Black Friday posts

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.

Just after Walmart announced a price cut on video games, aimed at stealing shoppers away from GameStop and other stores; Toys R Us has upped the ante with month-long discounts on video games, toys and more. The new deals are part of the Toys R Us "Biggest December Sale Ever," which includes Buy-One-Get-One 50% off on all video games, with more than 800 to choose from.

The "Biggest December Sale Ever" also includes two days of bonus savings, an un-advertised in-store deal of the day, free shipping of orders over $49 and extended hours.

If you don't want to go into the store every day to find out if the deal of the days is right for you, stop by the Toys R Us Deal of the Day Web site to see today's special, get a look at tomorrow's deal and get printable coupons.

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.

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

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."

If you're looking for great Black Friday deals you should read WalletPop's Black Friday Shopping Guide, which will tell you the best places to shop for specific items, but if you still need to compare the Black Friday sales we have five tools to help you find what you're looking for.

First off Cheapism.com points us to an interactive online Black Friday offer browser that lets you sort, compare and filter on many categories so that you can compare the Black Friday sales that matter to you. It is easy to sort by store, price, category, brand, and even if there is a rebate involved.

Cheapism also pointed out a Black Friday Twitter aggregation tool put together by the Washington Post that is pulling in Black Friday deals from companies that Tweet. This is a great place to watch for last minute deal announcements and coupon codes.

Black Friday may be the start of the shopping season, but for some people, it's a painful reminder of what they don't have. For those people, it's almost become an anti-holiday.

"On Friday, I'm planning on tackling a number of things off my honey-do list," says Robert Zonis, a product development chemist in Shelbyville, Tenn. who recently learned that his job will be terminated at the end of the year. "At least that's the plan. I know I'm deliberately staying away from television, radio, newspapers and leaving the house in general."

The down side of saving a big chunk of change on Black Friday is that you usually have to spend a lot of money to realize those savings. That's why we at Walletpop were happy to see a Black Friday deal that is literally just about the savings.

On Black Friday, online bank ING Direct will announce special interest rates for opening a CD or the brand's signature Electric Orange checking account (they're keeping mum on the details of those rates until Friday but have added a teaser page to their Web site).

This blog has details of two other promotions, though: a $683 discount off an ING mortgage (the amount is the average dollar cost Americans spend on holiday gifts annually, according to the National Retail Federation) as well as a Cyber Monday 20% discount on trades through ShareBuilder, its trading subsidiary.

The ramp up to Black Friday has been more energetic this year than any I can remember. There's a near insatiable thirst for discounts and door busters and retailers are more than willing to do whatever it takes to satisfy that thirst.

I've been covering national big box retailers for nearly 15 years now, and the volume of discounts this Black Friday is simply astonishing. All the national retailers like Best Buy, Target, Toys R Us and Walmart are rolling out new deals so fast it's difficult to keep track (although WalletPop does, check out our Black Friday listing). But there's more to retailing than national chains, and it's important to remember that mom and pop shops need to ring their registers too. This year, more than ever.

Seasoned Black Friday shoppers know that the best way to save during this all-important shopping day is to plot out a course of action ahead of time. That means knowing what you want and where to get it -- at the lowest possible price, of course.

Such planning entails scouring the Black Friday ads and comparing prices and selection. To help ease the load, WalletPop has done some of the legwork for you. We've combed through the ads that have been released so far and dug up the best deals on everything from high-definition TVs and Blu-ray players to tools and sweaters.

Black Friday is only a few days away, and in addition to the numerous pre-sales and Thanksgiving Day discounts going on, many smaller or niche stores are sharing their Black Friday deals with us; before they hit your Wednesday newspaper.

Of note today are deals from Bare Necessities, Victoria's Secret, T-Mobile, Amazon, and Pet Supplies Plus.

Lingerie:
Bare Necessities is currently running pre-Black Friday deals including, bra sales on Tuesday and steals starting at $9.99 on Wednesday. On Black Friday you'll be able to find discounts on Nautica flannel drawstring pants, slips, bras and panties starting at just $9.

The ads are in! While this info is gathered in a lot of places, we thought you might like a handy list of where you can find the actual circulars from your favorite stores. So peruse away!