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are the sales really much better at 3am then at 10? what stores have really good sales? on friday
I’m doing the “Black Friday” deals at CVS, which incidentally start on Thursday.
I dont bother with black friday deals much – I dont need expensive laptops, TVs etc. Plus, not everything is cheaper on Black Friday. TVs for example, are cheapest the week before the super bowl. Plus, there are usually like 4 items in stock for BF and employees take a couple and only the first one or two people get the deals. Not worth standing in line for 24 hours.
Check out slickdeals.net for information on BF.
SJSinNYC,
What other stores do you regularly shop at besides CVS? I’m also planning on stopping by there Thursday.
What is happening at CVS? Is it only in NY or elsewhere as well (as long as there is a CVS)
if you want an experiance try woodberry commons. you need to wait on lines to get into a store.
A Few Black Friday Tips:
1) Plan ahead! Find out what’s on sale, at what times, and if you can buy it online. Different stores have different policies and sale-times.
2) Shop for a need – don’t go wild getting unnecessary stuff just because it’s on sale.
3) Read reviews both from pros and from average folks. All cameras, PCs, etc. are not created equal. There is much more to electronics than megapixels, megabytes and so forth.
4) If you’re planning on getting electronics, toys, or other pricey stuff for Chanuka gifts, you may want to buy it now.
5) A GPS makes a great gift for someone who doesn’t have one (and isn’t a complete technophobe).
i can only try:
where can i find out what’s on sale?
Whaddabout Cyber-Monday (following Black Friday)?
dunno-
Here’s one: blackfridayhome.com
Year-around bargain-hunter sites, which will (I’m sure) also have BF info as the week progresses:
SJSinNYC mentioned one I’m not familiar with: slickdeals.net
Joseph brought up another point – the Monday following Thanksgiving is called “Cyber Monday” with many online specials available (largely electronics)
Googling “black friday” ads results in over twenty million hits, so this is just to get you started.
Info is updated on these sites as we get closer to Friday.
Here’s an idea –
How about if we use this thread to help each other find this week?
For example,
“Looking for a sale on the fuji f50 – please post info with ‘ICOT’ in the first line if you see anything.”
or
“Looking for a sale on any GPS less than $120 – please post info with ‘ICOT’ in the first line if you see anything.”
(No, I’m not looking for anything. Also, don’t do this as a substitute of your own research – that’s taking advantage of the good nature of others.)
Opinions?
To: I can only try: I’d like to get a GPS for my husband but don’t know where to begin. I’ve heard that Garmin and Magellan are good, but don’t know what’s better. I’m lookin in the $200 – $300 range. Something that can stick onto the windshield and easily remove. Something easy to understand, easy to work with, and has clear instructions. Don’t need traffic & weather reports (although traffic reports aren’t a bad idea). Main features: SIMPLE, CLEAR & DEPENDABLE. He doesn’t want to end up in Timbucktu an hour before Shabbos. Any suggestions?
The Queen of Persia-
First the good news:
The features that you are looking for are very basic (except if you decide to go for real-time traffic) and should come in at well under your budgeted amount. Pretty much any GPS sold will do what you are asking for.
Now, the less good news:
I don’t know GPS models. Garmin and Magellan are the two biggest brands,and I they both make models that get good ratings. I personally got a very basic unit on sale over a year ago for $175, and they’ve come down quite a bit since then.
Your requirements of “SIMPLE, CLEAR & DEPENDABLE” make sense, and I would add audible in a relatively noisy car (if you have kids I need say no more), and easy to put in a purse or briefcase (to avoid theft).
I would use word-of-mouth from recent buyers, as well as online reviews in determining which model to get.
I can ask a couple of people who bought a GPS around Pesach-time and are happy with it what model they have, but that info is likely already outdated.
Any and all posters and lurkers who’ve recently purchased a GPS – here’s your opportunity to be helpful.
i saw in one of the sunday circulars a TomTom gps advertised for $99. i know its a very good gps i think it was in best buy.
Anon, I’m not much of a shopper. Usually CVS, target…nothing so exciting. My husband wants to get a nice flat screen so he is looking around to see if there are any worthwhile deals.
Havesomeseichel – there are a bunch of free stuff at CVS for “Black Friday.” Basically you buy the item and get a coupon printout for the price of the item. So you front the money andget the same back in CVS cash. If you add in manufacturers coupons, you end up making more CVS cash than you spent!! Its an awesome way to get all your drugstore needs!
SJSinNYC,
I rather like CVS; I can usually give away the moneymakers I don’t need & use the money back to buy items I do need, especially diapers & wipes. (And even items I think I don’t need cend up being useful. One Shabbos a neighbor needed a glucose monitor & I was able to give her one I’d bought earlier that week).
