Black Friday

Let's flash back to the beginning of December. The Consumer Reports National Research Center polled more than 1,000 randomly-selected consumers to find out how much they planned to spend on gifts this holiday season. The answer: $699 on average, about $65 less than they planned to spend in the prior two years.

Now, however we have actual totals and they are -- you guessed it -- substantially higher. The average shopper spent $811 – or 16% more than they'd planned – on gifts alone. The half of the population surveyed that paid with credit cards reported spending another $85 more, on average, raising their total to $896. And nearly one-fifth couldn't resist bringing home a little (or not so little) something for themselves.

Zhu Zhu Pets have been this year's Beanie Babies: toys that are so ridiculous in concept, so cheap and simple in execution that you knew they were going to cause long lines and incredible prices on the Black Friday back-alley aftermarket. This year being as it was, retailers were accused of under-ordering the furry robotic hamsters to either reduce inventory expense and financial exposure to slack demand, or to artificially create a consumer frenzy, depending on how jaded the retail analyst. WalletPop interviews with buyers and analysts tended to agree that the Chinese-manufactured toy was simply a surprise hit, and demand was high for no other reason than lots of kids wanted them under their trees.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the safety of the toy hit of the season, the robotic hamsters known as Zhu Zhu Pets, making a rare acknowledgment of an ongoing investigation as the Web lit up with searches for Zhu Zhu pet recall and Zhu Zhu pet unsafe.

"CPSC is looking into the Zhu Zhu pet toy and we will complete our review swiftly," CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said in an email to WalletPop.

The buzz grew following a report by environmental health group GoodGuide saying it found higher-than-acceptable levels of tin and antimony in Mr. Squiggles, a popular Zhu Zhu pet.

UPDATE (12/7): GoodGuide issued an apology today for using a different testing methodology than does the government -- thereby making the comparison of what it found to the federal standard inaccurate. "...While we accurately reported the chemical levels in the toys that we measured using our testing method, we should not have compared our results to federal standards,"
the group said in a written statement. "We regret this error. "

Based on that and independent lab tests reviewed by the CPSC, Mr. Squiggles has been cleared.

Wolfson said the CPSC is committed to new, tougher standards for toy safety mandated by the Consumer Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The heavy metal antimony, once governed only by a voluntary industry standard, was included in the CPSIA and is now regulated by the CPSC.

"CPSC is working especially hard this time of year to ensure that toys are safe for all children, he said. The agency is proactively evaluating certain toys and we are working with consumer groups to test toys they have been brought to our attention. Parents should know that there is a new child safety law that went into place this year that: 1) lowers lead in toys to some of the lowest levels in the world, 2) bans certain phthalates from toys, and 3) puts federal limits on heavy metals like antinomy from being in surface coatings on toys. "

The company that sells Zhu Zhu Pets that makes the impossible-to-find holiday toy says the toys are safe (see their press release).

"We are disputing the findings of GoodGuide and we are 100% confident that Mr. Squiggles, and all other Zhu Zhu Toys, are safe and compliant with all U.S. and European standards for consumer health and safety in toys," Russ Hornsby, CEO of Cepia LLC., said in a written statement. "All our products are subjected to several levels of rigorous safety testing conducted by our own internal teams, as well as the world's leading independent quality assurance testing organization, and also by independent labs engaged by our retail partners. The results of every test prove that our products are in compliance with all government and industry safety standards."

As we know from WalletPop's own experience with alerting authorities about defective products -- when our Consumer Ally discovered that Target Halloween flashlights could catch fire -- it can take weeks before an official recall takes place, and that was with Target's cooperation.

If there was a recall, the dynamics would be unlike any other in recent memory -- since thousands of people paid far beyond retail price from third party sellers on eBay and Amazon.com. And now parents are left wondering whether to take this seriously and continue on their now easier quest to get these varmints (they've been showing up in increasing numbers at increasing numbers of retail outlets) or to hold off the officially inquiry is completed and, if they have them, whether to hold off giving them as Christmas presents.

Stay tuned to WalletPop for more recall news and we will let you know what develops.

Just when the Black Friday frenzy seems to have died down, Sears and Kmart roll out new deals for the weekend. It's the fifth week the retailers are hosting sales.

