What is Black Friday?
Black Friday is the name given to the first Friday that comes after Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America – a celebration which is held on the fourth Thursday of November. It is regarded as a ‘shopping holiday’ as well as the first day of the Christmas holiday shopping season, which is why many retailers give special offers during this time. These offers help you make big gains because the discounts are huge and most people wait throughout the year to make full use of this special holiday.
When is Black Friday being celebrated this year?
This year, the shopping holiday falls on the 29th of November.
When does the Black Friday sale start?
The Black Friday sale starts on different days for different retailers. Each individual retailer will release dates as and when they deem fit, and you can start planning accordingly. Some of the places which have already released information of the sale timings are given below. Make sure you remember them!
- The Home Depot will start off their Appliances Special Buy sale in all their participating stores as well as online from the second week of November itself.
- Target will open its doors at 5:00 pm on Thanksgiving and shut down sale at 1:00 am on 29th November. They will again reopen their doors at 7:00 am on November 29th. They will also host a separate Black Friday preview sale on November 8th as well as November 9th.
- Amazon will start off their online deals ondevices right at 12:00 am on 22nd November.
- Best Buy will be opening their doors at their regular timing on Thanksgiving. The online sales will start at 12:00 am on 29th November.
- Kohl’s will be opening their doors at 5:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day. The online sale will start at 12:01 CT on 29th November.
When does Black Friday Sale End?
Most stores will close their Black Friday sale immediately after 29th November. Nonetheless, don’t fret because online sales will continue long after. So, don’t worry if you’re unable to utilise the deals on 29th, because you can easily make use of it for a few more days, in some cases right up to Cyber Monday!
What are the kinds of deals one can expect?
You can expect great deals on gadgets, smartwatches, mobile phones, electronics, smart devices, home appliances, laptops, tablets, computers, and the like.
Which are the sites and shopping places, one should keep an eye out for?
Keep yourself well updated with the offers being given by – Amazon, Target, HP, Staples, Kohl’s, Microsoft, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Lenovo, Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, eBay, Newegg, Fry’s, GameStop, Apple, Micro Center, B&H and Home Depot.
Depending on the retailer, what are the deals I can expect to get on Black Friday?
Some of the deals which you can expect from retailers on Black Friday are given below –
- Best Buy – TVs, Beats devices, Apple products etc
- Target – Apple devices, Beats products etc
- Staples – Airpods, Smart speakers etc
- Microsoft (in-store) – Windows 10 PCs, Surface etc
- BJ’s Wholesale Club – Bose products, Apple products etc
- HP – Envy laptops, Spectre, Desktops etc
- Costco – Apple devices, TVs, Laptops etc
- Kohl’s – PS4s, Amazon Echo, Fitbit etc
- Lenovo – ThinkPad, Yoga laptops etc
How do you return products brought on Black Friday deals?
All stores have different deals which are why their return policies are different too. However, most of the USA retail stores and sites provide you with an extended window to return and exchange products purchased sometime in November as well as most of December. Make sure that you are well-read on the return policy for each and every site you make a purchase from.
Make sure that you check whether the return policy will be hassle-free and whether it will cost you anything – return shipping. If you overlook these, you might end up unnecessarily spending money on return shipping for an item you might have purchased but no longer need.
Are there sites which provide background knowledge with regards to discounts on different sites?
Yes! There are certain sites which provide you with all the necessary background knowledge with regards to sites so that you end up getting the best. Checking out these sites are especially helpful when most sites avoid revealing the prices until the deal starts – as in the case of Amazon. This way, you’ll have an idea of what the prices have been, throughout the years. Some of the sites are –
- net – This is a set of forums which crowd-sources deal-hunting. Most of the frontpage deals are set to be the best of the lot, whereas some of the best daily deals can be found in the ‘Hot Deals’ forum. You can search for specific product names as well as model numbers to see whether there are specific posts related to it.
- com – This is one site which provides you with the historical price information of various products on Amazon. They have a graph which shows the trend spread over time. This way, you can easily see which product often goes on sale, what price is usually placed on it as well as the lowest possible price for the product.
- BFAds.net and BlackFriday.com – These two sites publish scans of Black Friday deals which have been leaked from major retailers such as Best Buy, Fry’s, Target, Micro Center, Newegg, etc). Although none of the prices which are given is sure to go live, having these lists help you understand which are the products set to go on sale, the average price range of the products.
What are the ways in which you can keep yourself updated about the deals on Black Friday?
