Black Friday

The Costco Black Friday Ad is Here

November 16, 2016 By Alexa Mason 2 Comments

File this under getting ready for Black Friday.

Costco released a tentative Black Friday ad a few weeks ago, however, a new updated version of the Costco Black Friday 2016 ad has been leaked. The updated version of the ad includes the exact prices you can expect to pay on some of Costco’s hottest tech deals.

The Original Costco Black Friday Ad

Exact prices for items like the Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox One were leaked in the new ad. The original version of the ad only revealed how much customers would receive off but did not reveal specific prices for any of the items. Even the new leaked ad has a few items, notably the Surface Pro 4 bundle, that do not have prices yet either. Early in November the first ad was leaked in the form of scanned pages from the advertisement for Costco’s Thanksgiving weekend sale. The leaked pages were then uploaded to the company’s website as well. This ad, however, only labeled things as “$50 off” or “25% off.”

One thing was missing though: the original price of the items. Although the “Black Friday discounts” were laid out, customers were still unsure of how much they would be paying for popular holiday sale items. The words “$50 Off” don’t mean much when it leaves the consumer asking “$50 off what?”

It is likely that Costco released the first ad without actual pricing to judge its competitors like Walmart and Best Buy. If Costco is able to see how much its competitors are charging for items like the Xbox One and PS4 this holiday season it will be able to lower its prices to be more competitive before there is an official and final ad.

The New Costco Black Friday Ad Includes Some Prices

Almost all the products in the new Costco Black Friday ad have actual pricing information. The leaked ad was released on Tuesday, just over a week from the three-day sale. Items on the advertisement that were formerly marked as “$50 Off” have finalized prices.

The Sony PS4 bundle, for example, has a final sale price of $279. Costco will be selling Xbox One bundles for the same price. The bundle includes a game and an extra controller. Other items, like the Dell XPS 13 Laptop that had a “$300 off” price in the original ad, has a finalized sale price $1,299.

Some Items Still Have No Exact Price

The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (a popular tablet) bundle remains unpriced in the latest ad. There is no specific sale price listed with the tablet. Customers have no further information other than Costco will be offering a $250 discount on that item. The Surface Pro isn’t the only item that Costco has left up in the air until the last minute either. Other items, including the Vizio sound bar, were listed on the flyer with no specific sale price. Another handful of items will remain a mystery. Although it is unclear as to why Costco has decided to reveal its Black Friday ads in this way, it has created a bit of suspense and it has made the company able to be more competitive with its pricing this holiday season (many other companies have already released official Black Friday ads).

It is not yet clear whether the official Costco Black Friday advertisement will include final pricing for all of its items or not. One thing is for sure though, Costco customers are going to reap some serious discounts at the discount retailer this season.

Incidentally if you want to learn how to shop at Costco without a membership click here to learn how to do it. Costco also has really excellent deals on wine and beer, which you can also get without a membership.

Photo: Mike Mozart

#GivingTuesday Gives Everyone a Chance to Give Back

December 1, 2015 By Amanda Blankenship 1 Comment

Many people went shopping last weekend. They started on Thursday night with doorbuster sales, went Black Friday shopping, supported local businesses for Shop Small Saturday and shopped online for Cyber Monday. However, many people are taking one more day to shop for Giving Tuesday. The less-popular shopping day supports your local charities.

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday, also supported by the hashtag #GivingTuesday, is a day that was thought up by the Salvation Army. Most people have thought about getting themselves or someone in their lives something special the past few days. Many also spent a day (on Thursday) being thankful for everything they had. Giving Tuesday is a day to give back to your community and local charities in the area.

Where can you support Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday sounds like a great idea. It is a chance to give back to your community during the season of giving. How can you help today?

• You can buy clothing or other items at your local Salvation Army to show support. Thrift stores have become increasingly popular and you can usually find something there for everyone.

• Donate clothing, furniture. By donating items to the local Salvation Army or Goodwill, you can show support of Giving

• Slip a couple dollars into the red bin. We all see Salvation Army employees with their bells outside the malls, department stores and even Walmart, give Salvation Army a couple dollars to help out.