Deals at Sears this Saturday, Dec. 5 from 7 a.m. to noon include:

• Toshiba 40-inch Class 1080p LCD HDTV, sale $629.99, Reg $799.99, Save $170, while qauantities last, minimum two per store. No rainchecks.
• Craftsman 204-piece Mechanic's tool set, sale $99.99, Reg $199.99, Save $100.
• Covington long, plush robe with slippers, sale $18.99, Reg $48, Save 60.

Today, Dec. 4 until 11 p.m. and Dec. 5, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Kmart stores:

• Seven piece dining set, sale $119.99, Reg. $142.49
• Athletech women's puffy goose down jacket, sale $20.00, Reg. $70.00
• Little Tikes My Real Digital Camera, sale $19.99, Reg. $49.99

On Black Friday Fry's was offering a 52-inch HDTV deal that attracted a lot of attention from shoppers -- so much that one store oversold at least six HDTVs.

Couple the mistake with a manger who seemingly couldn't be bothered to address the problem with anything more than a you're out of luck smirk and you can bet these customers felt like they got fried.

But, it seems that the holiday season, or a mention on The Consumerist, still has the power to grow a corporation's heart three sizes.

One of the affected customers wrote into The Consumerist to share that, after talking to consumer relations, he secured an apology for the mistake and more importantly a replacement HDTV. The Fry's store in Renton, Wash. is ordering a new batch of Samsung HDTV's to make sure that anyone who paid for an HDTV on Black Friday actually gets one.

Kudo's to Fry's for fixing their mistake. Maybe next year Fry's can move to a ticketing system so that they don't oversell a doorbuster item in five different lines.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I swiped my debit card to get on the light rail and was billed for a bus ticket the machine wouldn't give me. I had to pay $1.50 again to get my oldest son onto our next connection. I know! Frustrating.

As someone who's always living on the very edge of black in her checking account, I know too well the dangers of unexpected transactions, and for me they come in $29 overdraft increments. Customers at Toys R Us this weekend, shopping before regular store opening hours during Black Friday, experienced a similar and far more account-balance-deadly problem: double billing.

Keith Bossey, a marketing and strategy consultant in New York City, may not be at the edge of his bank account, but he just found out today he was double-billed for his purchase.

With Black Friday noting more than a tangle of receipts, empty shopping bags and tightly wrapped presents for another year; it's time to look back and see how shoppers and retailers made out on the most hyped and anticipated shopping day of the year.

Overall, the good news this year is that despite several incidents of shopper rage, no one lost their life over a Zhu Zhu Pet. Even though there were shoppers behaving badly in stores, coupon users at RetailMeNot saved almost a half million dollars on Black Friday and Amazon earned big cheers from Dealnews.com for matching almost every Black Friday sale competitors offered.

If you missed out on our liveblog of Black Friday this is a great place to see what went down on Black Friday 2009.

Scuffles:
The Consumerist combed through police blotters and local news reports to find the worst Black Friday behavior of 2009.

For law enforcement in towns with a Walmart or a Toys R Us, it was a Busy Thursday night and Friday morning as a fight broke out at Walmart in Rancho Cucamonga, California and a Walmart in Upland California had to kick out shopper and reset the store after shoppers ripped into pallets of merchandise and began shopping before the 5 a.m. kickoff.

For most people, the holidays are a time of gifts, fun, and family.

But to Wharton economist Joel Waldfogel, the holidays are celebrated with an "orgy of value destruction."

In his new book Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays, Dr. Waldfogel explains why gift giving is so prone to value destruction -- and how we can make it less of a waste and still enjoy the holidays and gifting.

WalletPop editor-at-large Jason Cochran and I recently spoke with Dr. Waldfogel in a podcast, touching on a wide variety of topics: from crying babies to candy corn to giving cash to drug addicts to regifting.

So you missed the doorbusters. No worries. Who wants to cram into a store at dawn or set the alarm for 2 a.m. to get a virtual doorbuster? The best thing about Black Friday is you can go later in the day and still use many of the coupons retailers are sharing. Here are some of the best coupons out there.

Get 25% off your purchase at Michael's before noon local time or get fixed dollars off your purchase, depending on the total. Coupons here.

Spend $60 at Victoria's Secret and get a free runway bag. Print the coupon here. Online use code VSFRIDAY. If you're buying jammies, get a pair of free slippers with code PJGIFT. If you buy a sweater get a free scarf with code SCARF09. Some caveats.

