BBB advice to get you from Black Friday through Cyber Monday

Here comes the official holiday shopping season, ready or not.

The Better Business Bureau has tips and advice to help you navigate the “door busters,” the flashy ads and other sales tactics encountered during your shopping expeditions.

Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year. In 2014, nearly 140 million shoppers spent $50.9 billion in stores on the day after Thanksgiving.

This year’s prediction from the National Retail Federation is that the average shopper will spend $463 on gifts for family members. The NRF says the average item is discounted 24 percent to motivate all those shoppers to spend.

To be sure you are among those who spend smartly and don’t get caught up in the hype, here is the BBB’s smart shoppers’ to-do list for Black Friday:

▪ Dig into product reviews. When read judiciously, they can tell you a lot about the items you are considering, including the history of product satisfaction.

▪ Look at bbb.org for business reviews of large and small retailers. BBB reviews exist for more than 4.7 million businesses. You can benefit from others’ experiences and see how those businesses responded to any complaints.

▪ Inspect the small print in ads. Find out how limited the quantities are, how many can be purchased at once and for how long the advertised prices are good. There can be a lot of restrictions hidden in that small print.

▪ Inquire about return and warranty issues. Get gift receipts and pass those on to the recipient of your gift, along with any relevant information about exchanges, returns and warranties, including possible time expirations.

Cyber Monday

One of the biggest online shopping days of the year is the Monday following Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday. Among the things worth remembering as you shop digitally this Cyber Monday:

▪ Watch out for fakes. Fake websites can be designed to look like major retailers’ sites. When there’s a doubt, check with bbb.org to look for customer reviews.

▪ Know the business’ return policy. Search its website for it and read it carefully.

▪ Pay with a credit card for the additional protections it can provide against fraudulent transactions.

▪ Don’t shop on websites if the web address does not have the “s” after “http.” The “s” ensures security. Look also for the security lock icon in the task bar.

▪ Use anti-virus software and keep it updated.

▪ Watch out for phishing scams. One popular scam is an e-mail that appears to be from a package delivery company with a link to supposed tracking information. That link could install malware or initiate identity theft.

Beyond Black Friday

Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday, a designation that began in 2010. The initiative is meant to spotlight a community’s small, local businesses. Last year’s event reportedly saw $14.3 billion spent across the nation at those businesses.

Here are some of the reasons you should think about “shopping small”:

▪ Small businesses create more jobs within your community when you frequent them more. Plus they help out other local businesses like accountants, printers and farmers.

▪ Dollars spent at local businesses give a much greater return to local economies.

▪ Customer service is good, making your shopping experience better.

▪ Local businesses are “greener.” They cause less transportation pollution.

▪ They are more familiar with your community’s needs and lifestyles.

▪ One-of-a-kind businesses (instead of the giant big box stores) add personality and character to a community.

Shopping is more complicated than in the past. Be smart this holiday season and keep your shopping experience a satisfactory one.

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 4:20 PM with the headline "BBB advice to get you from Black Friday through Cyber Monday."