Thursday, Jan 19, at 5:07 PM

Win a FREE Xbox 360!

We know it’s hard to snag those amazing doorbusters on Black Friday. We also know that Santa can’t always check everything off your list. For those of you still left wishing after the holidays, we’ve got great news! We’re giving away a FREE Xbox 360 Console to one lucky Black Friday Fan!

The Details:

1. Visit our Facebook Sweepstakes Page to enter
2. Share with your friends on your Facebook Wall
3. This contest ends on Tuesday, January 31

This console not only allows you to play games, but also has built-in WiFi for easy connection to Xbox Live. A one-month subscription to Xbox Live is included and this allows you to stream music, movies and more right to your TV through the console.

Xbox 360 Specs:

• 4GB internal memory
• Kinect Ready
• Built in Wi-fi
• Xbox Live allows you to stream Netflix or music, get access to game add-ons and more
• 4GB Hard Drive

Contest ends on January 31 at 11:59 CST. Good luck to everyone!

For official contest rules please click here.

Monday, Dec 5, at 10:59 AM

Black Friday Treasure Hunt Winners!

Although we had some rough patches with the Treasure Hunt, we really had fun with it! Thank you all for your patience while we fixed issues after its release and we hope most of your issues were resolved! We do want to point out that even if your coin was not showing up as “found” on your home page, if you clicked on the coin- our data showed that you did, so long as you were logged in. So you were still entered to win the grand prize even if all your coins were not showing up.

Now on to the fun stuff.. THE WINNERS!

The Grand Prize Winner of the Home Theater System valued over $4,500 is:

Ryan G. of Poughkeepsie, NY

We had 9 First Winners who were such speedy clickers they found and clicked on the coin within seconds of us releasing it! Congratulations to our Kindle Fire Winners:

1. Konnie P. from Huntingdon, PA found the Washer Coin in Sears
2. Nate A. from Wheaton, IL found the Microwave Coin in Walmart
3. Morgan L. from Kapaa, HI and Jennifer R. from Clarion, PA found the Grill Coin in Target at the exact same time, for a tie!
4. Mikala P. from Duncan, OK found the Dress Coin in Macy’s
5. Karl G. from Shakopee, MN found the Controller Coin in Game Stop
6. TiAnna N. from Spring Lake, MI found the Hot Dog Coin in Costco
7. Jenine Y. from Glendale, CA found the Laptop Coin in Best Buy
8. Elizabeth P. from Imlay City, MI found the T-shirt Coin in Kohl’s
9. Lori W. from Greenwood, IN found the Rocking Horse Coin in Toys R Us

Great job, guys!

Thanks again to all of you for your patience and participation in our Treasure Hunt game. Have a very happy and safe holiday!

Monday, Nov 28, at 3:06 PM

The Winner of Our Black Friday 2011 Doorbuster Photo Contest!

We received some awesome photo entries in our Black Friday 2011 Doorbuster Photo Contest! A few of them were so great we’ve passed them around the office. You guys all impressed us with your savvy doorbuster-shopping skills, but the winner made most of our jaws drop! Our lucky winner will receive a Canon PowerShot SD4500IS 10MP Digital Camera, worth $200!

And the winner is!

April M. and Chris got some GREAT doorbusters at Best Buy!

Some notable mentions

Rowena A. managed to fit all of her doorbusters in her trunk!

Jen R. looks exhausted after a VERY successful Black Friday trip!

Angela O. poses with her amazing Walmart haul!

A couple of Texas Ladies came prepared with lawn chairs!

Thanks again to everyone who participated! If you want to get updates and prepare for next year’s Black Friday, subscribe to our daily newsletter and get the hottest news delivered to you every day! Also, be sure to check us out on Facebook and follow @blackfridayfans on Twitter.

