Searching for after-Thanksgiving deals online

I have been an Internet shopper since at least 1999. I have always considered myself to be an astute shopper. I am careful and do my homework to make sure a sale is really a sale. I have never been a Black Friday store shopper. But the weekend after Thanksgiving online deals are hard to pass up.

After listening to an aide describe her store shopping experiences on Thanksgiving, Black Friday (early and late hours), and the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I was impressed with her shopping prowess. She got tank tops for herself for 80 cents each and a pair of tennis shoes for $3. The deals were so good she even purchased Easter gifts for her children. She is quite a planner.

I have learned the hard way that some clothing websites mark up their merchandise prior to Thanksgiving so they can give customers 30 percent off the higher price. Even though, Halloween and Veterans’ Day sales are good, I knew 30 percent off that clothing website's prices was something I had to take advantage of.

Last year my friend gave me a $50 gift certificate for that particular website. Since I did not need anything then, I did not use it. After Thanksgiving, I realized that I had better use the gift certificate while it is still valid. So by the weekend after Thanksgiving, the gift certificate was burning a hole in my pocket.

I only had to click through the clothing website's e-mail to get a discount. I was surprised at getting $2 extra off on a clearance top, over $9 off on a pair of slacks and about $6 each off two more tops. If I could have gotten free shipping that day, I would have been golden. At the completion of my order, only a few dollars plus shipping came out of my pocket. Not bad for a pre-Christmas sale.

Although the clothing seemed to be pricier initially, with the percentage off, it was the best deal I have seen on that site all year.

As I looked at my receipt, I was pleased I waited for a good deal. Clothing is relatively expensive even when the price is lowered. These days my hobby is stretching my money as far as it will go.