My Target is not coupon-friendly, but my husband can find great clearance toys there.
havesomeseichel,
I just wanted to add that the coupon printouts, while they can be used as cash for almost anything at CVS, do expire a month after they are issued.
excuse me: what’s black friday??? i live in Canada, and I’ve never heard of it. It seems to be a good day for sales. why is it called “black”?
smh1,
Because it’s the day that even retailers with lagging sales can (hopefully) count on making a profit. In financial statements, profits are shown in black ink and losses with red.
anon – I get better at CVSing with time! I love the free stuff or the moneymakers and I’ve been using them to help out my sister (a SAHM) and the rest of my family. Do you live in a house or apartment? I am currently stocked up on years worth of stuff! I love getting diapers and wipes for free too!
Another trick with all the CVS stuff – use it for gifts. We are giving my sons daycare provider a nice basket of spa type of stuff that I got free at CVS. I want to buy shrink wrap to make it look professional. Thats a good $75 saved! Also, you can make gift baskets for showers like “Welcome to your new home” and use a laundry basket filled with windex, pledge, ajax, toilet brush, paper towels, tissues toothpaste/toothbrushes etc…they will LOVE it and you wont have to spend money!! I’ve also sold a bunch of stuff (really discounted – they get like 50-75% off and I get money).
My target isnt that coupon friendly either, but I got a really nice mobile (tiny love) for $10!! I go there mostly for things I cant get at CVS.
Do you use mypoints? Its an easy way to get free gift cards to stores.
I also do ShopRite and Stop n Shop deals, but I hear the ones in Brooklyn dont double coupons. Is that where you live?
Joseph – my husband is very excited for cyber monday!!
SJSinNYC,
I also share my free CVS stuff with my brother and sisters. Gift baskets are a great idea–I didn’t think of that. I do live in a house with a garage and basement so that helps a lot with storage space, though I need to organize it beeter.
Besides CVS I also do Walgreens and sometimes Rite Aid. They don’t take printables as my CVS does so I have fewer options for deals.
I live in NJ and shop at ShopRite and Acme. Acme is part of the SuperValu chain so sometimes deals from Albertson’s/ Jewels carry over. We have Stop & Shop but I’ve been there only once or twice. Both stores fully double up to $0.99 but I haven’t seen triples here in about a year. I do appreciate the doubles because in the midwestern town where I used to live store only doubled to $0.40.
I use mypoints to earn Walgreens and CVS gift cards.
Anon,
I always wanted to do Walgreens and RiteAid, but I dont have enough time (nor coupons!!) Did you get in on the robitussin deal? I was soooo tempted but didnt have time. It was awesome and a HUGE money maker. I know people that were able to donate hundreds of bottles of robitussin!
For organization this is what I do – I look at the product and decide how often I use it. For example, we use a lot of tissues in this house, so I leave a ton in my linen closet and the rest in the basement. This way, no one is far from tissues 🙂 With my other things, I put enough for a 3 month supply in the bathroom closet. The rest I store, sorted by type, in plastic bins. This way, its nice and organized. I also have a long row of closets in my basement, so I utilize those to the fullest!
A&P triples I think but I never go there because they are so expensive. Stop and Shop is also more expensive (of course its my closest!) but sometimes they have great Catalina deals. They had one recently with get $4 catalina with the purchase of glad plug ins ($3.99) – with BOGO coupons it made it a huge money maker. Unfortuantely, I couldnt participate much because I was working 80 hours a week (and it was around yom tovim time!), but those deals can be great.
I use my mypoints for “luxuries” like barnes and noble so I can buy books. I love buying books but dont want to pay for them! I figure its my reward for doing deals 🙂
what are mypoints? I sound so out of touch with the world… i know it. 😉
havesomeseichel – its a place to earn “free” gift cards. They send you emails with advertising – you click on the email and earn 5 points or so. If you follow up with the offer you earn more (based on the offer). When you accumulate enough points, you can get free gift cards! Its fantastic. It takes about 2 minutes a day (to open and click) and I dont usually use the offers. You dont earn cards that quickly, but I usually get about $75/year worth.
SJSinNYC,
I didn’t do the Robitussin deal because my Walgreens doesn’t take printables. Also, I don’t use cough medicines for myself & don’t think they’re especially safe for kids, so I don’t like buying them. Usually I just buy the rebate items and a few other items that are cheapest there, preferably with a $5/$25 coupon. The last catalina deal I really stocked up on there was the Walgreens diapers.
I didn’t do any of the Glade deals really–didn’t have any coupons to make it a big moneymaker. I don’t work outside the home so I do have more time to shop than you do but shopping with little kids is a challenge.
Do you use a clipping service for insert coupons?
Your Wags doesnt take ANY internet coupons? Wow thats rough! That deal was HUGE. I thought about just going for the free items and use a $5 off coupon but it seems like too much of a hassle to wait for the money. CVS is instant!
