Black Friday has the best prices of the year? Nope. 
Not true. At Dealnews, their job is to help you get the best possible price for what you want to buy and to keep you from getting hoodwinked while you're shopping. It's with that in mind that we go into the holiday shopping season with some trepidation, because along with great Black Friday deals come a lot of hype and misinformation.
We can't tell you how to score a better parking space at your local mall, but we might just be able to brighten your day by dispelling these common Black Friday shopping myths:
- Myth: Black Friday sales begin on, well, Black Friday. Actually, most major retail chains will start debuting Black Friday sales online on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.
- Myth: Doorbusters are free. Whaaa? Believe it or not, many people believe that Black Friday is the day to score freebies. If you find a free HDTV on Black Friday, please send us a photo of it alongside your pet unicorn.
- Myth: Black Friday deals are so good, they're worth sleeping overnight on a curb for. These days, more and more Black Friday deals are available online as well as in-store. In fact, last year, Target offered several of their door-busters online.
- Myth: Nobody will beat Black Friday prices. Major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot and Meijer offered various policies regarding price matching last year, and in some cases, they not only matched, but offered a better price.
- Myth: Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Saturday before Dec. 25 is actually the busiest shopping day of the year.
- Myth: If you have buyer's remorse, you can always just return your purchases. Not so fast! Stores tighten their return policies considerably during the holidays, making it harder to return items. Some retailers will only give you store credit even if you have a receipt Bah humbug!
- Myth: All of the good deals are printed in Black Friday ads. On Thanksgiving Day, retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy have historically advertised additional Black Friday deals that weren't in their circulars. These "secret" deals are only found online, so the trick is to uncover them on the Web on Thursday.
- Myth: Leaked Black Friday ads are accurate. In fact, they are often inaccurate or misleading. Last year, we jeered several retailers for advertising discounts that we just couldn't find.
- Myth: You have to go to an Apple Store in person for its Black Friday sale. In reality, all of Apple's Black Friday sale prices will be available online with free shipping sitewide. However, in our Black Friday predictions piece, we actually advised against shopping the Apple sale, as most resellers -- like Amazon, MacConnection, and MacMail -- will offer discounts that will be twice as good. Plus, in some cases, they may also offer a sales tax advantage.
- Myth: Black Friday is the best day to buy a new TV. Yes and no. While we'll see the lowest prices of the year for several HDTV sizes, they will largely attached to off-brand models. (Adopted from MSN Money partner)
