The Best Black Friday Sales in the Tampa Bay, Florida Area

Here it comes Tampa Bay, the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, that are any shopper's dream filled with special one-day sales, giveaways, and other one-of-a-kind items. The only catch is you must arrive early, because many of the slashed price items are already long gone by the store's original opening hours, which are usually 9 or 10AM. Even if you get there at the crack of dawn, say at 5AM, when many of these stores are opening at on the biggest retail shopping day of the year, you have to fight the immense crowds. Is it really worth all this effort?

Luckily, almost all retail stores in the Tampa Bay area come in many shapes and sizes that also have their own versions of Black Friday sales now. You'll find out what these best five retailers are instead of going to the malls for the department stores or at the stand-along superstores scattered on every corner. Some of them are national chains, but a couple is regional. You may be surprised to find out they have Black Friday sales, because traditionally its been the big department stores that started this trend decades ago. Here will be five popular stores that are an excellent alternative for you to shop at after Thanksgiving and find some really great deals too.

1.) Sunshine Thrift Store

The second Thursday of every month Sunshine Thrift Store in South Tampa has a ½ Price Sale on all of their clothing items at 50% off. This excludes shoes, hats, purses, other accessories, and furniture. However, every year on the day after Thanksgiving there is another ½ Price Sale offered that is worth taking a look at. It is not unusual to find clothing that has never been worn with the price tags still on them. I have been going to their monthly ½ Sales for a couple of years now. It is a great place for shopping. They have an outstanding Children's Clothes section if you are looking to get new or almost new dresses, outfits, tops, etc. for your child. They are located next to Lowes at: 4304 S. Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, Florida. Black Friday Store Hours: 8AM - 8PM.
http://www.sunshinethriftstore.com/

2.) MacDill AFB Base Exchange (AAFES)

Unfortunately this next retailer is most likely not going to apply to every reader. However, if you are a dependent or married to an active duty or retired military personnel this will be targeted for you. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) located at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa oftentimes are referred to as the Base Exchange or BX. The BX would be the equivalent of a Target or Walmart, only better. The main security gate to the military installation is located at the southern terminus on South Dale Mabry Highway. The Black Friday store hours on Friday, November 27^th will be at 4AM and on Saturday, November 28^th at 6AM.
http://odin.aafes.com/conus_ser/macdill/index.html

3.) Walgreens

I absolutely love going to Walgreens Black Friday sales, because in the past they had greatly reduced prices on certain cosmetics. The catch was they were only available during a designated time from 6AM to 11AM only. That was no problem for me, because I love going early. This is a great store to always find incredible savings, but without all the hassles of crowds galore. The good thing about Walgreens is they are located everywhere. However, each Walgreens store in Tampa Bay has different hours. Therefore, you will need to look up online or call the individual store for their specific hours they day after Thanksgiving. Walgreens.com - Store Locator

4.) Lowes

Another retailer that certainly doesn't come to mind for a Black Friday sale is a home improvement store. I decided to focus on Lowes, rather than its well-known competitor. What makes this particular store truly unique is its huge selection of outdoor living, garden, and lawn products, which is ideal for the Florida lifestyle. They will be open at 6AM and close at midnight the day after Thanksgiving. Here you can find a Loews near you throughout the Tampa Bay area. Lowes - Store Locator

5.) Ikea

Of course we save the newest Ikea store that opened this past May in Tampa for last. It is a very unique Scandinavian furniture store with a modern look that is actually affordable and a very popular place to shop. There is even a restaurant on the premises that serves Swedish Meatballs, since the Ikea store was originally from Sweden. On Black Friday they will offer free breakfast until 10:30AM. This will be the first time they're having a sale the day after Thanksgiving at this location. It should be for some interesting shopping. No more trips to Ikea in Orlando anymore. Their location is: 1103 N. 22^nd Street Tampa, Florida. The store hours on Black Friday are 9AM - 9PM. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/tampa

Those are your featured five best Black Friday Sales in the Tampa Bay, Florida area that are not your typical retailers, but may provide you with some great savings and a lot of peace of mind away from the crowds. They were a thrift store, a military store similar to Target or Walmart (for limited shoppers of the Armed Forces), a drugstore, home improvement store, and a modern Scandinavian furniture store. Now let the countdown begin after the scrumptious turkey dinner has been served.

SOURCES:

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=67801

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)