Shoppers Ready To Snag Best Black Friday Deals
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There's so much to sort through if you plan to hit the stores this holiday weekend.
But as CBS2's Vanessa Murdock reported, you can still get the best bang for your buck on Black Friday.
Retailers are luring customers with deep discounts on everything from clothing to cars and electronics.
It worked on Charles Mott, who said he has been waiting first in line outside of Best Buy on the Upper East Side since Wednesday. He said he is aiming to get his hands on a flat screen TV.
"It's going to be $150, about $400 off," Mott said.
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Grace Sabean said it's a family tradition to hit the mall on Black Friday.
"We leave at 3 or 4 in the morning. We usually go to Urban Outfitters first and my mom always hits Best Buy," said Sabean.
Personal finance journalist Vera Gibbons said 145 million people are going to shop this weekend and that's just one of the reasons you need a plan.
"It's bad to just go and look around because it leads to a lot of impulse buys," Gibbons said.
Once you know what you're looking for, Gibbons recommended searching for it on an aggregate website like fatwallet.com. From there, you can find out what retailer is offering the best deal and when.
"It's particularly important this year because the deals are staggered; some are early, some are an hour-long, some online, some in stores only," Gibbons said.
Gibbons added that the best deals appear to be on electronics. She said you can find laptop tablets and TVs at giveaway prices.
And as many turn to their computer screens to find the best deals online, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is warning New Yorkers to be on the lookout for scams.
So how can you tell who is legit? CBS News Technology Consultant Larry Magid told WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini the first place to look is the company's web address.
"Look for https in the address bar, the s stands for secure which means the data will be encrypted," Magid said.
Magid also suggested shoppers do their research on merchants before going through with purchases. And if you're still having doubts, go the old-fashioned route and pick up the phone.
"Because you can get some clues over the phone you wouldn't get on a website," he said.
And remember, if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