Though Salvation Army is one of the largest organizations that has supported Giving Tuesday, the day provides an opportunity for you, your family and even your company give back to an organization in your community.

What does Salvation Army do?

It is hard to list everything the Salvation Army does in its prospective community. The organization largely fights to end homelessness. They help families during disaster (natural disaster, house fire, flood, etc.).

Project Angel Tree is a great program run by the Salvation Army. People throughout the community are able to pick up and angel and buy gifts for a child whose family may not be able to buy enough for Christmas. Angels usually give clothes size, hobbies of the child and a toy they have been asking for.

Salvation Army organizations throughout the nation also help people fighting addiction. They have programs that help people who are struggling to kick a bad habit, whether it be alcohol or drugs.

In addition to fighting homelessness, the Salvation Army also provides work for many people throughout the United States, including veterans, people who have fought addiction and those who are disabled.

About Giving Tuesday

• In addition to the Salvation Army, there are 30,000 partners in 68 countries worldwide participating in Giving Tuesday. This includes small businesses, nonprofits, government agencies and major corporations.

• Since it was started in 2012, there has been a 470 percent increase in online donations on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

• Giving Tuesday has made more than 32 million Twitter impressions.

• There are more than 40 civic campaigns for Giving Tuesday throughout the United States.

If you are out and about today, or simply online, stop for a moment and donate to a charity near you. Whether it be stopping to slip some change into the Salvation Army bin or donating to your favorite charity online, Giving Tuesday is a day to give back.

Amazon Black Friday Deals May Be Some of the Best

November 25, 2015 By Guest Writer 2 Comments

Amazon has always been one of the best places to shop on Black Friday. They are committed to provide the best shopping experience from the comfort of your own home. Black Friday is fast approaching and Amazon hopes to tempt you to stay away from the ridiculous crowds of main street shoppers. The question is: Are these deals just as good as what you see in mainstream retailers?

Amazon has long made a compelling case that the best shopping experience happens from the comfort of your own home. Now as Black Friday approaches, it is also hoping to tempt you to stay away from the inevitable crowds, but are the deals good enough to let you put your feet up?

Amazon started its Black Friday sales on Nov. 21 and will run them right through to Black Friday, Nov. 27. They will plug-in spontaneous “Lightning Deals” from time to time, ranging from a few hours or even a few minutes. Here are the deals known so far.

Here are Amazon’s own range of products. These are the top deals:

• $99.99 Kindle Paperwhite (regular price starts at $119)

• $30 off Kindle and Kindle for Kids Bundle

• $34.99 Fire 7-inch tablet (regularly $50)

• $84.99 Fire Kids Edition (regularly $100)

• $25 off Amazon Fire TV (regularly $100)

• $15 off Amazon Fire TV Stick (regularly $40) and Amazon Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote

These offers are pretty good too.

• $99 Jawbone Up3 (regularly $150)

• $49 off Sonos 2-Room Streaming Music Starter Set (regularly $398)

• $79.99 Vizio 38-inch 2.1 home theater sound bar (regularly $180)

• 50 percent off on Sennheiser HD 598 Special Edition Over-Ear Headphones in Black

• 50 percent off Sony Extra Bass Bluetooth Headphones

• 40 percent off on a Polk Audio Omni S2 wireless speaker

• 25 percent off Denon Heos 1 wireless speakers

• 20 percent off on select Samsung Galaxy tablets

• 40 percent off select Acer desktops, monitors, Chromebooks and tablets

• 70 percent off select SanDisk SNDK -1.35% memory cards and USB flash drives

Solid Deals

Here are some stuff from the gaming section:

• $50 off an Xbox One

• $50 off the PlayStation 4 Uncharted bundle

• $20 off Need for Speed

• $30 off Rock Band 4 wireless guitar bundle

• $25 off Metal Gear Solid V

Amazon is also giving big discounts on TVs with up to 45% off on selected Samsung and LG TVs, including:

• Samsung 32-inch 1080p LED TV for $177.99

• Samsung 75-inch 1080p Smart LED TV for less than $2,000

• LG 49-inch 1080p LED TV for less than $370

• Hisense 55-inch 4K Smart LED TV, $448 (app-only deal)

• TCL 55-inch Roku Smart LED TV for $348

• TCL 32-inch Roku Smart LED TV for $125

• Acer Home Theater Projector, $299.99

Here are some generic picks. Make sure to check them out.

