Amanda Fanelli

Staff Writer

Most of the stores have their Black Friday ads out already online. If you are looking for ticket items such as electronics (TV’s, video game systems, computers, etc.), check out Wal-Mart, Staples, Best Buy, and Target to see if they have the item you want and compare prices.

Also, find out what time the store opens, whether it is on Thanksgiving evening or early morning on Black Friday.

In some cases, you may have to get to the store several hours early because the die- hard Black Friday shoppers will be camping out. Keep in mind that those items may be available to purchase online in the comfort of your home.

This year, Wal-Mart and several other stores put their Black Friday ads out early exclusively for people who downloaded their app to their smartphone/device. If there are several items that you want and the stores open at the same time, bring a partner with you to divide and conquer your shopping list. Have a budget and stick to it, try not to get enticed and buy items that aren’t on your list just because it is a great deal. It is

also a good idea to read the fine print and know the return policy before you make the purchase. Ask for gift receipts and don’t forget your boxes to wrap all those gifts in!

Kaprice Martinelli, a health studies-management major in her sophomore year, looks for sales on designer items and more expensive electronic items on Black Friday. Martinelli’s “go to” store on Black Friday is Macy’s.

“If you’re looking for something that everyone seems to want that year, go as soon as the store opens,” she said.

Martinelli says that if you are just looking to find good deals and don’t mind if things are picked over then go later in the day when the stores are less busy. In the past, her family has gone out to get crazy deals on TV’s and the

latest video game consoles. Martinelli has not personally experienced any Black Friday horror stories but “every year you hear about people being trampled, and that is terrifying. I always hear stories about people getting into physical fights over items too, and that’s just insane.”

Marissa Hajec, a sophomore health studies major with a track in physical therapy, looks for deals that include 40 or 50 percent off the entire store. On Black Friday Hajec typically shops at H&M, Pink, Express and American Eagle. Her tips for future Black Friday shoppers is to “stay patient while waiting in long lines. No matter what time of day you decide to go shopping stores will almost always be packed.” A personal Black Friday horror story of Hajec’s is “Four years ago my friends, and I waited in

the longest line at Wal-Mart for a TV only to find out that it was the line to just receive a piece of paper to order it online. We walked out with absolutely nothing.”

Amanda Chruscicki, a junior health studies major, usually looks for deals on clothes, 40 or 50 percent off. Her favorite stores to shop in on Black Friday are GAP, Forever 21, H&M and Ulta.

“Now that Black Friday is starting on Thanksgiving, there are no good times to go because it ruins the Thanksgiving tradition and spending time with family,” Chruscicki said.

Although Chruscicki says she is not searching for anything, in particular, this year, she advises shoppers to go out before noon on Friday because a lot of the good deals end after then, she says.