I have to say I haven't been brave enough to venture out for the early morning sales on the day after Thanksgiving but I have more people to shop for this year and may try it.   I would love to hear anyone's experiences with the early bird specials. What stores have the best deals?  Do you really need to get to the stores before they open and line up?   When do the ads come out for this day- Weds or on Thanksgiving?   Thanks for your help!!

Black Friday.  The name conjures up images of the plague, apocalypse or wayward blimps crashing into football stadiums.  Oh no, wait, that’s Black Sunday—a topic for a book review and another post some other day.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving.  It is the biggest shopping and retail sales day of the year, and the day that retailers become profitable (go from red (a loss) to black (a profit), hence the name, although I don’t think that I believe that!).  It is the day that the best sales, deals and “doorbuster” specials (typically early morning- think 5am – limited supply items and offers) are launched, and Black Friday is the day that retailers (especially big retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, Kohls, JC Penney, Best Buy and Circuit City) try to out do each other with the best offers.  It is the day that many industry analysts and pundits use as a leading indicator for the health of the holiday retail season - though the correlation appears weak to me.

Black Friday has also become a day to go “marathon” shopping with family and friends.  Similar to a full day of early morning tailgating followed by a football game followed by more tailgating, Black Friday shopping has become a social event for shoppers- a time to extend the holiday visitations .  I know of several people who get together with their parents or siblings and make a complete day out of it, and they keep score on how much money they saved.

Including Shoplocal, there are many sites that follow the Black Friday Sales.  Some of the sites even get early bird peeks of the sales and deals.  I just came across my first early peek of Ace Hardware on www.GottaDeal.com.  Here’s a sampling of the deals, and some are very aggressive!

Check out the rest here:  http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/BlackFridaySales/Store/AceHardware

Good luck in finding the best sales and deals on Black Friday!

See what all the stores are offering at http://blackfriday.viddu.com 

Well this year will be my third time going and yes you need to come early I mean early so 4am is late let me tell you. Well I would advice you to make your list after you see the ads and make sure you know the store you go to. I helps if you go a couple of days before so you know where things are and get some rest before you go....have fun

P.S that day people can be the rudest so just watch out.  

I would definitely get a paper tomorrow (Wednesday) and if you can find one, on Thursday as well. I typically go every year, and have learned a few things that definitely help. I have only seen a couple of actual physical fights, but people do get upset- don't "cut" people off- usually stores will replenish the initial "wipe out". Also, if you can have someone go with you, it is a good idea. My boyfriend and I go to separate places- we make our list out the day before using the ads from the paper, and we split up. This ensures we get all of the bargains we want to. Also, the earliest sales are ALWAYS the best. Tip: 4:00 is the best/earliest. Go in and get out- take cash or a card, so you don't have to waste time writing checks. And make sure you bundle up, grab an umbrella, and don't forget to gas up the day before! Good luck. :)