There are two types of holiday shoppers; those for whom a Black Friday outing is part of their holiday tradition, and those who wouldn't go near a shopping mall on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Like Lt. Col. Kilgore, in Apocalypse Now, who loved "the smell of napalm in the morning," dedicated Black Friday shoppers live for the pre-dawn mall arrival, the crush of humanity as the doors open, and the swinging elbows at the bargain bin.
While it may be invigorating, retail experts say very few Black Friday shoppers actually end up saving money. And some of the "bargains" aren't available or turn out not to be bargains at all.
For starters, most stores don't have that much marked-down inventory. The ad in the paper may scream "door-buster sales" and have a ridiculously low price, but the fine print says things like "while supplies last" or "limited quantities."
Looking Behind The Ads
This week PC World dug deeper into Best Buy's advertised Black Friday loss-leader, an HP laptop for $197. Could the computer be any good, the magazine wondered, or a piece of junk.
It turns out the HP G60-507DX regularly lists for $550, has a DVD drive, 2GB of RAM and Windows 7, not Vista. So, is it worth braving the mob?
"Yes, if you need a laptop, or know someone who does," the magazine says. "This system has 'student notebook' written all over it."
But what are your chances of getting one? That's an entirely different question. Best Buy says it will have at least five of these models available per store. So if you're among the first shoppers through the door and don't take more than 30 seconds to make up your mind, you might be in luck.
But five might turn out to be a plentiful number, compared to other products in other stores. In years past some chains have had as few as two of their advertised specials on hand. And they're not handing out rain checks, either. Even if they do offer a rain check, there's no guarantee they'll every restock that particular item, especially if it's a closeout.
Shop Carefully For Electronics
Consumers should look closely at electronics equipment like computers and big screen TVs that are being offered at fire sale prices. Technology changes very quickly and last years model may be slightly different than this year's.
It might be perfectly acceptable for many consumers, especially at a bargain prices, but consumers should understand what it is exactly they're getting. However, a mad rush for limited quantities of merchandise doesn't exactly lend itself to careful comparison shopping.
Also, don't be tempted by what seems to be an extremely low price, especially if it still happens to be available at 3:00 pm. Steven Vaughn-Nichols, who write the Cyber Cynic blog at ComputerWorld, says you have to read the fine print.
"I've seen several netbooks deals that sound great, until I looked closer and saw that they require pricey, two-year mobile phone contracts on top of the up-front price," he writes.
Retailers are under more scrutiny this year to be more truthful about their offers, to prevent the kind if shopper hysteria witnessed in recent years. The trampling death of a Long Island Wal-Mart employee on the last Black Friday should have served as a wake-up call for retailers - and maybe for consumers too.
After all, Cyber Monday is still ahead. There will still be plenty of bargains and, best of all, you can shop in the safety of your own home or office.