• “A top-selling” 60-inch 4K LED TV for $799.99

• Unnamed 50-inch 1080p LED TV, $149.99 (app-only deal)

• “A top-selling” mobile printer for less than $100

• Asus 15-inch laptop, $129

• $100 off an Intel INTC +0.00% Dell 2-in-1 Laptop

Amazon has announced that more deals will appear daily between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. PST starting Thanksgiving Day and going through to Dec. 9. These will include 10 “Deals of the Day” that will appear at midnight on Thanksgiving and there will be 10 more at midnight on Black Friday.

What Deals Is Best Buy Offering Black Friday 2015?

November 25, 2015 By Guest Writer 2 Comments

Black Friday is just a few days away. However, many companies have introduced their holiday deals early this year. Best Buy, for instance, has already revealed its Black Friday ad and has announced 300 more items to be added into the sales roster. Thousands of deals will be posted in the website as the nation’s largest electronics retailer joins the madness on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. However, it turns out that you won’t have to wait till the holidays to start enjoying Best Buy’s Black Friday Deals.

Starting on Nov. 19, 8 new Black Friday deals will be available for purchase on the Best Buy website, and we’ve got all the data you need right here.

The Best Buy website has created a special page that just went live. The page on the company’s website includes eight Black Friday deals that consumers have been able to take advantage of since last week. Of the deals that have already been shared with customers, Best Buy is offering popular deals such as a Samsung HDTV, a Windows 10 laptop from HP, a pair of Sonos Play:1 speakers, several pairs of Sony wireless headphones and countless other deals.

Here is a list of what Best Buy is offering right now:

• Samsung – 48″ Class (47.6″ Diag.) – LED – 1080p – Smart – HDTV – Black: $379.99 (reg. 599.99)

• HP – ENVY 15.6″ Touch-Screen Laptop – Intel Core i5 – 6GB Memory – 1TB Hard Drive – Natural Silver: $479.99 (reg. $679.99)

• $30 Savings and Free Microphone with Select Guitar Hero Live Game

• Save $320 on Dell Desktop and Monitor Package

• 50% Off Select Sony Wireless Headphones

• SONOS – PLAY:1 2-Room Wireless Speaker Starter Set (Pair) – Black: $379.99

• Save $100 on Select UE BOOM Wireless Bluetooth Speakers

• Save $11 on Select Logitech Wireless Mice

Each of the aforementioned eight deals are currently listed and available on BestBuy.com. Take advantage of the deals now while you can and be sure to look around for other great deals online! Many companies are offering some of their greatest buys through the Internet and not in the stores to cut down on Black Friday crowds.

In addition to Best Buy’s deals online, there will also be a full rollout of deals in the store on Friday. Other online stores will also be offering special holiday buys. Walmart is offering ten deals each day through its online store. Amazon is rolling out numerous deals this holiday season for the shoppers who would like to keep their feet up while crossing things off their holiday list.

If online shopping interests you and you’d rather shop from the comfort of your own home, make sure to check the major retailers’ websites as well as sites like eBay and Amazon. Part of shopping for the best buy is looking around to be sure you are getting the highest quality for the lowest price.

Google Wants to Alert You About Black Friday Deals

November 25, 2015 By Amanda Blankenship 1 Comment

There are a ton of new apps out there that may make your Black Friday shopping experience a bit easier. Startups like Magic, Operator, Fetch, GoButler and even Facebook have all made purchasing pretty easy. Anything from dinner reservations to the perfect gift can be bought through an app. Google wants in on these services, and the company may be your go-to this Black Friday.

Google’s SMS-alerts for shopping

Google is currently giving an SMS-alerting service a trial that will help holiday shoppers find the best deals. A Google watcher posted to his blog that he had the option to subscribe via SMS to Black Friday deals and that is when the message about this new Google service truly got out.