This is the home of our Black Friday LiveBlog, where our correspondents from across the country will be reporting in on the action, the mayhem and the bargaineering. For the latest news up until the doors open, check out these links, and then watch our new video report from Toys R Us on the scene of Black Friday to get yourself in the mood:



Black Friday Deals Scorecard

Black Friday breaking news

Download our Black Friday toolbar

Holiday spending poll results

If you want your Christmas shopping dollars to go further and support a great cause, then the Pink Friday charity fundraiser is the answer.

Systemax Inc., whose companies include CompUSA, Tiger Direct, TigerDirect Canada and Circuit City, will be hosting the third annual Pink Friday on the day traditionally known as "Black Friday."

The consumer electronics and technology retailer expects Pink Friday to help raise more than $100,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest breast cancer organization.

Cyber Monday deals traditionally come once a year, the Monday after Thanksgiving, when online retailers cut prices to lure in workers who have returned to work but still need to get some shopping done.

This year there will be plenty of Cyber Monday sales on Nov. 30, but according to the CEO of Coupon Craze, that's just the start of Cyber Monday deals this year.

By working with retailers and observing the online shopping trends, which show that online shopping jumps significantly on the Mondays leading up to Christmas, Christian Gordun, the Coupon Craze CEO, has come up with a list of additional Cyber Mondays and a Shipping Monday to keep in mind.

Forget about getting a deal on Black Friday. There's tons of free stuff to be had! Here are the top freebies I found for Friday, Nov. 27.

Get a coupon card (a plastic version of the Entertainment Book with thousands of 2-for-1 offers) for free from MyParentRewards.com when you are one of the first 1,000 people to sign up starting at 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 26. The card normally sells for $20.

If you are doing any Black Friday shopping at Target, make sure to print this coupon for a free medium soda from the Target cafe. Good Friday Nov. 27 to Saturday Nov. 28. One coupon per customer.

Get a free gift card at REI -- in $5, $25 or $100 denominations - for being one of the first 300 customers on Black Friday. Check when your local store is opening and call to make sure they are participating.

Make sure to hit up your local Westfield Mall for a free gift from Real Simple. The first 500 shoppers will receive one in Westfield's 50 malls across the country. The actual gift will vary from mall to mall. Click here to find your local mall, then click on "12 Days of Shopping" and scroll down to events for Nov. 27 to see if the giveaway is listed.

At GGP malls you can get a free "Mistle Tote" bag starting when the mall opens, according to The Freebie Blogger. Limited number available.

Walgreens has a handful of products that are free on Black Friday after coupons and register rewards (dollars-off coupons you can apply to future purchases). Check them out here.

Rite Aid also has some great freebies, like Sally Hansen Lip Color and Tampax, when you fill out their online single check rebate forms (which means you submit all your rebates for the month at once). See them here.

Not to be outdone, CVS has 14 freebies on Black Friday. Holy cow! Check 'em out here.

On Black Friday, shoppers across America will set out in search of bargains on flat screen TVs, Verizon Droids, Snuggies and... guns? Only in South Carolina.

The Palmetto State is offering its residents a sales tax holiday beginning on Black Friday. For guns. It is the only two day sales tax holiday of its kind in the country.

The South Carolina Department of Revenue issued reminders earlier in the week for what has been dubbed the "Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday for 2009."

The two day sales tax-free event begins on 12:01 a.m. on Black Friday. During the sales tax holiday, shoppers will pay no state or local sales taxes on handguns, rifles and shotguns. Generally, the statewide sales tax rate for retail sales in South Carolina is 6%. Counties may impose an additional 1% local sales tax.

Many retail employees are forgoing Turkey Day with their families to offer a jump start on the Black Friday shopping mania.

According to the USA Today, Wal-Mart, Old Navy, and Radio Shack on the West Coast will entertain shoppers who decide to splurge after a hearty meal.

So will Toys R Us, says an earlier Walletpop post and Boscov's and certain Banana Republic/ Gap stores. These retailers will join Kmart, Walgreen's and other drug and grocery stores who began the tradition years ago.

"It's a big trend for retailers," said Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia in a phone interview. "I think a certain percentage of the population will go and shop especially if they can beat the Black Friday crowd."