Welcome to the Informed Consumer, providing the latest tips and tools to assist consumers in making informed decisions, from the Fairfax County Consumer Affairs Branch.

Today’s topic: Black Friday.

With the best bargain shopping day of the year nearly here, shoppers are being encouraged to start their homework now on products and prices to help separate the genuine door busters from the many ho-hum deals being promoted this year.

• Read the Ads: Check local newspapers on Thanksgiving Day. Friday's papers will include additional sales. Get on retailers' email lists, and look for deals and coupons listed on their Facebook pages. Preview the Black Friday sale circulars now at bfads.net, and get a list of sale items at all stores combined by category, like all GPSes, at blackfriday.gottadeal.com.
• Evaluate the Deals: Not all advertised items are great deals. To separate the ho-hum from the good deals, use several of Consumer World's pricing tools, such as the Price Checker at ConsumerWorld.org (to compare prices at many online stores instantly), DealAlerter.com (to get notified when an item's price drops) and PriceHistories.com (to compare today's price for an item to what was charged over the past six months). If shopping online, find out the total price including shipping and tax (if any), and what the reputation of the seller is using BizRate.com or ResellerRatings.com.
• Research the Right Product: A low price on a lousy product is no bargain. Check websites where professionals evaluate products, such as Consumer Reports, Steves-Digicams.com (for cameras), Ecoustics.com (for TV/hi-fi equipment), and PCMagazine.com (for computers). Also, nothing beats reading customer reviews by real owners of the products you are thinking of buying. Check Epinions.com and Amazon.com.
• Save with "Triple Plays": To save the most, combine the primary ways to save: buy items at a good sale price, use percent-off/dollars-off coupons offered by some stores, and look for items that also have a cash back rebate.
• Be an Early Bird: Plot your route from store to store based on store opening times and, since quantities are very limited, arrive before the doors open. Send family members to different stores if opening times conflict.
• Beat the Early Birds: To plan for the real Black Friday, scope-out key retailers on Wednesday before Thanksgiving to learn each store's floor plan in advance. Avoid the crowds by ordering online since some Black Friday deals may be available on Thanksgiving Day or Friday in the wee hours.
• Check the Return Policy: Before buying, find out the store’s return policy. While many stores have extended their return deadlines into January, others are clamping down by imposing restocking fees on certain categories of items, or by using a blacklisting database or returns tracking system to deny refunds to returns abusers.
• Get a Gift Receipt: Make returns easier for gift recipients by asking the store for a gift receipt and include it in the gift box. Without a receipt, a refund may be denied outright, or may be limited to only an equal exchange, or to a merchandise credit for the lowest price the item has sold for in the recent past.
• Use the Right Credit Card: Certain credit cards offer valuable free benefits. For example, don't be pressured into buying a service contract when you can get up to an extra year of warranty coverage free just by using most gold or platinum credit cards. Ask your credit card issuer what length warranties qualify for an extra year of coverage, if any. Some credit cards also offer a return protection guarantee (they will refund the purchase price within 90 days if the store will not), or a sale price guarantee (they will give you back the difference if an item goes on sale within 60 days of purchase).
• Save More with Price Guarantees: The bargain shopping process does not end with a product purchase. Keep checking the prices of the items you bought. Since many stores offer a price protection guarantee, you may be entitled to get back some additional money if the seller or a competitor offers a lower price before Christmas.

Thanks for listening to the Informed Consumer. For more information on this topic or if you feel that you’ve been a victim of a scam, please contact the Consumer Affairs Branch at 703-222-8435 or visit our web site at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cableconsumer/csd/consumer. Informed Consumer is produced by the Fairfax County, Virginia, government.