Black Friday deals are in plenty and almost all big retailer makes sure that the offers are lucrative enough to bring in customers at plenty. However, it can become difficult to keep yourself updated with the offers of every single place. In order to make sure that you get the best deal for the item, you are hoping to buy, follow the below mentioned suggestions –
- Sign up for newsletters of specific stores – Signing up for the email newsletters for stores can be a very good idea to get some of the best deals. The reason behind this is, sometimes customers who subscribe for newsletters end up getting better deals in comparison to those who don’t. These special coupon codes can only be availed if you’re subscribed in their mailing list. Some sites even offer free shipping as well as additional discount coupon codes, which they don’t offer on-site.
- Set up deals alerts and notifications for Amazon and Slickdeals – When you sign up for a free account on Slickdeals, you get to set up around 50 deal alerts that are sent to you through the mail, through the Slickdeal mobile app, via private messages on the site as well as through desktop browser notifications. You can also customise these alerts according to your needs and specifications. Similar to Slickdeals, Amazon too makes a provision for the same for their lightning deals which are shown on the site for a very short period of time.
- Watch out for bundle deals – There are retailers who give out bundle and combo deals. By availing these combo deals, you end up saving quite a bit. Not just that, it also helps you avail these combo offers on extremely reduced prices, making it a win-win situation for you.
- Remember to research all prices on all sites in advance – Every deal that is shown on Black Friday isn’t really the best always and the discount offered isn’t really as lucrative as they show it to be. Some are extremely lukewarm and mediocre and are designed and marketed to you in such a way that you feel like you’re getting a good bargain whereas, in reality, it is not actually a worthy one. Thus, getting some quick research done before buying an item will help you to get the best possible price on the item.
How to avail free shipping on Black Friday deals?
Availing free shipping on Black Friday deals is something which depends on the retailer and the amount cap they have, based on which one can avail free shipping. Given below are the details of some of the retailers and the amount which one needs to spend in order to avail free shipping –
(P.S. – Most of the retailers haven’t given out their shipping policies as yet.)
- Best Buy – Free shipping can be availed on almost all items which are purchased between 25th October and 25th December, minus the hassle of any minimum order value. Certain items will qualify for free ‘next day shipping’ when the order is for $35 or more – with limitations such as during Thanksgiving, weekends as well as ‘promotional periods.’
- Walmart –You can avail free two-day shipping on total order values of $35 or more.
What are some of the best Black Friday deals – store wise?
Given below is a list of some of the best deals being put forth by retailers, which you can avail – both online as well as in-store.
Amazon’s best Black Friday deals
- Fire TV Stick 4k along with the Alexa Voice Remote – originally priced at $50. Buy it for $25 with the code – 4KFIRETV
- Echo Show 5 – originally priced at $90, buy it at $60
- The Fire 7 Kids Edition Tablet – originally priced at $100, buy it for $60
Best Buy’s best Black Friday deals
- iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max (along with Apple Care+) – get $25 off when buying the latest iPhone within 12 months.
- Unlocked iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max – buy either of these and get 3 months free on Apple Music (only for new subscribers) as well as 1 month of free iCloud storage (only for new subscribers)
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint streamer bundle and Blue Microphone’s Blackout Yeti – both for $139.99 (individually priced at – $59.99 and $129.99 respectively)
Target’s best Black Friday deals
- Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones – originally priced at $349.99. Offer price – $279.99 (save $70)
- Apple Watch Series 3 (with GPS) – originally priced at $199.99. Offer price – $169.99 (save $30)
- Airpods along with their charging case – originally priced at $199.99. Offer price – $144.99 (save $55)
Walmart’s best Black Friday deals
- The Lenovo Ideapad S145 15.6 inches laptop – originally priced at $269. Offer price – $189 (save $80)
- Apple iPad – 6th Gen – 128 GB (along with WiFi) – originally priced at $429. Offer price – $299 (save $130)
- Bose SoundSport in-ear Headphones (Android) – originally priced at $99. Offer price – $39 (save $60)
- Instant Pot LUX60 V3 6-in-1 Pressure Cooker – originally priced at $99. Offer price – $65 (save $34)
All the information given above is an idea based on the price ranges as are seen throughout the years as well as according to the time frames seen previously. They may not match entirely, but will definitely help you gather an idea as to what you can expect and from where.
Some of the retailers haven’t yet released their dates, return policies, products which are to go on sale and all other necessary information with regards to Black Friday sales, which is why it is suggested that you subscribe yourself to their official newsletter to keep yourself on the loop.
So, remember to take stock of the situation, keep all your shopping lists ready, keep a good idea of all the products which are being sold, from every particular site/retailers and keep your wallets well stacked. You wouldn’t want to miss a single deal – especially because this is one shopping holiday everyone is sure to look forward to.
Happy Black Friday shopping!