Black Friday Tips and Shopping Etiquette
In recognition of the upcoming sales, we interrupt our Wacky Wednesday tips for some shopping information you may need this week. (article originally posted by blackfriday.com)
Surviving the Shopping Lines Outside
- Dress warmly, but in layers so you don't overheat in the store.
- If you can't decide where to go, call and ask if they'll be offering anything to Black Friday shoppers waiting in line. Free hot drinks or a goodie bag could be the tie-breaker you're choosing between locations.
- Make friends with your neighbors in line - they might know about some great deals!
- Unless you're looking to score a big-ticket item like a laptop, there's no need to be in the front of the line. Arriving an hour early or so should be plenty of time.
- If it's a hot item you're after, call ahead and find out what time customers lined up outside last year and ask what time they suggest you arrive.
- Electronics stores like Best Buy and Fry's tend to have the longest (and earliest) lines. For more popular items, you can often find the same deal at a store like Target but with a smaller line.
- Every year, at least one crazed rush of shoppers makes headlines for mobbing a door when it opens. Don't be that headline; be safe and courteous to employees and other shoppers when entering the building.
Surviving the Shopping Lines Inside
- If you can, try to get your items quickly and efficiently so that you can get in line as soon as possible. For the first few minutes of a store's opening, the registers are a breeze. After that, the lines can get so long, they sometimes wrap around the entire store - particularly at Best Buy, Toys ‘R Us, and Wal-Mart.
- Don't hesitate to head to check out because you are choosing between items. Take them both with you and make your decision later - those few extra minutes could be the difference between a short and a long line.
- Wait politely to check out. Do not hold places in line for other shoppers and avoid pushing up against the people in front of you.
- Let people pass through the line when they are still shopping.
Keep It Classy, Black Friday
- Stick to your plan and do not allow your shopping to be derailed by grumpy shoppers.
- Shouting matches and fights over the last item often break out in stores. Remember that you do not have to participate. Just move on.
- Be polite. Let others around you in the aisles. Help someone who is looking for an item if you happen to know where it is.
- Be nice to employees. They're up just as early as you are. And remember - they may be the only thing between you and that last holiday "it" toy in the back.
- It won't be possible to get every item on your list. Don't let disappointment slow you down! Get excited about the deals you successfully track down.
- Have fun. If you're not having fun, you're not doing Black Friday right.
How to (Politely) Get What You Want
- Make your decisions before the doors open. While everyone else is deciding which dollar DVDs they want, you can speed-walk to electronics for that flat screen TV.
- Go to a store you know. If you're familiar with the layout, you're more likely to find items quickly. If not, visit ahead - a little research can go a long way.
- As you go through the store, watch where you are going. You can walk quickly through the store without actually bumping into anyone.
- For stores opening at 8:00pm on Thanksgiving, try visiting between midnight and 3am. Crowds will have died down and they may even be restocking deals.
- Take only what you need - nobody likes the person who scoops up all of one item to turn around and sell it somewhere else.
- If you don't see the item you are looking for, check go-back piles. Sometimes it takes a while for a product to return to the shelf after a customer changes their mind. Cash in on it!
