A recent ad scan was made of an alleged Black Friday ad of Macy*s (http://bfads.net/Macys) There are a number of serious issues that I would like to point out about these early ad scans that other sites have been putting up...

First and foremost, the ad scan that is presented is only one (1) version. This means that the offers and prices that are shown may or may not apply to your local Macy*s store. Most major retailers version their print ads, which means that each store promotes different products or promotes the same products just at different prices.  This is very common and some of the greatest versioning occurs within the black friday timeframe.  This means it is even more important to make sure that you are looking at the right version of an ad (which is specific to your your physical location)

Second is the source. Or in this case, lack of a credible, identifiable source. Since the person who submitted this alleged ad scan did so anonymously,  I am always highly suspect to the overall quality and reliability of the sale information.

Most retailers release their black friday ads a day or two early. Don't mess around trying to guess what will be on sale by wasting time looking at speculative sites like bf ads.com.  Instead I would either check out the online circular sites that nearly every retailer has on their own dot com website (example: Target's weekly ad site is http://weeklyad.target.com and they always post their ad officially 2 days early) or check back on http://www.shoplocal.com/local-store-sales-ads.fp for a really easy aggregated way of looking at all the official black friday ads. The reason I know this is because I work for ShopLocal and we work directly with all the retailers to ensure the best quality online ads anywhere, especially when it comes to black friday ads and deals.  I don't know about you, but information from the source is always the best.
 

What? Historically if you compare the ad scans on Black Friday websites with those you receive in your newspaper or view online from the retailers, they are identical. FACT.

Yes there might be some variation in the ads, but those sites are very useful for getting an idea of what is being offered. If you are after a digital camera for example, you can see the offerings of the various stores. This gives you time to research your purchase to ensure you get a digital camera that truly meets your needs, not something with inflated numbers or a major bug. Not an easy thing to do as most BF ads don't list model numbers so you have to compare pictures and specifications. This is not something I want to spend my time with Thanksgiving day when I can be spending time with family and sleeping so I can get the early bird sales.

So if you really want to ensure better ads online, I say start ensuring honest specifications and model numbers of products. Until then I'll trust BF websites to provide me with a valuable service to ensure that I support only the best manufacturers and retailers.

Why would you not trust the scans? So, they may be a little different in your area. Just adjust your shopping plan accordingly once the real ads come out.

"...check back on http://www.shoplocal.com/local-store-sales-ads.fp for a really easy aggregated way of looking at all the official black friday ads. The reason I know this is because I work for ShopLocal..."

In summation - use the company I work for and not someone else; that statement really ruined credibility.

Yes, there is a chance that the information might vary according to region - but the variance is usually negligible.