With supply issues, it’s time to shop early! I’ve been seeing a lot of “Black Friday” deals starting now and going on for weeks. You may know that this blog started as a deal finding blog. I still make it my mission to get the best deals! Here are some tips for the season and next week, I’ll have my gift guides ready.
2021 Holiday Shopping Tips
Get cash back! This is a tip for shopping on these “special” days and every day. There are several ways to get cash back and you can even double dip. The easiest one is to sign up for Rakuten (formerly ebates). You can add a button to your browser (and use their app for in-store deals). I’ve gotten more than $2,000 cash back with no strings attached since I joined. They also have specials for Black Friday/Cyber Monday and tell you when you can get a better deal. Sign up with this link. (Affiliate Link)
Want to double dip? Get cash back from your credit cards. The Husband swears by his 2% cash back card from Citibank. I like to use Amex for their points program. We have a (free) Amazon Prime store card for 5% cash back on Amazon Prime purchases. I have an Athleta Visa for great deals on Gap Brands plus rewards, too. Either way, if you’re not using a card with great rewards for your shopping, you’re missing out. This may be a tip that takes research. Check out The Points Guy for lots of recommendations to see what suits you.
Follow companies’ social pages or subscribe to newsletters. Companies promote their deals via social and newsletters. It can be super annoying to wade through tons of emails. I have a special (old) email account that I use for shopping and promotions. Sometimes I just delete everything, but when I’m looking for a deal, I check out the emails/social accounts before I buy.
Do your research. These days it’s so easy to search the internet for prices to know what’s a great deal and when you can pass. Before you buy anything, google it AND search on Amazon. You can see all of the prices at various sites and sometimes products are deeply discounted by sellers on Amazon. Check out price match policies for 18 top retailers here from Deal Watch. You may be able to get a deal matched if you miss it or buy from a store with a better return policy.
Also, there is a ton of research on what NOT to buy on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Here’s one for Black Friday from Retail Me Not and 3 things to buy and one to watch from CNBC.
Let someone else do the work. There are a ton of websites and blogs that aggregate deals. Why? They usually get commissions/perks for doing so. That’s fine with me and should be fine with you. Search Black Friday deals on Amazon – Prime members get early access to some. [Note: This link is to my storefront so you can see products I recommend and I get a small commission if you buy from it. It helps fund some of my giveaways and promos! Look around and then search Black Friday deals.] You can also check out offers from some of my favorite companies/ discount sites on my Found Discounts page.
Pass on online deals and shop later in stores. What? The shopping season is short this year because Thanksgiving falls later in the month. Retailers are going to be offering great deals to get the shopping dollars in. So if you don’t want to scour the ‘net, consider shopping local and look for specials in stores.
Any great tips that I missed?
Some great deals I’ve seen already:
- Get 50% off at Personalized Creations with this link.
- Get 35% off on awesome phone cases from Casely with this link.
- Get up to 35% off on headphones and earbuds from Sudio.com with this link.
- Get 30% off on gifts and fun ban.do products with code WOAH30 plus $10 off your first purchase with this link.
- Get 25% off your first order of Bombas socks with this link.
- Get 20% off on Love with Food subscriptions and gifts with this link.
- Get 20% off of your first order at Humblemaker Coffee with this link.
- Get 15% off on beauty accessories at Kitsch with this link.
- Through Saturday, 11/13, get up to 50% off on headphones at Target.com and sign up for Target Circle to get weekly deals.
Have you seen any good deals? Please leave them in the comments.
Have a great weekend!
Please note: This post contains affiliate links for several brands, Amazon and Rakuten (formerly ebates). If you use these links, I’ll receive a small commission. That keeps the blog running and lets me offer some great extra giveaways.