Want Not

Yep, get 12% off your entire order and free shipping through this link all weekend long at Overstock.

Now, let’s think about this. Go out at the crack of dawn, fight through the crowds, wait on line… or shop from home in your pajamas. Huh. Doesn’t sound like much of a choice, to me.

Heading out to the stores? If you can’t find your circulars, check out this handy site for a good round-up of deals before you go.

What’s that? Oh, not me. I’m in bed. Where I will stay until a decent hour of the morning. But if you insist on going out, at least be prepared. Good luck out there!

Kohl’s is one of those stores that generally offers most of their Black Friday stuff online. Some of their “big deals” for tomorrow are available online now for just a few dollars more that they’ll be at tomorrow. The question is: How badly do you want an item? If you really want it, maybe you should scoop it up tonight.

Here’s what you need to remember about shopping Kohl’s online:

• Orders of $75+ ship for free (at least at the moment). Have a local Kohl’s? You can return items to the store. So if you have less than $75 worth of stuff you want to buy, it might be cheaper to bump it up with something so that you get the free shipping, and then return at the store at your leisure.
• Kohl’s is one of my favorite stores, with a decent website, but their search function is rotten. If you do a search on a specific item and don’t find it, that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have it. Try a different keyword, or try going in through the right category to find it by browsing.
• Putting an item in your cart does not reserve it for you. On a busy day like Black Friday, if you shop too long, things that went into your cart will be gone by the time you get to checkout. Also, you may check out with items that later turn out to be out of stock. The moral of the story is to shop quickly.

If you choose to hit the store itself, both tomorrow and Saturday (November 24-25) you’ll get $10 in Kohl’s Cash for every $50 you spend, good towards future purchases. So this is one of the few stores where I’m torn about the comfort of home vs. the benefits of showing up in-store.

You can check the circular, and you can shop online. But if you’re brave enough to actually venture out in the wee hours to get the very best deals, check out these unadvertised early bird specials available at Best Buy from 5:00 AM to noon tomorrow.

Also? Most of their Black Friday merchandise (not the doorbusters, but the other stuff) is available online already.

I’m pretty sure I highlighted this before when it went down to $14.99, but lookie here. Now it’s just $9.99 and eligible for free Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. (The graphic links seem to be a bit wonky today. Try this if the box to the left is weird: Santa Fe quesadilla maker.)

I know you don’t need one of these to make a quesadilla. This is hardly a necessary item, but it is a very nifty item. And—I would argue—a perfect gift for almost anyone. Because who doesn’t like melted cheese? (Okay, those of you allergic to or intolerant of dairy are excused. But other than that, I mean.)

I’m thinking, I can get one of these babies and teach the kids how to use it. Then I wouldn’t have to cook at all! And that would be $9.99 very well spent.

So, listen: Overstock is offering free shipping from now through next Tuesday. And you can still use the 10% off coupon through this link, so that’s pretty good if you want to buy something there.

However, they’re going to have a 12% off coupon for Black Friday, so if you’re buying something big (like furniture) you may want to wait until then to make your purchase. Just sayin’.

I think I mentioned Google Checkout offering $10 off of $30 at many participating stores, when it first started up. Not a bad deal, right?

Well, now some of the stores are ramping it up for the holidays, and going to an automatic $20 off of a $50 purchase when you pay via Google Checkout.

For example… take $20 off of $50 at Starbucks (where you also get free shipping over $59 before coupon). I believe it also works on gift cards, which ship for free.

Or take $20 off of $50 at Buy.com, where they’re currently offering free shipping on all Heelys.

Now I am going to have the image of a kid skating around in Heelys with a quad venti mocha in his hand stuck in my head all day. Thanks a lot.

[Edited to add: Haven't signed up with Google Checkout yet? Sign up by November 26th and receive a $10 bonus on your first $10+ purchase!]