Brad's Top 10 Tips for Black Friday Sales

1. Research: start your Black Friday 2011 sale research on Thanksgiving day or earlier.
2. Make a plan: identify what you want to buy, which stores have the best sales on Black Friday, and what time they open.
3. Timing is everything: arrange stores by opening time from early to late.
4. A fool and his money: be wary of Black Friday deals with quantity limits. If a store only has 10 items at that price, go elsewhere.
5. Visualize: know where your items are in the store.
6. Stay Safe: Previous Black Friday sales were honestly deadly; please don't trample or shoot anyone!
7. Power of numbers: go with a team and attack separate stores or separate sections of the same store. Designate a meeting place.
8. Bring a snack: only amateurs stop at the food court on Black Friday! (Or the bathroom - so go before you leave.)
9. The quiet ones: don't ignore stores that don't advertise. They will have Black Friday deals too!!
10. Have fun: enjoy your family, friends and deals!

Black Friday 2011 Overall Predictions

The 2011 Black Friday climate is far from certain. While in 2010 the economy grew at 3.0% that was a drop from 2009's brisk 5.6% growth and the economy is now projected to slow to anemic 1.6% to 1.7% growth in 2011. The unemployment rate is at 9.1%, plus tens of millions more underemployed or no longer seeking work, and the US Federal Reserve doesn't see unemployment getting below 8.5% until at least 2013. This combined with continued foreclosure problems, a lack of credit, and the introduction of European sovereign debt problems that are seemingly beyond our control, or even that of Europeans, contribute to a continued concern and frugality for most US households. Despite this concern, we've seen a counter-intuitive decline in US household savings rates. Recently above 7%, the highest in a very long time, they have dropped to 3.6% of disposable income in September, though that is still less frugal than the 1-2% we saw from 2005-2007. These factors paint a mixed picture of Black Friday for retailers. Specifically...

• Spending on average will increase again from $365 to $385 as consumers spend more despite the negativity.
• The amount of Black Friday shoppers will increase from 212 million last year to 225 million this year. This the biggest of all discount-focused days and will continue to capture the attention of more shoppers given the broader economic difficulties.
• With more shoppers spending more money, Black Friday spending as a percentage of total holiday sales will increase significantly from 10.0% to 10.6%.
• The amount of Black Friday online shopping will jump from $648 million to $705 million as people try to avoid stores, and online shopping because even more popular.

Black Friday 2010 Results

Well, my predictions were not the greatest last year. Hopefully this year I can do better. Here were my Black Friday predictions and the results:

• More consumers will shop on Black Friday 2010. I'm predicting 200 million shoppers (vs 195M in 2009). - Right....sort of. While the number of Black Friday shoppers increased, I only predicted it would increase to 200 million, 2.6%. It actually jumped to 212 million shoppers, a rise of 8.7%
• Consumers will spend slightly less on average on Black Friday, likely a 3.9% decline (vs. a 7.9% drop in 2009). - Wrong. Consumer spending on average went up from $343 to $365, a decrease of 6.4%.
• Overall 2010 Black Friday spending will decrease slightly. - Wrong. Black Friday spending increased from 9.6% of total holiday retail sales to 10.0%

Black Friday Historic Stats

*predictions; stats are for Thu-Sun on Black Friday weekend; shoppers can be counted more than once; Sources: BIGResearch, NRF, Shoppertrak

History of Black Friday

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Falling as early as the 23rd and as late as the 29th of November, Black Friday is not an official government holiday but many employees do receive the day off. The increased number of shoppers creates the busiest shopping day of the year. To accomodate the rush, many retailers open as early as 4am and offer "loss leaders" and limited quantity sales to entice people to their stores.

The term "Black Friday" has two meanings. In the 1960's, "Black Friday" was used by police in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. Prior to that, "Black Friday" was set to mark the first day that a retailer had sold through enough inventory and turned a profit for the year, putting them "in the black" according to the old by-hand accounting system of using black ink to indicate a profit and red ink to indicate a loss.

What does Black Friday mean for shoppers? Black Friday = Sales! Whether shoppers are searching in malls or online, Black Friday specials are the ultimate goal. Shopping for deals on Black Friday has become a post-Thanksgiving custom for many families. In preparation for this "holiday," shoppers map out the best routes to their favorite stores, each clutching a stack of Black Friday ads & coupons.