Black Friday--The Biggest Shopping Day of the Year?

Beginning in the early 1980s the term "Black Friday" began to be associated with the accounting ledgers of retailers. That is, retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their profit during the holiday season, beginning on the day after Thanksgiving. When this would be recorded in the financial records, once-common accounting practices would use red ink to show negative amounts and black ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday, under this theory, is the beginning of the period where retailers would no longer have losses (the red) and instead take in the year's profits (the black).[18] The earliest known use, found by Bonnie Taylor-Blake, is from 1981, in Philadelphia.

The Christmas shopping season is of enormous importance to American retailers and, while an examination of the quarterly SEC filings of major retailers such as Walmart or Target shows that most retailers intend to and actually do make profits during every quarter of the year, some retailers are so dependent on the Christmas shopping season that the quarter including Christmas produces all the year's profits and compensates for losses from other quarters.[20]

This year merchants are going all out to get shoppers into their stores and buying. So, those gearing up for Christmas will find plenty of bargains this year no matter what your budget. Some of the bargains this year include:

AshleyFurnitureHomeStore.com displays a Sha-Shou Café Sofa available at a store near you for for only $199! Just go to their website and put in your zip code at the store locator link to find a store where you live.

JC Penney will be opening their doors at 7 a.m. on Saturday, November 20, 2010 and will offer deep discounts on merchandise until 1 p.m. on that day only. Featured at their website are several "6 hour steals," including Worthington essential sweaters for only $12.99. These originally sell for $30. Sofa groups are selling online for as little as $299.

A 64-page brochure from Target has leaked on the web. For gadget lovers, a 40-inch Westinghouse 1080p LCD HDTV will cost only $298--a savings of $250, which means this HDTV will only cost you half its price. Then there is a $67 Wii Fit Plus Bundle which includes Wii Balance Board and Wii Fit Plus game and at this price, you will be saving $30 flat. Every $100 you'll spend shopping on Target, you will be entitled for an additional $10 rebate and this scheme begins November 26. If you love gadgets, Target is the place to be, just that you need to be patient for a couple of more weeks. Here's where you can have a look at the entire leaked catalog.

Kohl's entire stock of fashion will be reduced 50-55% off.

Those interested in purchasing vintage merchandise can kill two birds with one stone--donate to charity and buy vintage merchandise at Goodwill.

Goodwill sells a lot of their merchandise online at http://www.shopgoodwill.com.

If you are in the market for vintage Christmas items check out their auctions at www.shopgoodwill.com Interested in traditional Christmas music by artists such as Frank Sinatra? Check. Do you swing the other way and like classic rock music like Jimi Hendrix? Check. Something for all you Elvis fans: nice boxed set, Elvis "The Presley Commemorative Collection" VHS 4 tape set. Titles: Harum Scarum, Frankie and Johnny, Viva Las Vegas, and Elvis: The Lost Performances. Untested but appear to be in working condition. This item will be shipped Media Mail and is NOT combinable with other auctions. Franklin Mint teddy bears and Thomas Kinkade ornaments would appeal to most collectors. Goodwill has these and more. Know a crafter who loves fabric, embroidery thread, needlepoint, etc? Shopgoodwill has that and more. For those into art, currently up for bid is Henry Rogers oil painting, "Paris."

If you aren't in to auction buying, Craigslist offers some pretty sweet bargains, like a twin bed with storage drawers for $125 (http://outerbanks.craigslist.org/fuo/2069541669.html

).

Or, check out Ebay's Ikea twin bed frame for $69.99 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330496375518#ht_1702wt_1139