I get the paper weekly and my family/friends bring over their inserts. I usually end up with 4-6 inserts a week. I havent resorted to buying from clipper services yet, but I may if a really good deal comes around. What about you?
SJSinNYC,
It’s true that you have to wait for your rebate from Walgreens. But you only have to spend actual money the first time you do the rebate. Then apply for your rebate online (just enter the receipt info as for Rite Aid, so you have the receipt if you need it for another offer) and get the rebate plus 10% loaded on a gift card. Each month afterwards you have the rebate reloaded on the same card, so there’s no significant outlay afterards. It does take them a while to send the gift card, but it’s usually reloaded within a couple of weeks. And one big advantage over CVS is that the gift cards never expire, and you can use them for prescriptions. I’ve never tried to roll register rewards into gift cards, but I’ve read that it can be done.
Even though my Walgreens doesn’t take printable coupons, CVS does, and so do Acme and Shoprite.
I don’t usually buy from a service, but sometimes I’ll buy an extra copy of the Sunday paper.
Enough with the pharmacy’s. Where can some real shopping get done with good deals?
Zimby – I’ve spent about $100 at CVS and got $4,000 worth of merchandise. What do you call a “good deal”? Drugstores also have FREE or MONEYMAKING items on Black Friday. How good of a deal are you looking for?
zimby and dont have internet, go online n search through all the malls, everyone has a pdf that you can download with all the store hrs and savings. I looked at a few and the best are woodbury and jackson outlets. gluk!
SJS,
The fewer people who know about the drugstore deals, the more that will be available for us.
Ok SJS I hear you how does the CVS savings work? Coupons?…..
The Queen of Persia-
Here’s a GPS on sale for a low price that’s loaded with features:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=208429765
Pros: lots of features, including subscription-free real-time traffic, spoken street names, almost all buyers highly rated it.
Cons: refurb, only 90-day warranty, don’t know how good a name-brand Navigon is (my ignorance).
LOL Anon, I know 🙂
Zimby, basically CVS has a program called extra bucks. Certain items are on sale for $x with $y back – a coupon prints at the end of your reciept worth $y on almost anything in the store (not prescriptions, alcohol, stamps, gift cards). You match up manufacturers coupons, CVS coupons (they print out on your reciept, are emailed to you or found in stores). You can use a CVS coupon AND a manufacturer coupon per item.
An example from this week:
Complete contact solution $8.99 with $8.99 back – use a $2 manufacturer coupon, and make $2.
Dial soap – $1.99 with $1 back. Use a 30 cents off coupon and pay 69 cents for soap.
You can combine many items into an order and use a money off coupon from CVS – $3 off an order of $15, $4 off 20 – whatever they email to you.
Last week was an awesome battery deal – buy $19.98 worth of duracell, get $15 back. There were also $5/2 pack CVS coupon AND $1.50 off any duracell from the paper. So, I bought 2 larges packs at $9.99, used a $5/2, $1.50, $1.50 and a $3 off 15. I paid $8.98 (used previous extra bucks, not cash) and got back $15. Plus I had all the batteries!!
I don’t get it! They give you back more than the value of the item? Is that in cash or in store credit???
intellegent,
On these deals CVS gives you back an amount less than or equal to the price of the item. But if you use coupons you can come out ahead. You don’t actually get money back, you get a coupon (that’s the extra bucks) printed at the end of your receipt that you can use on most CVS purchases (major exception is prescription meds) which expires in 30 days. Check out the website SJS mentioned; it explains how it works.
many malls are staying open throughout the night tonight offering extreme dicounts
SmartBargains.com has a great Black Friday sale. They generally have name brands available at deep discounts throughout the year, but I think the prices are slashed even more for today.
don’t have internet,
Do you have a CVS extra care card? You don’t get sale prices or coupons without one. You may want to return the items for a refund if that’s the case. Or did your CVS used to be another store that wasnt changed over?
People act like wild animals on Black Friday, and that is one of several reasons why I will not shop then. A store employee was stampeded to death by the shopping crowds. This is horrifying. This day brings out the worst of the worst in people.
dont have internet – lol, I think CVS, and possibly some other stores, have age restrictions on minors receiving discounts; how old are you?
You really have to do what I did… stay online. I got a $250 camera plus a free printer for $119, a decent printer for $30- all from my house, and all at a normal hour 🙂 They really have some decent deals available online these days, so unless you want that laptop for $200 or some other doorbuster, it’s really better to stay online. Even with the (not-always-present) shipping costs it’s worth it.
Is this what Thanksgiving has become, stuffing yourself silly and then going to sleep so you can go shopping early and push yourself into the store? It’s a shame.
don’t have internet,
You can try calling extracare (call the toll-free number at the bottom of your receipt) to get your extrabucks. That’s what I do when I don’t get my extrabucks–sometimes the programmers get it wrong. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you.
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