There has been a ton of buzz circulating about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. With the economy top of mind, many retailers are gearing up to launch their best holiday deals yet!

I’m not so keen on the Black Friday traditions involving camping outside Best Buy while eating a cold Thanksgiving dinner from tupperware with a plastic fork. Time is money, and why waste either if you don’t have to? Not to mention, I find massive crowds disturbingly overwhelming.

It looks like I’m not the only one who prefers to shop for the best deals in their PJ’s this year. In fact, a recent Shopzilla.com study found that only 10% of respondents prefer Black Friday to Cyber Monday. Also worth noting from a holiday shopping survey conducted by Shopzilla and Shop.org is that 83.7 % of retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday (up from 72.2 percent last year).

My advice? Stay in your slippers, shop online!

Not only will you avoid the chaos of shopping at malls and department stores, but a lot of Web deals extend far beyond Cyber Monday, some even lasting through the remainder of the year!

To help prepare you for what the Web has in store this Cyber Monday, here are a few tips followed by a round-up of deals and resources on my radar.

Tips and Tricks: 

• First and foremost, shop around. Whether in person or online, find out what options are available to you.
• Check online for coupon codes. It’s the most wonderful time of the year for codes, so check sites like Retail Me Not (more listed below) to see what coupon codes are in circulation. Don’t just settle on the first one, remember to keep a few options open.
• Of the sites offering coupon codes for the product you want to purchase, which offer free shipping? Some don’t even charge tax, so it’s always good to check into these things, it can save you an additional $20 or more!
• Still can’t decide? Consider who has speedier shipping and/or read online reviews to see which stores have higher customer ratings.
• If you find a better price online but prefer to buy in person, see if the store is willing to price match (Nordstrom is great about this).
• Finally, once you’ve made a purchase, keep checking for a lower price. Many stores will credit you the difference if something goes on sale after you buy it.

Where to Shop?

Shoes: Endless has free overnight shipping and usually has codes available. They also have a 110% price match guarentee with a 360 day return policy.

Department Stores: Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s often have codes in circulation that work for both online and in-store purchases. As for luxury department stores, Sak’s takes the cake with their 70% off sales (latest just started yesterday). As for lower end department stores, I’m a big fan of Target. Wal-Mart and Kohl’s have also been rumored to have good online specials this year.

Online Clothing Boutiques: Revolve Clothing always has some sort of discount available, not to mention free two-three day shipping and easy returns.

Tech & Gadgets: Dell has a lot of awesome deals going for this week’s shopping festivities. I really want the new Canon SD880 IS digital camera and though it retails for $299, you can get it through Dell coupon codes for less than $230 plus free shipping (definitely gave my boyfriend a hint about that one). Another good place to checkout is Onsale.com, especially if you’re looking for iPods, laptops and/or HDTVs.

Everything Else: Amazon and eBay are both good sources if you’re looking for a good deal on something specific.

Hot Deals:

Let me begin by saying thank you to Moody Blues for creating a special 25% off discount for Clutch22.com readers, good through December 31st with code: holiday25clutch.

Rue La La, one of my favorite online sample sale sites, is joining in on the festivities by offering some of their best sales yet with Fendi, Prada, Christopher Radko (holiday ornaments, my mom loves), Hanky Panky, and more! Not a member yet? Comment and I’ll send you a referral.

Shopbop has launched a Cyber Monday program where you save $50 on purchases over $250, $100 on purchases over $500 and so on. For those interested in splurging on a new dress this holiday season, you might as well order through Shopbop and save a little while you’re at it.

My Top Resources:

Grechen’s Codes is an awesome source for fashion-related promotion codes, and you better believe she’s all over Cyber Monday! Is there something specific you listed on your holiday wish list? If it’s for your wardrobe, she’s probably got a code!

Retail Me Not is the best place to look if you already know the website for which you are trying to locate a coupon code. It also tracks accuracy by allowing members to note if the code worked for them and submit comments.

The Purse Forum Deals & Steals is an online community where mega online shoppers post and discuss the hottest deals, mostly involving clothing and accessories with worthy exceptions on occasion (e.g. restaurants, magazines, tech). I wouldn’t recommend this site if you’re not comfortable sorting through forum threads. It definitely requires patience, but this is often the first place things are posted.

More Sites to Check (thanks Matt and Ali):

• Slick Deals
• BFAds
• Cyber Monday
• DealTaker.com
• Dog Funk
• DODTracker.com

Photo Credits: NYT, AP, SFGate

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