Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Frugal Files: It's Black Friday Time!!

Hey there frugalicious folks!!

Just stopping by to share some info with you!! So, Veteran's Day just past and I hope you were able to honor and recognize the many service men and women who fought and continue to fight for our freedoms!! In addition to honoring them, I saw that many businesses were honoring them with discounts!! We also got some discounts. I went to both Savers in my area for the 50% off sale. They were CROWDED!! For $16, I walked away with NEW clothes: I got two denim jackets, one was colored and three tops that fit nicely into my wardrobe.

All during that day I also noticed all the sales circulars!! It's officially that time!! It's Black Friday time!!

I have never personally participated in Black Friday sales on Black Friday, but admire people who do; their tenacity to shop amongst the frenzy in the streets. My cousins and aunts participate every year. I asked them what makes them successful; they have a plan. You can't just go out to stores on Black Friday all willy-nilly. You must have a strategy to ensure you are in the right place at the right time and that you actually get what you want.

Anyone who plans on shopping Black Friday with them MUST attend the "Sales Flyer Party". The first thing they do is gather all the resources; meaning all the circulars that typically show up right about now. They scour every page and mark the items they want or the items they know someone else wants. They discard of the circulars they don't need, then make a list of stores they will be hitting early that morning.

Next, they determine the times of the sales. This is helpful because they want to be there early as possible, as well as maximize the limited time in the stores. Then they map the route, based on the sale times to make sure all the items are covered. Lastly, they coordinate teams to make sure each store, time and sale is covered. For the larger chains they send each team out for specific items. That way not just one person is responsible for finding many things, but several people are responsible for finding just a few items each.

Now that the information is gathered and everyone has their assignments, they do a trial run to the major stores. This is when each team or representative finds the area where their items will be placed on that Friday morning. They even mark it with distinctive tape so they will remember and see it. They do take a gamble here, because the employees could remove it, but it's worked in their favor the last few years.

This is the most detailed plan I have ever heard of for something like Black Friday. I am so amazed at them and admire them for doing it every year. I have said I wanted to participate, but I just can't seem to commit. They do very well every year too, as they always get what they intend to!!

You now have some inspiration, so go and create your own plan; one that will maximize the savings you'll receive on Black Friday. In fact, one of my frugalicious challenges to you this year is to ONLY shop on Black Friday....okay, you can even include Cyber Monday and make it a weekend thing. Make these your only shopping days and you're done before December even gets here.

To help you out, I just wanted to share some links of Black Friday sales I've seen, thanks to some of the most frugalicious bloggers and couponers I know. Feel free to have your own Sales Flyer Party!!

Walmart


Sam's Club


Best Buy

If you're really into it and want to see other stores ads, check out the Black Friday sites like this one: http://www.2011blackfridayads.com/

Don't get overwhelmed and shop at every store, but do choose what's best for you and take care of it now!! Then, sit back and enjoy your December, free from the holiday shopping frenzy in the stores. Happy Shopping!!

Frugalicious Diva

No comments: