The deals we score on Black Friday would on any other day be as sweet


Black Friday. Black Friday. Black Friday.

As groggy Americans awaken and check the time, a wave of mass panic hits the nation. It is 7 a.m. It is seven hours too late.

On Black Friday, there’s no point in getting up at 7 a.m. You snooze, you lose. But it’s better to be with the early crowd than to saunter into the mall eleven hours late (like I did), confused at why you couldn’t find parking (like I couldn’t). It’s all about beating the crowds nowadays, and if everyone beats the crowd, everyone is the crowd. If you can’t beat the crowd, you just have to join ‘em and hope that you can find a parking spot in time to boost the economy.

12 am: Milpitas. Huge crowds wait.
6 am: Vacaville. People finally get into Gucci.
8 am: Gilroy. The line for Coach starts to move.

You, too, could join the ranks of antsy shoppers across the nation if you do the following:
1.       Minimize Thanksgiving. Start cooking dinner at 3 p.m., cook a four-course meal instead of an eight-course meal, and make utterly unsatisfying things so that you can barely sleep from hunger. Don’t say grace, just dive in.
2.       Research a few deals, print any last-minute coupons and get to bed at 6 p.m.
3.       Wake up at 11 p.m., your stomach rumbling. Put on a coat and sneakers, pack a sack lunch, withdraw your life’s savings and go.
4.       Speed at 80 mph all the way to the Great Mall. Try not to get caught by a traffic cop.
5.       Stop at Starbucks. Get coffee for the whole family—even your little sister. Turn up the radio. Stay awake.
6.       Arrive at the parking lot. Snatch the best spot you can, glaring at everyone that passes. Not that there was not plenty of this already in busy shopping hubs such as Milpitas and Gilroy.
7.       Stand impatiently outside the door, making checklists of all the stores to hit and all the things to buy on an electronic organizer (iPhone, Blackberry, PDA, or iPad).
8.       Go. Shop until your feet scream.

Unfortunately, the latecomers only wound up doing 7 and 8 on the list. Which meant anywhere they saw a line, they had to boycott, and couldn’t get all the deals the midnighters did. But is it really worth it to wake up at midnight to get five dollars off something that’s going to be four dollars off for the rest of the day?

Something shoppers today aren’t savvy about is the fact that time is money. If they can’t wait long enough, they won’t get the huge savings. Shoppers become carried away on Black Friday angling for deals that are specific to this day.

Even more deals are singular to Saturday and Sunday, such as those provided by Walmart, Kmart, and Amazon on everything from furniture to footwear, electronics to entertainment. Because they can count on the turnout, all these businesses drop their prices just slightly lower. But some of the best things in life aren’t available only on Black Friday.

Hundreds of stores still have wicked post-Black-Friday sales. Though my feet are still screaming (a personal bad choice to shop in high heels), it should drag itself up to go shop because the deals are still sweet. After all, what’s in Black Friday that Saturday lacks? Only the mass hysteria.

One could reduce Thanksgiving to a day of preparation, lose six or more hours of sleep, and run up huge bills. Or one could sleep in on Black Friday, still get tons of stuff for an awesome price, and go again later to score rebound sales. Who’s really getting the better deal?