a team of family or friends to do the shopping. One strategy that works well is to have a driver that drops off family members at each store and then picks them up. Even better would be to take multiple vehicles or car pool with friends. You don't want to finally hit an important store at 3 PM. Think outside the box...plan on getting all shopping done in the morning. Remember, create organized lists for each family member and figure the money situation out the night before.
10. Beware of "sale rage". Some people are so pumped about getting a deal that they will do anything in their power to make sure you come second. If there is only one $50 flat screen monitor left and a soccer mom is sprinting towards it with foam at her mouth, you might just want to skip out on it...she is dangerous.
There you have it...10 tips to make your Black Friday a huge success. Now, here are a few deals that I have my eye on.
1. CompUSA - 9.99 - 512MB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
2. CompUSA - $29.99 - 200 GB 7200 Drive
3. CompUSA - $117.99 - HP 4.1 Megapixel Digital Camera
4. Wal-Mart - $48.88 - Nintendo Game Boy
5. Wal-Mart - $398 - HP Laptop