Friday, November 26th. You’re sitting outside the local Best Buy at three in the morning, freezing your butt off for that new game station when a thought hits you; What in the world am I doing right now? Is that new Xbox really worth it? When will this store even open? Am I really getting the best deal? While I can’t tell you what on this earth has motivated you to sacrifice precious hours of sleep for shopping, I’ll do my best to answer the remaining questions.

Is the new Xbox worth it?

As Mr. Sill would say, it depends. In economics there exists the concept of opportunity cost, or what the value of your next best option is. When it comes to Black Friday, one such example would be sleep. If you’re willing to run on little to no sleep just to buy some new fancy toy, then by all means, go for it. Other examples include the cost of dealing with aggressive shoppers and gas costs. While the dedicated Breezes reader could tell you why gas prices may not be your biggest concern, ultimately it is up to you to weigh the costs and benefits in order to answer this question.

When will the store even open?

Despite the name Black Friday, many big name stores such as Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Macy’s, actually open as early as five or six on Thanksgiving. Now, is time to eat more turkey worth giving up for getting your hands on those super cute new shoes? Again, it all depends.

Am I really getting the best deal?

This time it depends on the product and the store. While many stores offer what appear to be deals so good you simply can’t pass them up, it’s important to remember that often times you get what you pay for. In recent years, companies have been employing the practice of buying cheaper versions of big ticket items like speakers or TV’s in order to offer what appears to be the best deal you’ll ever encounter. Be wary of brands you’ve never heard of, especially when it comes to electronics. And as far as name brands go, companies have more than one trick up their sleeves. Often time the cheapest models of products go on sale, products that simply aren’t as nice as their higher end counterparts. Another strategy employed is strategic pricing. By marking prices way up leading to Black Friday, by the time they go on sale the product is even more expensive than it originally was. So be a smart consumer. Do your research before hand on products you want and don’t buy things you don’t need.

While personally I’ll be busy recovering from a food coma, if the costs are worth it to you and you find yourself shopping following your Thanksgiving feast, then I wish you the best of luck. Remember: Be a smart consumer, bundle up for the cold, and try not to get trampled.