Six tips for getting the most out of Black Friday ads
Black Friday is only a month away, which means retailers will release their Black Friday advertisements over the next few weeks.
Here鈥檚 everything you need to know about the popular聽聽day鈥檚 ads, including how to read them properly so you get the best deals.
Read carefully
Black Friday ads require careful reading because sometimes deals come with a catch.
If you鈥檙e looking at a doorbuster (typically the best deals a store has to offer), look for the specifics of the promotion: When does the sale start? How long will it last? Is it available in-store, online or both? And, perhaps most importantly, is the item available in limited quantities? This will give you an idea of how close you need to be to the front of the line to have a chance at snagging the item you鈥檙e looking for.
Shop smart
Some deals aren鈥檛 as straightforward as they might seem. For instance, instead of discounting items, sometimes stores offer gift cards with a purchase.
And sometimes low prices can only be had after you mail in a rebate form. That means you鈥檒l be paying more up front and getting money back later. We saw this trend last year at, where the department store offered mail-in rebate deals on small kitchen appliances.
Look through all the pages
Stores love to hype their most popular deals on the front or first few pages of their ads, but you shouldn鈥檛 stop there.
Browse the entire ad to get a sense of the full selection of sales. This will ensure you don鈥檛 miss out on a big buy or a coupon. Back pages also often include fine print about deals, including how long they last and any possible exclusions.
Bring the ad with you
Experienced Black Friday shoppers know they can鈥檛 show up to their favorite retailer unprepared.
Bringing the ad can help if there鈥檚 a price discrepancy at the register. And if the ad includes coupons, you鈥檒l have those with you, too. Retailers sometimes offer coupons that provide discounts on top of already low seasonal prices. This was true last year at聽.
Collect multiple ads
Always consult multiple Black Friday ads; you鈥檒l be able to cross-compare deals before deciding which store will earn your business.
We also recommend signing up for mailing lists and following the social media pages of all of your favorite stores. Stores often announce news about their sales on these channels.
Make a plan
Finally, use the Black Friday ads to your advantage.
Once you have an idea of which products will be deeply discounted 鈥� and how long each of these offers will be available 鈥� you can make a plan of attack. Use deal expiration dates to create a schedule for which stores you need to hit first, which items you can buy online, and whether you should eat your Thanksgiving dinner or forgo the stuffing for a campout on the sidewalk outside your favorite store.
Courtney Jespersen is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:courtney@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽.
聽This article first appeared in