The company actually quietly announced the services earlier this month, but it received very little press coverage – unless you count blogs that focus on SEO, Google and other search engines. The mainstream attention, however, was just not there, but that may change as people start to see the “subscription” option when they Google the best deals.

SMS-alerts from Google are receiving a test drive during the holiday season since this is the busiest time of the year for shoppers. However, the giant is also thinking years ahead and they know that shoppers will likely rely on mobile devices more than desktops to do any online shopping.

Devices are turning into virtual assistants practically – part human, part artificial intelligence. The creation of Google’s new “invisible app” just makes sense, and just in time. Millions of people will be searching Google this weekend for the best deals, and you won’t even have to compare prices, Google will tell you.

New ad campaign

Google has explained that although this is taking a big, helpful step for many people, they are testing out the SMS subscriptions with advertisers. Deal alerts are an AdWords option that is being tested out with a number of advertisers working with the company. So,

How it works

You may be wondering how this new service works. When you type in something like “Black Friday Deals” into Google, you may see an option to subscribe to Google alerts via an ad at the top of your search results.

When you choose to receive text messages, you will receive only relevant information on the year’s hottest items like phones, gaming consoles and computers. However, you can also get ads for specific products like the Xbox One. When you search “Xbox One deals,” a subscription button pops up, and if you subscribe, you will be given updates on deals for that specific product.

You don’t have to wait for an ad to pop up on your Google search to get subscription though. You are able to text the word “JOIN” to the following numbers to subscribe to a certain day’s deals: For Black Friday (847) 904-0608; For Cyber Monday (847) 906-8958; For Holiday deals (847) 904-0596.

Although the services launched earlier this month, it is likely many people are not seeing the subscribe option until now because more people are searching for deals. However, experts are waiting to see the reaction to Google’s newest service.

What and When Is Black Friday?

November 25, 2015 By Guest Writer 1 Comment

The day After Thanksgiving is a day that some people stay home and enjoy another day off with their families. Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday, so many employers will be giving their employees Friday off as well. This Friday is known as Black Friday, and it is when many people decide to start shopping for the holidays, but have you ever wondered why?

This day is unofficially or officially start of holiday shopping season where Almost all stores come out with ridiculous sales and early bird specials to attract customers to their stores. People wait hours upon hours on line in Walmart, Best Buy and specific department stores trying to get the best deal for Christmas. Many people line up hours prior to the store opening so that they are first in line to grab the greatest bargains of the year. Every store has something that may interest just about anyone, so Black Friday is often perfect day for bargain hunters or people that are trying to shop on a dime this holiday season.

People who wait until Boxing Day to hunt for sales are doing it all wrong. Black Friday has become one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Many retailers who participate in Black Friday sales events knock prices across much of their stock to kick-start the gift-buying season.

A great deal of Black Friday sales have already begun. Most retailers are starting their holiday-season sales before Friday. Some stores are starting their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day (the day before) and some are starting their sales on Wednesday. Companies like Walmart and Amazon have been offering “Black Friday” prices since early in November.

Why it is called Black Friday ?

The closest reason as to why it is known as Black Friday is that many retailers report some of their highest profits on the Friday after Thanksgiving. This is because many people have gotten through one holiday and are trying to get ahead for the biggest gift-buying season of the year.

The portion of the name that refers to the color black has to do with companies’ stock prices and profits. “Black Friday” relates to businesses recording their losses in red ink and gains in black. Businesses have recorded their losses and gains as such for years and continue to due so, hence the continued nickname for the day.

When is Black Friday this year?

Black Friday sales events will be taking place the day after Thanksgiving, which is the fourth Thursday in November. This year, Black Friday falls on November 27, which is rather late in the year. Many sales start at midnight or at 8 a.m. However, the sales events have been getting earlier and earlier as the years go on. Many retailers are launching their “Black Friday” offers the evening before (on Thanksgiving) or at the start of the week. This year, some merchants have already kicked off their deals.

Remember that when you are searching for the best Black Friday deals, be sure that you’ve done your research. What may seem like a good deal may not be all that great. However, Black Friday is a day many shoppers will be hitting the department stores in hopes to find the perfect gift.