With only 17 days left until Christmas, that doesn't leave much time to get a present purchased and shipped.
Deadlines are fast approaching to get delivery by Christmas, so beware!
This season, it seems the big winners are electronics and gadgets.
The electronic book reader--making taking a book along easier than ever before
Big screen HD LCD 1080p televisions--encouraging us to spend more time at home
Game systems, like the Wii --keeping the kids entertained and active, but at home
GPS systems--helping all of us to stay on track and save gasoline
Cameras and camcorders--for the geeks and the creatives in the family
Netbooks--these little computers are all the rage everywhere
These gifts can all be bought online for ease and convenience, but watch those deadlines. Those of you who thrive fighting crowds, looking for parking, finding the store to be "out of stock", and trying to save a dollar by spending 10 hours going from store to store--for you--there is still time for shopping!
I'm still in the midst of Christmas gift buying, and I'm sure many of you can relate.
Here's a handy guide from dealnews.com that shows some retailer's shipping deadlines for delivery by Christmas Eve. Included in this list are Amazon, Macy's, Williams-Sonoma, L.L. Bean and Best Buy. These deadlines still are more than a week away, but it's good to keep them in mind to avoid a last-minute scramble.
In two days it will be BLACK FRIDAY and everywhere you go or look will be having huge sales in preparation for Christmas. The crowds will the large and possible anxious because the news has been telling everyone that there may not be enough stock to go around this year due to the recession.
Because so many people look to this day for price-slashed deals to do Christmas shopping, it is necessary that you be prepared and know exactly what you need to do. This article shows you some tactics to use in your preparations.
Go to the original article to read the other stories as well. You can get more useful information to make this Christmas season a great one!
Mellody Hobson Brings You the Best Deals, Online and Off This Holiday Season
By KATE McCARTHY
Nov. 24, 2009—
Millions of shoppers will hit the stores this weekend in search of the best Black Friday deals. This holiday season the average household is expected to spend $683 on gifts, according to the National Retail Federation.
But where should you head to find the best buys? "Good Morning America" financial contributor Mellody Hobson tells you where you can find the best holiday sales on black Friday and beyond. Do You Have a Black Friday Strategy? Share Your Story With ABC News.
Hobson suggested Best Buy's "Doorbusters," which offer deals on everything from laptops to digital cameras. For instance, there is a 10 megapixel digital camera for $49.99, down from $99.99
Or try Walmart, which is offering a $78 blu-ray player.
But if you prefer clothes to gadgets Hobson suggested looking at Target. It is selling men's jeans, khakis or dress pants for $8.
But Hobson cautioned that because retailers have cut their inventories this year there may not be as many discounts as last year and some items may be hard to find.
For example, Hobson pointed to one of this year's most popular gifts, a Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster. It is a battery-operated toy hamster which was selling for $8. But because of its popularity most stores are sold out and now these Hamsters are being sold upwards of $60 on E-Bay or Amazon.
Hobson said that although some retailers will have those popular items in stock, she warned that they might only be available in the store, not online, and quantities could be limited to one per person.
How to Keep Track of the Sales
Retailers have been advertising their black Friday sales in newspapers and online, but keeping track of all of them can quickly become overwhelming.
Hobson suggested a few helpful Web sites which compile the information for you. CyberMonday, Black Friday Ads and BlackFriday.info all post ads, special offers and other helpful shopping information for a variety of major retailers. For example, Hobson said shoppers can search more than 550 retailers on CyberMonday by item to find the best deals.
How to Brave the Black Friday Crowds
If you decide to fight the crowds Hobson has a few suggestions on the best way to shop.
First, be sure to read the fine print in the circulars. Some items may come with a caveat such as "while supplies last" or "one per person."
Hobson said it can also help to team-up and arrive early. Stores such as Best Buy hand out tickets for their most popular items in an attempt to control the post-Thanksgiving chaos.
Cyber Monday is the New Black Friday for Online Retailers
If you decide to avoid the crowds and stay home to shop online you should know that Cyber Monday is to online retailers what Black Friday is to traditional stores, according to Hobson.
The Monday after Thanksgiving is considered the kick-off day to the online holiday shopping season. But Hobson cautioned that if you shop online for popular items that have limited quantities you may receive an e-mail after you place your order that your item is on backorder or that it's out of stock. CLICK HERE to return to the "Good Morning America" Web site.
For your pleasure, here is an article about reasons to shop online--as if you really needed to see reasons in black and white! There is a good point here, I think at #6. With all the ruckus about H1N1 and Flu season, who wouldn't want to avoid all that unknown exposure?
Anyway, read the article and then get crackin' online. Time's a-wasting!
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By COUPON SHERPA http://www.couponsherpa.com/
The crowds, the fluorescent lights, the sales clerks who ignore you and the lines, lines, lines. Some people love Christmas shopping. I assume they also like sleeping on a bed of nails.
Here are 10 reasons you should consider shopping online.
1. Unique gifts: You can find the coolest and most unusual stuff online. From remote-controlled Ferraris at hipstergifts.com to Gummi Army Guys at stupid.com, it's all out there. You just have to look. And as with all shopping, looking is half the fun.
2. Find exactly what you want: Need a Hello Kitty purse for your niece or a Transformer action figure for your nephew? It's all there and Google makes it easy to find. The "toy of the year" may be sold-out early on toy sites, but check eBay and you'll probably find it. Of course the eBay price will be higher than retail on that hot item, but your daughter won't be disappointed come Christmas morning - if that's your goal.
3. Crowds: IMHO, not having to fight overzealous crowds is the very best part of shopping online. Plus, you can cook dinner while sitting at your computer, so no pizzza dinner after an exhausting day of dealing with overzealous shoppers.
4. Sleep in: It's beyond my understanding why anyone would camp out in front of Best Buy on Black Friday, only to find the five rock-bottom-priced laptops advertised in the Thanksgiving newspaper were picked off by employees before the doors opened. Online shopping allows you to sleep in and leisurely stroll to your computer at a reasonable hour. Heck, you can even shop at midnight, after the kids are in bed and you have some private time.
5. Keep it secret: Have your gift-wrapped purchases delivered close to Christmas and you don't have to worry about hiding them from inquisitive little fingers (or the bigger fingers of nosey spouses).
6. No germs: How many people ignore a cold and still go shopping, where they spread all those yucky germs? There's no chance of catching swine flu (sorry, H1N1) from your computer, although you can catch a virus.
7. No snarky clerks: Sure many of the clerks have a reason to be irritated. Shoppers can be nasty, aggressive and cheap. Worst of all, many clerks know they'll be canned immediately after post-Christmas sales. Blessedly, there are no clerks online and, thus, no one to hassle you.
8. Dress code: You can shop online in your pajamas or sweat pants. Need I say more? And that coffee your drinking is homemade - not an expensive mocha drink from Starbucks that you waited half an hour in line to buy and the "barista" got it wrong.
9. Better deals: Super hot deals offered by brick-and-mortar stores are picked off by the first 10 people in line. You can easily compare prices and find great deals online without the chance of being trampled.
10. Shipping: Have your gifts shipped directly to your home or to the recipient; whichever works best for you. If you like, online stores will even gift-wrap presents and slip in a personalized card. You'll reduce your holiday stress and avoid the lines at the post office. Many online stores offer free shipping.
(Coupon Sherpa is the penny pinching, coupon clipping, deal digging, Himalyan haggling, he-man of bargains. Visit http://www.couponsherpa.com/ for more shopping advice, insider tips, and coupons.)
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