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Share creative ideas to assist people of all ages with tips to save money and improve their lifestyle!
By Nancy and Dawn Clement
November 26, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)-The term “Black Friday” dates back to the late 1960's and refers to the Friday after Thanksgiving – the start of the traditional Christmas shopping season, and the day most store ledgers hit “the black” (show a profit). Retailers nationwide get a jump-start on the season by having sales on Black Friday.
For many stores, this means opening their doors at midnight after Thanksgiving. If you are a night owl, that is the time to go (before all the sale items are picked over).
In San Diego County, the only malls advertising midnight madness sales are the Las Americas Premium Outlet in San Ysidro and the Viejas Outlet Center in Alpine. At San Ysidro, every store in the mall will be open at midnight, with select stores opening as early as 9:00 pm on Thursday. Check their website for more specific details: http://www.premiumoutlets.com. At Viejas, stores open at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and stay open all night! See www.shopviejas.com for details.
Of course, other local malls are also opening early on Black Friday. Fashion Valley mall shops will open at 5:00 am. Parkway Plaza, Plaza Bonita, Plaza Camino Real and North County Fair will all open at 6:00am. Mission Valley and UTC will be open at 7:00am, and Horton Plaza opens at 8:00am
Best Buy will be open at 5:00am on Black Friday, and will begin handing out tickets for their “doorbuster” specials at 3:00am. There are three Best Buy locations in east county, La Mesa, Santee and El Cajon. If you are willing to wait, you can find deals such as an HP laptop, normally priced at $550, on sale for $200.
The Disney Store opens at midnight at the Parkway Plaza and Plaza Bonita locations and at 9:00pm on Thursday at the Las Americas location. The Disney Store will be discounting all items (even already discounted items) by 20%, which makes midnight shopping all the more appealing to those with children on their gift list.
If you are a determined shopper, you really can get some good deals. Many sales are for a limited time only and some not listed in an advertisement until Thanksgiving Day. Make sure you get a copy of the newspaper on Thursday morning, and check the advertising carefully. Bring a copy of the flier with you. Plan and be prepared for crowds. You can find more information on Black Friday sales online at websites such as http://bfads.net and http://www.blackfriday.info.
A more recent innovation is “Cyber Monday”, which refers to the Monday after Black Friday and a busy day for online retailers. The National Retail Federation stated that 43% of retailers are planning special offers for Cyber Monday. Many consumers prefer Cyber Monday to Black Friday because of the convenience of shopping online, and the retailers are taking advantage of that. As always, there is plenty of information online about the Cyber Monday deals – try http://www.cybermonday.com or http://www.cybermondayonlinedeals.com.
Nancy Clement is an East County Realtor®, mortgage broker and freelance writer and can be reached at 619-563-4184 or Dollar-wiseDivas@cox.net. Dawn Clement is a stay-at-home mother of three, a freelance writer, and creative shopper.
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