SEATTLE -- It happens the day after Thanksgiving -- Black Friday. Is this really a great day for deals -- or is this all a bunch of hype?

"Black Friday really is the real McCoy of bargain shopping days," says Edgar Dworsky, with the Web site ConsumerWorld.org

"You'll probably see the lowest prices of the season on Black Friday but that doesn't mean on everything or that every door buster is a good deal," he says.

The only way to know is to check the ads. See what you might like to get, then go online to compare prices. There are lots of shopping robots that will do that for you -- such as pricegrabber.com, shopping.com, and pricespider.com

And don't forget why stores are having these midnight madness and early bird sales -- they're trying to make money!

"The purpose of the door buster is to get you in the door and then when they have you there and tell you, 'Oh, I'm sorry we sold the last one, incidentally we only had 3 of them,' you're going to be looking at other stuff," Dworsky said.

That's where you can really bust your budget. Remember there are going to be sales from now through Christmas, and then afterwards.

More Information:

Top 10 Tips to bag a Bargain on Black Friday