Black Friday Madness – Business Style

Every year it seems that major retailers “leak” their Thanksgiving Day ads for Black Friday deals earlier and earlier. Yep, here we are, more than two weeks away from the most wonderful shopping day of the year and you can probably already find most retailers’ ads for it online with a quick search. Unfortunately, ever since posting of “leaked” Black Friday sale ads became a phenomenon a few years back, the stupendous offers and once-in-a-lifetime door buster savings they carry seem to get less and less exciting. That is unless you plan on spending Black Friday shopping for stuff for your micro business.

What’s that? You say no one shops for stuff for their business on Black Friday? Exactly! Hey, check out the leaked ads. The big deals are pretty much the same stuff they’ve been for the past few years except everything you already froze your butt off waiting in line for at some God forsaken hour when nothing human is supposed to be awake is cheaper than you paid for it in years past when you absolutely had to have it then and there! So unless you really need another drive-in movie screen sized flat panel TV set or you’re going to get an Xbox for your cat since all the kids already have two plus every other video game system out there; why not freeze your can off for some stuff that’ll help you make a few bucks in the coming year? And depending on your fiscal year, you may still be able to write the stuff off on this year’s taxes! Here are a few ideas to keep your eyes peeled for as you peruse the Black Friday ads for the next two weeks until Black Friday is actually here:

Big Ticket Electronics

These are probably actually the only things you might have to get up and fight turkey-laden, greed-fueled crowds for; but there is no denying that you can get some sweet deals on bigger-ticket technology items. Check out electronics retailers and discount and department stores for these.

Computers and Laptops – These are long-standing traditional Black Friday deals and the prices on them keep getting better and better. Just keep in mind that most of what you find will be “consumer grade” so if you really need to push heavy-duty graphics or launch rockets with it beware! Monitors and printers tend to be on-sale too – look deeper into the ads for them.

Tablets, Netbooks and eReaders – If you’re holding out for a 50% off iPad you’re in for a long wait, but there should be some nice deals on Android and Windows-powered tablets and mini-computers. By their nature, these things are never considered to be “business-grade” so there’s nothing really to worry about there.

Cameras – If you make your living from behind a camera the chances of finding anything pro are likely slim to none. However if you just want to have a decent camera around to use for business purposes, or even if you are a photographer and you’re looking for a back-up body or one that can be looked at as, well, expendable; there should be some good deals on entry-to-mid-level digital SLRs out there.

Flat-Screen TVs – Whether it’s for client presentations or keeping Sports Center rolling all day while you’re working, some businesses need a TV monitor. If you need one there’s no reason not to look for one now, they’re going to be on sale without a doubt!

Small Electronics and Other Office Goodies

Once you get past the $150 HDTVs and the $125 computers on the front page of the ad, you’ll often find lots of great deals on smaller electronics and more mundane, yet still essential, items designed to relieve frenzied Black Friday shoppers of yet more of their money that you can use for your business.

Flash drives, Memory Cards and External Hard Drives – These things have pretty much become essentials for nearly everyone today. Given their small size and relative inexpensiveness retailers push them as stocking stuffers and the things you need to complete the big present package. Let’s face it, you can never have enough data storage space and if you can get it for pennies on the dollar it just makes good sense to drop a few bucks on it!

Computer Parts, Cables and Components – Again, you’ll see plenty of these in the back pages of ads of electronics retailers positioned as stocking stuffers or gift add-ons. When you need one right away they can be pricy buggers so if you have some foresight into what you might need you may be able to be prepared and save some money.

Regular Old Office Supplies – No, a case of paper or a gross of pens isn’t on most kids’ Christmas lists but you’d be surprised at what you’ll find in the Black Friday ads of the big box office supply stores! If it’s on sale, you know you’ll use it and you have the cash for it then go for it!

The “Also Ran” Retailers

You know where the big sales and big lines will be – any place that sells electronics and discount and department stores. But don’t forget to look at what’s going on at places like the home improvement joints. If you make a living in any of the skilled or construction trades hitting these places on Black Friday should be a no-brainer. But even if you are not, chances are you could use some of the items they’ll have on sale. Whether it’s a tool set to keep at the office for quick repairs, some storage containers or even building supplies to spiff your place of business up a little, you’re likely to find something!

Also don’t forget the major chain drug stores, craft stores and similar places – you’d be surprised what they have that could come in handy for a small business!