How to Score the Best Deal in Electronics Stores

It's November, folks, and time to get those wallets ready to do the talking—and the shopping. If you think it's too early to start discussing Black Friday, think again. Stores are already leaking their Black Friday ads online (check out BlackFriday.info) and holding early Black Friday sales (more on the subject below).

You can find some pretty sweet deals online, but I want to let you in on a little secret: Sometimes the best deals are actually offline. Yes, at the brick-and-mortar stores you've been avoiding for years because you like shopping from home. I enlisted the help of a inside source (we'll call her Tina to protect her identity) who works at a big electronics store to bring you this long list of tips we hope will help you score the best deals this holiday season. I rely on all of them myself, so I hope they work for you too. I can't guarantee they'll work for everyone, but they're worth a shot. Feel free to share your own shopping tips in the comments below. All right! Let's get started, shall we?

Haggling and best times to shop

Sure, shopping online has its benefits, but there's one thing you can't do online—and that's haggling. I worked in sales long enough to know there's always room for a little bargaining, so now I refuse to pay full price, at least on the big items. Consumer Reports back me up on this one, stating that "more than 90 percent of shoppers who tried to negotiate a better deal on goods and services including furniture, electronics, appliances, floor and demonstration models, and medical bills got one." According to a recent Consumer Reports survey, 64 percent of men were more likely to bargain, in contrast with 58 percent of women, "who tended to dislike the process more." Despite their feelings, I'm sure both sexes scored better deals than those who were too uncomfortable to even try it. Really, the worst thing that can happen is they'll say no, and you wait for the price to drop or find a better deal online. If more people aren't haggling, it's probably because the process can be awkward for some, while others may be too embarrassed or shy to try it. If you're willing to risk rejection, you'll find that haggling will save you a lot of money in the future.

I've been very successful at negotiating prices in the past, but when haggling is not practical, I wait for that big sale or shop around for a good deal online. I've become kind of an expert at it since I take care of all the shopping at home. In my experience, the best time to shop at an electronics store is one hour before the store closes, preferably on weekends. Sunday is the best day to shop because that's when the new ad kicks in for the week, so check your Saturday paper for any early advertisements.

I personally prefer Fridays because you have a wider selection of products to choose from, and sales reps are in a good mood when the store is empty and about to close. Another reason to shop at night is sales reps start changing the price tags, as they prepare for the big weekend sale. That's worked to my advantage several times.

Tina tells me the real reason you'll find deals at the end of the night is every store has to meet a daily sales goal, so managers will tell associates to do what it takes to close the deal before the store closes. That's probably how I got a great deal on my Blu-ray player and my Sony Bravia, both items purchased on a Friday night.

One thing to keep in mind: Don't expect to get a great deal on newly released items. To increase your chances of negotiating a deal, you'll have to play it smart. Find out when a newer version of a product will be released, and keep an eye on the older model one month before that happens. You can still try to negotiate the price on new items, but your chances of being successful are slim to none.

Other tips: Be nice. Sales associates are not obligated to do any negotiating with you, so don't be too demanding. They're more responsive and willing to help if they know you appreciate their efforts. If you plan to buy accessories, do let them know. Often, the retailer may be more inclined to give you a better deal, because honestly this is where they make their money. One last thing: Don't be ridiculous when you're negotiating. Just name a fair price.

Policies: Price matching and price protection

In an earlier post, I gave you a few links to sites that track price drops. This means if a store has a price protection policy, then you can track any price changes within 30 days and get the difference refunded if the store lowers the price. Online services like PriceProtectr do this for you, and all you do is enter the URL of the product you bought, along with an email address. This is a great tool if you plan to shop early this holiday season.

You've probably heard of price matching policies too. When you visit a brick-and-mortar store and plan to price match another store, bring the other store's ad with you as proof. Just make sure you have plenty of time to waste, since some stores may try to verify the product's availability and pricing at the other store. Also, read between the lines. If the ad mentions a manufacturer rebate, then don't expect your price matching negotiating to go very far. Some stores work directly with the manufacturers to give you special deals, so other stores won't be able to price match it.

New trend: Early Black Friday

Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) officially kicks off the holiday shopping season and is the only day of the year you'll find ridiculous sales on the hottest electronics. This year, retailers are doing things differently by holding early Black Friday sales. Wal-Mart, for example, held a secret sale last week that included a $99 HD DVD player, a 50-inch plasma HDTV for $998, an Acer laptop for $348, and HD DVDs for $15, according to PCMag.com. Best Buy followed suit by price matching Wal-Mart's HD DVD player sale, and holding a private pre-holiday sale with a limited amount of Wiis in store (the store in my area actually had 60 Wiis in stock). Keep an eye on this new early Black Friday trend.

If you've never been to a Black Friday event, keep in mind that in order to score the best deal on big-ticket items, you'll need to camp out the night before. Only the first 10 to 20 people at the front of the line are given special tickets that guarantee them that extra cheap laptop or television set. Don't expect to show up at 5 a.m. and still find a great deal, especially when you have overnight campers.

If you're going to brave the cold weather to camp out, have a game plan! Make a list of all the items you plan to buy, and ask friends to come along so that you can split up once inside the store. Bring those walkie-talkies with you to stay in constant communication with your shopping buddies, and the first one to cross off all the items on their list should rush to get in line. Register lines are a nightmare on Black Friday, so the sooner you get in line, the sooner you can head to another store or go home to sleep.

Your best bet is to do all Black Friday shopping online at midnight, and pay extra for shipping. It's totally worth it and sometimes you can even do in-store pickup, so check with the store.

I'm sure some of you have plenty of Black Friday shopping tips and advice, so please feel free to share them in the comments below. I hope this mini-guide helps you get ready for the crazy holiday shopping season ahead.