3-On Your Side: Black Friday Game Plan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- From door busters to fantastic freebies are you ready to hit the mall this Thanksgiving weekend? 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan has you covered with the Black Friday game plan.
The planning, plotting and preparing for Black Friday has begun. Edgar Dworsky of Consumer World says, "People line up hours ahead of time to get the door busters, if you're just going to wake up Friday morning and mosey into the store, most of the good deals will be gone."
Dworsky says among the best deals this Black Friday are: A 42 inch lcd Sharp brand TV for $199 at Best Buy. A Cannon SX 150 camera at Staples for $149 and a Frigidare front loading washer dryer combo for $699 at Sears.
Some stores are opening earlier than ever. Thanksgiving night Kmart has a shopping window of 6 to 9 p.m. While you can shop all night beginning at 9 p.m. at ToysRus. Wal-Mart will start selling toys, clothing and home goods at 10, and electronics at midnight. Also at the stroke of midnight, Best Buy, Kohl's Macy's and Target open. At 4 a.m. Sears and JC Penney get into the act. Then Kmart re-opens at 5 a.m along with Lowes and The Home Depot.
Not all advertised items are great deals. To separate the ho-hum from the bargains, you may want an app for that. Price Grabber allows you to compare prices instantly, and its price alert feature allows you to get notified when a price drops.
And Dworsky says don't forget your coupons. "That's going to multiple your savings when you get a great sale price, add a coupon on top of it and if there is a manufacturers rebate you've hit a home run."
In some cases Black Friday is Freebie Friday. Old Navy is offering free Kodak easy share digital cameras to a limited number of shoppers who buy $40 worth of merchandise. Sears is handing out Thomas Kinkade ornaments to the first 200 shoppers who buy clothing. While JC Penney is giving away 1.9 million Disney snow globes. Stores will do just about anything to lure you in, including showing some skin. Abercrombie and Fitch, already known for racy advertising, will have shirtless male greeters at every store beginning at midnight.
Before you buy anything, find out the store return policy. While many stores have extended their return deadlines into January, others are imposing more and more restocking fees. The folks at Deal News have put together a helpful Buyer's Guide to return policies for this Black Friday. Click below for more information:
http://dealnews.com/features/Buyers-Guide-to-Return-Policies-for-Black-Friday-2011/514652.html
Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS 3
