Blew Off Black Friday? Cyber Monday's Your Second Chance

On a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the worst idea ever, getting up early in the a.m. to wait outside some store in the cold to snag a deal that may or may not even be available once you're inside rates about a 98. Shopping on Black Friday is purely a spectator sport for me.

Never to be outdone by brick and mortar, Cyber Monday is the web world's equivalent to Black Friday—and it's the world's first Internet-centric sales holiday. Will it outdo Black Friday? Doubtful, but each year the slice gets larger. I'm betting that the online event, despite the publicity, won't be nearly as lucrative—in part because an Internet-wide sale just doesn't have the same social or cultural cachet as a shopping spree IRL (in real life).

An invention of Shop.org, the online vendors' confederation that's part of the National Retail Federation, Cyber Monday caters to those returning to the office and shopping while they work. (Somehow, encouraging people to shop instead of work seems a bit snakish to me as well.) The NRF reports that that nearly three-quarters of its member online retailers are planning special promotions for Cyber Monday; Shop.org has nearly 500 vendors participating in the promotion—many of whom have stores in the real world also.

Shop.org has been promoting a "groupthink" effort by housing online discounts under one umbrella. It's been issuing email notices and RSS feeds with updates on sales and promotions. Last year two-thirds of retailers claimed "substantial" growth from Cyber Monday, according to a report issued by the group. There's also a social giving aspect to the site, as some of the dollars from your purchase go into a fund to create scholarships for e-commerce entrepreneurs.

In perusing the Cyber Monday deals, they seemed a bit lackluster relative to the drama of Black Friday's flat-panel and Nintendo Wii dramas reported in papers all over the country. Many of the deals involve free shipping or, if it's available, the ability to order online and pick up at your local store. And though Shop.org has put some real muscle behind making this a press event, it's doubtful that too many reporters will be banging on your door asking if they can watch you shop online. Not a great spectator sport.

I did spot a few goodies worth thinking about:

At Overstock.com you can take $100 off of the Dysan DC-14 Vacuum and get free shipping, too.

At Circuit City you can save up to $250 on laptops and get a free printer along with it. If you can live with a GPS that's about to be replaced by this year's models, you can grab the Garmin Nuvi 360 for only $249.

Some stores offer conditional discounts. At J. Jill there's a confusing array of $25 off full-price sweaters with a free camisole for spending over $50, and $25 to spend on your next purchase. Way too much thinking for me—I like my discounts straight up.

At HSN you're eligible for a 15 percent discount, but only if you're a new shopper. Best Buy is celebrating a two-day-long Cyber Monday. At the Discovery Store you get a boxed set of Discovery moments for $10 with every purchase over $50.

Bottom line? Black Friday had better deals, but Cyber Monday's appeal is in its solitude and ease of use. If you're not into shopping as a competitive sport, then online shopping is clearly the way to go, and Cyber Monday is a decent a kickoff, though not exciting enough to set your alarm.