Black Friday: Strategies for Online Shopping

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when Americans typically start their Christmas and holiday shipping, is quickly approaching. Normally, this means that stores are offering great discounts at ungodly hours to get people into their establishments first. This way they can get the bulk of your shopping dollars. However, you do not have to trek all around your city at the crack of dawn to get the best Black Friday discounts. You can shop online instead.

Here are some tips you can use to do all of your Black Friday online shopping:

Know what you plan to purchase. Holiday shopping is a lot like grocery shopping. If you don't know exactly what you plan to purchase in advance, you may purchase anything and everything you see.

Start searching for the best prices early. Google's Froogle tool allows you to compile a shopping list with the best prices of your coveted items. If you know all of your best prices in advance, then you will be able to recognize a true discount instead of falling for a regular price with the word discount stamped on it.

Search for coupon codes. Never press the final purchase button without first scouring the internet for the discount code. Just Google (name of store) coupon code, and chances are good that you will find one.

Be flexible. Some of the hottest holiday purchases are in short supply. Do not get in a bidding war that you will surely regret later. Have a backup gift idea for each highly coveted gift.

Do not let price be your main determining factor. One might think that price is the most important aspect of bargain shopping. However, company reputation and shipping costs are equally important. If you order from a company that does not deliver, on time, or at all, finding the lowest price has done you no good.

Some of the more reliable online shops and services are:

Overstock.com: This is a great site to use to purchase home and garden items. You can also get great bargains on designer clothes and home electronics. My only caution however is that you should read the listing well because many of the electronics are seconds and previously returned items.

Amazon.com: This website is eternally reliable. If they say they can get you an item by a certain date, they will. I like to do my holiday shopping with Amazon.com because if you purchase over a certain amount (usually $100.00) at Christmas, which is easy to do, shipping is free.

Online Department Stores: The online department stores have many of the same discounts as their brick and mortar counterparts. In addition, you can feel secure in already knowing the reputation of the store. In addition, for some of the online department stores you have the option to purchase your item online and pick up and/or return your item in person.

Ebates: Ebates.com is a rebate site where you can get a portion of your money back in the form of a rebate check. This check could come in handy when it is time to pay your credit card bills later. There are hundreds of websites that Ebates works with that will give you cash back on your purchases. I feel very comfortable purchasing through any of the websites on Ebates listings, as they are a reputable company that has been in business for nearly 10 years.