Black Friday has traditionally been one of the busiest and most frantic shopping days of the year but with Christmas sales down in 2007 and the economy looking like a leftover fruitcake, many people are wondering if Black Friday can live up to past performances.

To better grasp the severity of the situation I enlisted the help of Dan de Grandpre, the current CEO of Dealnews.com. Dan is one of the most qualified individuals I know to assist in this as he has over 12 years of deal hunting experience as well as the ability to keenly identify industry trends. The Dealnews.com CEO backs up his team's experience surrounding retail sales and promotions by boasting that Dealnews.com has saved visitors hundreds of millions of dollars.

Black Friday needs only three things to be successful: retailers with amazing deals, willing consumers and money. Without any one of these items Black Friday ceases to be the spectacle that retailers and shoppers have come to know and love. In order to understand how the economy affects any of these three elements it is important to understand the relationship between retailers and consumers.

Ready, Set, Shop! Fast paced and limited quantity sales are the new hotness when it comes to brand name luxury goods. Several sites have popped up recently to cater to bargain hungry consumers. These sites often send out alerts as emails and text messages when a new sale on Prada or Gucci gets kicked off. Just like in the wild, the fast are rewarded while the slow go home empty handed. Such is the nature of the high end online discount sales machine.

Flash sales or one item sale sites have been around for several years in the tech industry, Woot! for example which provides a one deal per day closeout pricing on technology items. Many of these discount luxury goods dealers heighten the elegance of purchasing from their online store by going members only. In several cases the only way to become a member is to know a member, adding to the exclusivity. Sites like Ideeli cash in on the shopping frenzy further by charging an additional $100 for exclusive access to text message alerts.

I wouldn't want to be standing in between a member of Gilt and her computer when her cell phone lights up with the deal of the day! While I enjoy the game that is presented by these one item or limited time discount sites I find that despite the multitude of offerings, I can never find what I am looking for. This is one area in which the clothing and accessories stores may have a hand up on the technology flash sales sites, with varied styles and items the selection may be broad enough to attract even demanding clientele. I guess when it comes down to shopping; it isn't what you know, but who you know!

The Daily Deal for Sunday, April 20, 2008

Yes, the offer sounds too good to be true. Therefore it probably is. But it's splashed in true living color on the Internet and they say it's available to people like you and me. You may get a FREE Gucci hand bag and watch. Be warned though, I'm advised that the site has already been put under watch by McAfee as a source of possible excessive email spamming. That's the problem with these once in a lifetime internet offers. They're designed mainly to harvest email addresses, among other things.

To become eligible for the Gucci gifts, the offer is subject to the following conditions. First, you must take membership in a promotional purchasing program. You must register, provide a valid email address and provide a shipping address also. Then, you must complete what I interpret to be three surveys and six product promotions from sponsors of the offer. It sounds like a giant phishing scam to me, but hey, who am I to judge?

You must be 18 to apply and you'll be filling out a credit application (of course you will). The site page warns that failure to submit accurate registration will cause forfeit of your eligibility. By then however, they'll have enough information to purchase a house using your name. The site also disclaims any endorsement by the manufacturers of the products it offers. As if we might suspect that Gucci would have a hand in something like this.

One last note: This offer is not valid in Ohio. Do you think they might know something the rest of us don't?