Pre-Black Friday Sales: As Good As The Real Thing?

Along with the earlier Black Friday opening times – pre-Black Friday sales are also gaining in popularity with stores.

Amazon was one of the first to announce a pre-Black Friday sale this year. Well, not just a sale, but a whole new store dedicated to pre-Black Friday sales stuff. The store features a Deal of the Day and limited time Lightning Deals

Amazon’s Black Friday store, which is here, is interesting. In their Lightning Deals section they list the current deals along with a timer. Apparently there is a limited number of each item, as they indicate how many are claimed – but not how many are available overall. There’s a section which lists upcoming deals… and if you really want to torture yourself, a section that lists deals that have come and gone.

Amazon started their pre-Black Friday sale/store at the beginning of November. Most stores waited a bit longer.

Techie retailer Newegg launched their 72 hour pre-Black Friday sale this morning. They have about 140 products, ranging from computers to cameras and video games, listed in their sale at this time. There’s even a women’s watch, which they claim has a list price of over $1000, on sale for $69. hmmmm… call us a little suspicious of that particular deal.

Walmart has launched their pre-Black Friday. As has Target.

Sears is handling their pre-Black Friday hype a bit differently. They are offering members of their ‘Shop Your Way‘ program the ability to order Sears Black Friday Doorbuster deals now, before they are available to non-members. ‘Shop Your Way’ memberships are free.

While stores are clearly hoping to get a jump on Black Friday shopping excitement with pre-Black Friday sales – are shoppers as enthusiastic?

That appears to be a mixed bag at this point. Members of various shopping forums we have surfed through, including this one at Fatwallet, are split. Some are reporting good deals. Others say they will wait for the real Black Friday deals.

What do you think of the pre-Black Friday sales? Have you bought anything from them, or are you holding off until the ‘real thing’ comes along? Leave your comments below.


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Author Profile: Consumer Expert Jimmy Borough

Jimmy is an assistant editor and a writer here at News For Shoppers. He has more than two decades of experience in the shopping industry, having worked in sales and marketing in both the technology and fashion industries.

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