Black Friday has been historically the busiest shopping day of the year here in the U.S. However, this one-day celebration has pretty much expanded into a full-blown extended sale that often starts before Thanksgiving and goes until Cyber Monday.
Let’s get ready to save! …Or spend a lot of money. Either one.
Black Friday Tips
- Watch when ads go into effect. Sales will start at different hours. Have a plan. There WILL be crowds. Expect to have trouble finding parking and be prepared to wait in long lines.
- Also, there WILL be crazy and/or rude people out and about. There WILL be hoarders and scalpers. There’s nothing you can do about them. And sometimes an item you want will be out of stock. Don’t take it out on the workers.
- Most stores will not price-match over Thanksgiving weekend. However, Walmart stores are one notable exception. Online items still have to be in-stock, but they will match sale prices for local ads as long as the sale hours are going on (e.g. if you’re at Walmart at 6 PM on Thursday, they won’t match prices yet for stores that don’t open until Friday), but no limited supply doorbusters or gift card free items. You might want to bring proof in order to ensure a faster checkout experience.
- Lots of stores will start Black Friday sales the day before the sale starts in-store or even earlier. (Some already have.) So bookmark pages and check often. You’ll be facing a lot of competition online, so don’t take too long to consider what you want or it will go out of stock. Figure out what you want now, but note that not all ad items will be marked down.
- Remember that not all Black Friday deals will be at their lowest price. Some items have been cheaper, and some items will go cheaper. Be sure you are not getting caught up in the hype.
- Online sites like Amazon generally list some major deals, but they will also mark random items down or offer special coupons. Bookmark what you want, and you might find a deal this weekend on it.
- Finally, stores may unveil additional deals for their stores or websites over the next couple of days.
That being said, I’ve compiled some of the best Thanksgiving/Black Friday deals anime/manga fans may be most interested in. Note that some are in-store only deals, so that is why I don’t provide links for all items. Items/sales marked with a * are available/going on now.
Books
Hastings – $2.99 used books, manga, and graphic novels [Saturday only]
Right Stuf – Manga up to 80% off *
Robert’s Corner Anime Store – Manga up to 50% off *
Coupons
Barnes & Noble – 30% off one item [starts Thursday]
Target – 15% off online purchases with code CYBER15 [Monday only]
Tokyo Otaku Mode – Coupon worth at least $3 off of $30 *
Figures, Shirts, and Miscellaneous
hhgregg – Roku SE Streaming Player for $19.99 [starts Thursday]
Hastings – Attack on Titan Colossal Titan lamp for $34.99 [Saturday only]
Hot Topic – $10 T-shirts with coupon code 10TEES *
Right Stuf – Anime merchandise on sale *
Robert’s Corner Anime Store – Anime merchandise on sale *
Gift Cards
eBay – $200 Target gift card for $185 *
eBay – $50 + $10 bonus GameStop gift card $50 [Monday]
Movies
Best Buy – Anime up to 65% off *
Right Stuf – Anime up to 80% off *
Robert’s Corner Anime Store – Anime up to 60% off *
Video Games and Consoles
Best Buy – B2G1F Pre-owned games *
Best Buy – PlayStation TV for $19.99 *
Best Buy – Super Smash Bros [Wii U] for $34.99 [starts Thursday]
GameStop – B2G1F Pre-owned games [starts Friday]
H-E-B – New Nintendo 3DS plus game for $149.99 [starts Friday]
Kohl’s – Xbox One or PS4 with $90 Kohl’s Cash for $299.99 [starts Thursday]
Kohl’s – PS4 Star Wars Battlefront with charger and $120 Kohl’s Cash for $439.99
Kohl’s – Xbox One Madden 16 1 TB with charger and $135 Kohl’s Cash for $489.99
Meijer – PS4 or Xbox One with $50 coupon for $299.99 [Thursday only]
Meijer – Wii U Smash Splat Bundle with $30 coupon for $249.99 [Friday only]
Target – Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire for $25 [starts Thursday]
Target – Xbox One with $60 gift card for $299.99 [starts Thursday]
Walmart – New Nintendo 3DS Animal Crossing Bundle for $179 *
Walmart – Splatoon for $25 [starts Thursday]
Walmart – Xbox One with $30 gift card for $299.99 [Thursday 1-hour guarantee]
