How to Get the Most Out of Holiday Sales

Smart Money tells us all how to get the most out of holiday sales including the following:

• Compare prices -- One easy way to find the best deal on the item you're eyeing is to use a price comparison site like PriceSpider, which tracks a product's price history for six months, or PriceGrabber.com, which lets users calculate and compare the total price of an item, including shipping and tax.

• Don't jump the gun -- “If you can wait three weeks [to do your shopping], you should wait because the deals are going to be a lot better than what they are now,” says Jon Vincent, owner of BlackFriday.info, one of several sites that publish Black Friday sale ads before the big day.

• Black Friday previews -- Black Friday deals are typically advertised on retailers’ web sites on Thanksgiving Day, says Vincent. Other sites, like Vincent's BlackFriday.info , bfads.net and blackfriday.gottadeal.com usually list deals at major retailers even earlier than that since they get the sale circulars in advance, scan the ads and post them online, says Dworsky.

• Check for price adjustments -- If you buy the Guitar Hero World Tour band kit and later see it advertised for less at another store or on sale at the store you bought it from, your credit card may refund the difference.

The tip I use the most is #1. I go online and find the various prices on items I want to buy. Then I either purchase them online or look and see if I can find them for comparable prices locally. If I can, I buy them here so that I 1.) support local stores and 2.) can return them easily if there's a problem.

And, of course, I'll get several calendars from Costco this year. My family loves them, they're inexpensive, and they are very easy to "make" online.

For the most part, I like to shop early and/or during the week if I can. I used to like the crowds in stores and the "excitement" of shopping season. Now I avoid it like the plague.

Comments

[Money Mentor Online]

I often times try to find the item on ebay or amazon. Some pretty good deals can be found online. Not necessarily for all items. You probably won't find good deals on popular Christmas items, but just about anything else.

[Kaye]

Thank you for the Black Friday links! I really appreciated them as will my friends and family who love their "Extreme Shopping Day"! I love to use Fatwallet's alerts when I am looking for something special - especially tech related, though you can do other items as well. I list the item(s) I'm looking for by every possible name I can think of, then it sends the information to me. For a caregiver short on time, that's a BIG help. :)

[Kaye]

PS - I went to Fatwallet after leaving my last comment and added a couple of Christmas gift ideas into the alerts. I discovered they have a Black Friday forum and now give you the option of searching both the hot deals AND the Black Friday forums. Very useful!