You can’t open your email inbox without seeing a flood of Black Friday promotions. The stagnant economy, with its high interest rates and punishing inflation, not only ushered in new leadership in the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, it has brought us what feels like our earliest Black Friday push.

Companies realizing that consumers are still reeling from weakened buying power are getting a jump on what little personal ‘open-to-buy’ dollars they see available this holiday season. All this in an effort to finalize the year if not ahead then at least not suffering through earnings well below originally expected.

All this works to the advantage of consumers, some looking to get the most out of every dollar spent with others looking to take advantage of an excellent deal.

So, how can you find the best sales? Well, hate to be the bearer of bad news but you’re going to have to sign up for some more emails.

To stay on top of who’s selling what at the best prices you’re going to need to subscribe to those annoying email newsletters. Yes, I know how much you hate these. Join the club.

It’s going to be a very competitive buying season, one in which companies selling similar products, or retailers selling the same products, will be in fierce competition for your purchase. Keeping a close eye on the sales can best be done by having those sales come to you, through your inbox.

Don’t worry, you can always go back after the holidays and unsubscribe.

For those of you shopping heavily on Amazon, you’ll want to utilize a key tool to let you know if the price you’re seeing is actually as good as it’s touted to be. The website CamelCamelCamel.com allows you to plug in the Amazon product URL to see the product’s pricing history.

Using this you can figure out if the Black Friday sale they’re promoting is a good price or if they sell at a considerably lower price during the Amazon Prime Days sales. It can also show you if the price has been inflated recently in order to convince you their discount is worth hitting that ‘add to cart’ button.

Now, not everything you want will be on Amazon. Or, maybe you’d prefer to spend locally rather than helping to underwrite Jeff Bezos’ next spaceship. Shopping locally is a great route to go.

While shopping at your local firearm or archery retailer may not secure you the very best price, especially when compared to a faceless out-of-state online retailer, the local shop likely values your patronage far more, backing up the sale with true customer service support.

Plus, they often have hands-on expertise with the equipment you’re looking for. And let’s be honest, spending good money always feels better when you have the chance to ‘taste, touch and smell’ the gear first. Though, they frown on you trying to taste the gear…but you get what I mean.

The other aspect about shopping locally is that you can develop a mutually beneficial rapport with the local owner or manager who will value your patronage enough to make sure you know when that the bow, range bag or scope you’re looking at will go on sale and to buy it then.

They can also alert you to when a manufacturer relaxes their MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) which allows retailers to reduce prices – sometimes dramatically – to move product.

If you’ve been looking at that pricey thermal imaging scope at the local shop, and the guy behind the counter knows you’ve been drooling over it, you want them calling you as soon as the manufacturer allows them to cut the price. Especially when the store only has one or two in stock.

Now is a real good time to buy. But first, now is the time to shop, and shop wisely. Do your homework, check the local spots, and pull out your wallet when both the price and the timing are right for you.

— Paul Erhardt, Managing Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network