Making Money on Black Friday

The unofficial start to the Christmas season, Black Friday is right around the corner and one way to stay out of debt for Christmas is to simply make a lot of money. Historically, this day offers you the perfect opportunity with great sales to be taken advantage of. How do I make the money though, you say? eBay! Many people looking to buy their Christmas gifts at a discount often get into bidding wars and end up spending more than they want, giving you the extra dough. Since you got these items at great deals, you stand to make a hefty return on investment of your items.

Some things you'll need to do this include transportation, start up capital and preferably and alarm clock.

A week or so before the big day, retailers will start sending out flyers and advertisements on special deals that you will be able to snatch up. There is also a great majority of deals available online. Start collecting these ads and a few days before Black Friday go through them and see which items you think will make you the most profit. A simple search of eBay will show you about what things are going for now, add a few dollars to this as people will be spending more near Christmas. You need to know or have a list of things you intend on getting. This way when the day arrives, you won't be running around like a crazy person trying to find the best deals. So now you know what you plan on getting and about how much you'll be getting back on your investment.

Probably the worst part about Black Friday is the fact that you need to wake up extremely early to get to these deals. If you're young, the better option might be to simply not go to sleep that night and spend the time preparing. That way you aren't tired and have a head start on those sleepy heads dragging themselves out of bed at 3:30am to get ready. If you find a really sweet deal you absolutely must have you might want to get outside the store about a half hour early to make sure you get it. Even then you most likely won't be alone.

If you don't spend at least a little bit of time researching you may end up like a lot of people who simply show up and look for bargains. These people mostly just get in the way and you need to watch out for them or tempers may flare. ;) When going through your ads don't be stupid and put your priorities from several different stores. That just won't work. Organize by stores with the best deals, or open earlier and/or later. The more stores you can get to the better. When you are at a display, don't necessarily grab the first one on the shelf as these are the most exposed to customers and have most potential for damages to not only the package but perhaps the inside

It might be a good idea to bring a friend along too split up and get things twice as fast. This also helps if there are limits on items. Say it's one per person; you two can team up and split the profits of that thing. You're bound to run into crowds but you simply have to hold your own and be polite. If you can't find an item you were on the lookout then move on to your next most profitable item. No sense in losing time looking for an item you are not finding. Just be assertive. If you're being hassled by sales teams, keep your focus and don't let them get to you. Their whole purpose is to get you to buy things you don't necessarily need or even have in mind to buy. This brings up the point of having a back up plan. In case you can't get that thing you want, have a second thing you would get in place of it.

Say you are pressed for time and need to get to that other store before their sale ends, but you haven't finished shopping at Best Buy yet. A simple solution would be to try and hide your items for later then maybe have a friend come pick them up for you. You get to leave knowing there is a good chance you'll still get the sale. If you have some sort of conviction about this sort of things, just tell yourself it's not like you're costing the company money since the items will be bought anyway. It's a dog eat dog world and if you aren't willing to do whatever to get yours then you will not maximize your potential.

A crucial thing that may easily slip your mind is space. If you drive a car you may fill it up quickly with goods. Before you leave on your adventure, be sure to make as much space as possible in your car. Also make sure you have enough gas, no need wasting time as the gas station getting those few gallons.

Most everyone knows how to sell things on eBay, if not then have no fear it is very easy and there are other articles for just that. Now that you have your merchandise, take a day or two to make detailed descriptions with plenty of pictures. You'll no doubt be having a lot of competition so you want to start low to engage people in a bidding war and end up paying more than they may have wanted. Most people are on eBay on Sunday so it would be wise for you to end your auction on said day. You must figure mail will be a little slower during this time so make sure you sell and ship them within plenty of time for Christmas. I'd say the peak time to have your auction end is about 17-21 days before Christmas; this would be December 4-8th. Once you've paid your fees and got your payment you can sit back and count the cash from a hard days work. Oh if only Black Friday was more than one day a year.

As a last note, in case anything goes wrong, be sure to keep your receipts organized in available. Until later, goodbye.