Tips for Black Friday shoppers

Are you a Black Friday shopper? Some people are giving up on the madhouse shopping day, but bargains can be had if you’re willing to fight the crowds.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, offers these tips from its recent studies and reports:

• Macy’s, Stage, and JCPenney are 2016’s Best Stores for Black Friday, offering an average discount of at least 62.8 percent.

• More than 17 percent of items will actually be more expensive on Black Friday than they currently are on Amazon.com.

• Video games – software only – will offer the most value on Black Friday 2016 compared to their current prices, while jewelry is expected to be the worst deal.

• 11percent of Black Friday deals are recycled from last year, according to the 2016’s Black Friday Freshness Report.

• Target, Netflix, and Walmart top the list of 2016’s Best Gift Cards.

• Consumers can save $500-plus with one of 2016’s Best Credit Cards For Holiday Shopping.

• Credit cards also have a number of little-known benefits that can really come in handy over the holidays, including price-drop protection, extended warranties, and coverage for damaged or stolen items.

• 99 percent of store credit cards don’t charge an annual fee, and the average card offering rewards in the form of discounts gives you more than 19 percent off your first purchase, according to the 2016 Store Card Landscape.

• All major retailers offering 0 percent financing use a dangerous feature called deferred interest, which has the potential to make holiday purchases up to 27.5 times more expensive than expected.

Happy Thanksgiving and happy shopping.

Copyright 2016, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist