The Lazy Shopper’s Guide to Black Friday Hours and Deals

Trying to save money on Black Friday can be overwhelming. The sheer quantity of deals and the hype around them is enough to make you throw up your hands and say, “Forget it.”

I did that myself for many years. Now I take Black Friday season as seriously as any college exam. But there is a happy medium.

Yes, you can take advantage of the deep discounts available on Thanksgiving weekend without stressing out. That’s because shopping Black Friday sales boils down to two questions:

• What deals are out there?
• When will they be available?

You’ll find some answers to those questions below. We’ve rounded up the Black Friday hours ads and sale hours for some of the largest retailers. We’ve even highlighted a few noteworthy bargains.

Wherever you might shop this weekend, this is all the info you need.

Just be sure to call ahead to local stores to confirm their hours. For example, while almost all Best Buy stores will open on Thanksgiving, those in three states — Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island — will be closed due to state laws.

If you’re looking to dial the savings up a notch, we’ve got a cheat sheet for that too: “3 No-Fail Ways to Super-Charge Your Savings From Now to Christmas.”

Amazon

• Black Friday starts: Midnight PT Wednesday (3 a.m. ET Thursday)
• Main Black Friday webpage: Black Friday Deals Week
• Noteworthy deals:
  • A three-month subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited is currently only $0.99. This is the first time this deep discount has been available to both Amazon Prime members and nonmembers.
  • Two Amazon devices will be at their “lowest price ever,” according to the retailer: the Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker ($29.99 instead of $49.99) and Amazon's Fire HD 10 tablet computer ($99.99 instead of $149.99).

Best Buy

• Black Friday starts in stores: 5 p.m. Thursday to 1 a.m. Friday; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday (all times local)
• Black Friday starts online: Thursday “morning,” Best Buy says
• Main Black Friday webpage: Black Friday Deals 2017
• Noteworthy deals:
  • The retailer highlighted two of its deep discounts as available “only at Best Buy”: $320 off a Sharp 50-inch Class LED 4K Ultra HD smart TV (making it $179.99), and $350 off the Samsung 65-inch Class LED 4K Ultra HD smart TV ($749.99). Note that the Sharp is available only in stores, while the Samsung can be bought online.
  • Shipping is free with no minimum order requirement now until Dec. 25.

Costco

• Black Friday starts in stores: 9 a.m. Friday (local time)
• Black Friday starts online: Thursday (no time specified)
• Main Black Friday webpage: See the “Holiday Savings Book” on Costco’s home page

Sam’s Club

• Black Friday starts in stores: 7 a.m. Friday (local time)
• Black Friday starts online: 12:01 ET Thursday
• Main Black Friday webpage: Black Friday catalog

Target

• Black Friday starts in stores: 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday; 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., 11 p.m. or midnight Friday (all times local)
• Black Friday starts online: “Early Thanksgiving morning,” Target says
• Main Black Friday webpage: Target Black Friday Homepage
• Noteworthy deal:
  • If you spend $50 in stores or online Friday, you’ll get a coupon for 20 percent off a purchase between Nov. 28 and Dec. 10.
  • Shipping is free with no minimum order requirement now through Dec. 23.

Walmart

• Black Friday starts in stores: 6 p.m. Thursday (local time)
• Black Friday starts online: 12:01 a.m. ET Thursday
• Main deal page: Walmart Black Friday 2017 AD Deals

How do you stay sane on Black Friday? Share with us below or on our Facebook page.