Black Friday Secrets: How to save the most shopping online
By Brittany Anas
Sneak into the kitchen for a second helping of pumpkin pie, slip on your bunny slippers, cozy up near the fireplace and three, two, one … start shopping for those Black Friday deals.
One of the best-kept Black Friday secrets? You don’t actually have to venture out and brave the brick-and-mortar Black Friday masses to save money.
No camping on concrete, waiting for stores to open their doors. No missing round two being passed around at the table because you had to hightail it from the feast to the mall. And, of course, no boxing out other customers or throwing elbows in order to get a favorable stance for that $10 appliance. (Basketball game with no referees or Black Friday? Hard to tell sometimes, yes?)
Around these parts, we like to shop from the cozy comforts of home — ShopAtHome.com is our namesake after all. So let that turkey coma settle in, put on your favorite holiday music and let the deals come to you.
Here’s your game plan for saving big online on Black Friday.
Earn Cash Back, free shipping and score exclusive coupons: Step 1: Sign up to become a ShopAtHome.com member. It’s free (our fave four-letter word). Once you’re a member you’ll get instant access to free shipping codes, exclusive coupons and Cash Back offers at thousands of stores. When you accumulate $20 (and it adds up quickly during the holiday shopping season), ShopAtHome.com will send you a check. Consider it a holiday bonus — for shopping at your favorite stores. Win-win.
Last year, Cash Back offers and deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday were amazing. This year, history will surely repeat itself with some generous Cash Back offers and coupons.
Here’s a dozen highlights from our 2012 shopping reel. This is just a sample, though, of the hundreds of great holiday offers.
- Travelocity Cash Back doubled from 4 percent to 8 percent. Last-minute New Year’s getaway anyone? Right now, it’s at 10 percent!
- North Face Cash Back offer jumped from 5 percent to 13 percent just in time for coat-shopping season.
- Nordstrom Cash Back doubled from 3 percent to 6 percent making it an ideal time to shop those designer brands.
- Entertainment Book Cash Back skyrocketed from 18 percent to 40 percent — which is extreme coupon savings on coupons.
- Omaha Steaks Cash Back increased from 7 percent to 18 percent to help party hosts get through the holiday season.
- 1800Flowers Cash Back rose (see that double-entendre we did here?) from 12 percent to 20 percent.
- Macy’s Cash Back went from 3 percent to 7 percent.
- Snapfish doubled from the already great 15 percent Cash Back to 30 percent Cash Back so families could print out holiday photos and turn them into calendars just in time for the new year.
- Cabela’s Cash Back increased from 3.5 percent to 6 percent.
- Petco increase from 8 percent Cash Back to 12 percent because we know your pet is on your “nice” list.
- Walmart went from 2 percent to 6 percent.
(Ready to start shopping now? Gobble up this year’s top Thanksgiving deals and crazy-awesome Cash Back offers here.)
Piggyback credit card rewards: Stack your credit card rewards with Cash Back from ShopAtHome.com to double your money. Crafty right? Some credit card companies have rotating categories and are offering extra rewards or Cash Back perks for online shopping during the holiday season. (Tip: Make sure your enrolled in your credit card’s bonus programs before you start shopping).
Sign up to get emails from your fave stores: If you have G-mail, your mailbox will intercept store offers and file them in your “promotions” tab. Other email users can set up a folder in their email and file away store promotions and deal alerts that pop up in their inboxes. Lots of stores will send you an email when they are having a “flash sale” online that lasts only for a day or two. Bonus points for following them on social media outlets so you can see sale updates in your feeds.
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