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How to get the best deals now and on Black Friday

This year’s shopping season looks a lot different. What to buy now, and what to wait to purchase on Black Friday.

SAN ANTONIO — It is not even Halloween but you can already find some scary good holiday deals.

“The bigger chains are already rolling out those holiday savings that we just don’t expect to see for another month at least,” said Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst with Dealnews.com.

Yet specialty stores are more likely to stick to the traditional big shopping holiday.

“If you’re looking at more niche retailers or some that are like smaller, independent shops, you may have to wait until closer to Black Friday,” Ramhold said. “Odds are they may have one big blowout a year and that’s it. So they’re probably not going to offer that up until Black Friday itself.”

Buy classic toys now like Barbie, board games, and Legos. They are already deeply discounted. Wait to find sales on these playthings:

“I would hold off on the hot toys. Hold off on say a video game console and bundle, those things that we typically see around Black Friday, Cyber Monday,” said Trae Bodge, the smarting shopping expert of TrueTrae. “So wait on those a bit, but take advantage of the other toys you see on sale now.”

Avoid busting your budget by making a list of presents and adding an alternative gift, just in case you cannot find a great deal on your first choice.

“Inflation is obviously affecting prices across the board in so many categories,” Ramhold said. “So even if something that you do want goes on sale, if it’s not as cheap as you were hoping for, then you may find that it’s just outside your budget. The way to kind of mitigate that situation is by having a backup plan in place.”

Use online price tracking tools to make sure you are getting a good deal when you see an item on sale.

Also, be sure to check stores’ price matching, price adjustment, and return policies before you buy so you can best the deal should sales change.

“So if you do happen to buy something now and the price decreases at that retailer, you can ask for a refund or the difference,” Bodge said. “That’s a great way to protect yourself. Amazon, however, does not offer price protection, so you want to be extra careful when you’re shopping on Amazon to make sure that you are in fact getting the best deal."

Use Camel, Camel, Camel to check the historical pricing of Amazon items.

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