Anthropologie’s Black Friday 2013 promotion is unveiled — 20% off everything!! Plus BHLDN is playing too!

Anthropologie’s Black Friday promotion has been unveiled — today only, take 20% off everything! Full price, sale, furniture, jewelry, shoes, from the highest designer label to the most simple doorknob, you save on everything today on Anthropologie’s website and in-store.

If you’re trying to decide whether to go to the store or not, I’d recommend going. Why? Come inside to find out more…

In addition to the 20% off everything promotion Anthropologie’s stores will be giving out small “poppers” with each purchase. These little treats are in-store only. These festive little goodies are each hiding a surprise inside. You can get one of five possibilities:

*A Holiday Survival Guide that’s an Anthropologie exclusive (playlists, recipes, DIYs and more)
*An Online Personal Stylist appointment
*A free gift of a measuring spoon set
*$10 off instant discount taken at the register
*$100 Anthropologie Gift Card

How sweet would it be to be one of the lucky few to pop open $10 off or a $100 gift card? Well worth the trip to the store, I’d say!

Every year this community is bombarded with questions about Black Friday. Here are some of the most frequently-asked questions.

A quick summary of the promotion:
– Anthropologie’s Black Friday promotion will be 20% off ALL items
– This promotion runs ALL DAY FRIDAY
– NOT ALL STORES will open at 6 AM. See when your store opens here.
– Promotion is valid in stores and online
– Anthropologie WILL NOT honor PAs during Black Friday
– Stores will likely leave their phones off the hook during the Black Friday sale hours
– Stores WILL NOT hold items during the Black Friday sale hours
– Throughout the weekend, sale items are an additional 20% off (no code required)

WHAT WILL ANTHROPOLOGIE’S BLACK FRIDAY PROMOTION BE? 
Anthro members get 20% off regular-priced items in stores and on the Anthropologie website. This promotion lasts ALL DAY Friday, 11/29/2013 only. The Black Friday promotion officially ends at 2:59 AM ET on Saturday 11/30/2013.

WILL ANTHROPOLOGIE’S BLACK FRIDAY BE IN STORES ONLY OR ONLINE TOO? 
Both. In stores and on their website.

WILL I BE ABLE TO GET PRICE ADJUSTMENTS (PAs) DURING THE BLACK FRIDAY SALE?
No. At least not according to the email about Black Friday.

There is a caveat here. In prior years some customers have been successful in getting PAs due to extremely nice SAs breaking the rules. But I would not count on it and know that any SA that does a PA is not following policy and you risk getting them in trouble by asking. Personally I wouldn’t even bother asking.

You can read Anthropologie’s official price adjustment policy here.

WILL STORES HOLD ITEMS DURING THE BLACK FRIDAY SALE HOURS?
No. Some SAs may break the rules to do this for you. But they are breaking the rules. Many of the busier stores will have their phones off the hook during the Black Friday sale hours.

WILL STORES DO CHARGE/SENDS DURING THE BLACK FRIDAY SALE HOURS?
No. Again, some SAs may break the rules to do this for you. But they are breaking the rules. Many of the busier stores will have their phones off the hook during the Black Friday sale hours.

For those new here, a charge/send is when you call a store, pay for an item in that store by phone and the store ships the item to you.

WILL MY ANTHROPOLOGIE WEBSITE ORDER GET CANCELLED? I’M WORRIED ABOUT INVENTORY.
This is the big question. Last year you may recall that there was such a rush of orders that Anthropologie got overwhelmed. There were big inventory issues with orders placed on Anthropologie’s website during Black Friday. And that was before the mess that has been the last 6 months, with loooong lead times between placing an order and cancellations and stores fulfilling some orders.

It appears Anthropologie has disabled the store fulfillment function for some items today. It would be very hard for any website to keep up with the rush of traffic a flash sale like this brings. Even the fastest database can’t process hundreds of transactions simultaneously. Anthropologie’s challenge is to keep cancelled orders as few and far between as they can.

Your safest bet is to go to an Anthropologie store and buy the items you want in person. I realize that’s not possible for everyone. But if you have the choice, be there to grab the item yourself. People in no-Anthro zones depending on the website will be at a distinct disadvantage.

Here’s the worrisome part: you may successfully place an order on Black Friday only to have it cancelled days or weeks later. I hope this doesn’t happen, I really hope Anthropologie’s nailed down the issues they’ve been having in fulfillment. It seems to have gotten better this year though I’ve still had a few late-stage cancellations.

IF I PLACE AN ORDER ON BLACK FRIDAY AM I SURE TO GET IT IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS? 
So long as there’s inventory to fulfill your order yes you’ll get it in time for the Christmas holiday.

I’M IN CANADA! WHAT ABOUT ME?
Yes, this promotion works for you too!

WILL BLACK FRIDAY ONLY APPLY TO SALE ITEMS? WHAT ABOUT HOME STUFF? ACCESSORIES?
Yes Anthropologie’s Black Friday sale does apply to sale items, and all full-priced item are included — clothing, accessories, shoes + boots, beauty, home, etc.

WHAT ABOUT AFTER BLACK FRIDAY? ANY MORE SALES COMING?
It’s very likely more sales are coming. Will they be better than this? Hard to say.

If last year is any guide, we can expect more promotions in December. There was a take $25 off every $100 you spend promotion in mid-December, and a FREE SHIPPING weekend. So before you rush headfirst into Black Friday, consider that some deals might be on the way and won’t have the same rush or craziness to them. Although given how good Anthropologie’s doing, there might not be better promotions on the way this year.

ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ROXY?
Uh yup. First, set yourself a budget and stick to it. I’d probably pre-load my shopping basket with the gifts I’m looking to buy to make checkout as quick as possible on Friday. Be prepared for cancellations. And most importantly keep chill. It’s just stuff!! There’s no sense in knocking someone over. No sense in getting super upset if an order gets cancelled. I cannot believe that people die in Black Friday stampedes each year. It’s terrible.

Remember too that an item you’re not that into isn’t any better on sale or super sale. Watch yourself — don’t grab items just because they’re a great deal. Buy them because you want them or because you want to gift them. Don’t fall into the trap.

Personally my plan is to go to my stores since I’m lucky enough to have 5 in the city. Or I might skip Black Friday altogether. I just hate the pressure and frenzy of it all.

WHAT ABOUT BHLDN? ARE THEY DOING BLACK FRIDAY TOO?
They sure are! For Black Friday, BHLDN is taking new Markdowns taken, up to 40% off GOWNS – including some of their favorites from Catherine Deane and more! – reception dresses, bridesmaids & mothers dresses, shoes, accessories and décor in stores and online at www.bhldn.com.

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? ASK AWAY!!

Here are some of the items on my hunting list this year, clothing and accessories-wise. What’s on your list? What did you buy today (if anything)? Will you go to your store? If so, what did your popper have inside?!?