Here’s hoping Silicon Prairie shoppers find their Black Friday less cramped, but no less bargain-filled, than this day-after-Thanksgiving scene. Photo from robert.barney on Flickr.
Although the title of this post includes the words “Black” and “Friday,” no ear-splitting descriptions of “partyin’ partyin’… YEAH!” are contained herein. As far as we’re concerned, the only thing that’s “gotta get down” today is the price of merchandise.
Yes, it’s Black Friday, the day that drives droves of day deal-crazed shoppers to stores — of the brick and mortar and online varieties — in search of the season’s best bargains. Several Silicon Prairie startups are among the businesses offering steep discounts or looking to otherwise get in on the Black Friday fun.
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Below is a look at some of the companies with deals and promotions on tap for the most sensationalized shopping day of the year (listed alphabetically … because, on a day that’s as full-blown bonkers as Black Friday, SPN seeks to maintain some semblance of order).
Bloom
Omaha-based Bloom will join the fray on Cyber Monday, offering what the company has called its “most aggressive promotion to-date.” Customers will earn 40 percent back on all purchases from the social beauty store, in the form of “BloomDollars” that can be used toward future purchases on bloom.com.
casesmpl
The Des Moines-based team behind casesmpl is sponsoring a contest for one of its carrying cases for electronics. From to the casesmpl blog:
There’s lots of talk about Black Friday and Cyber Monday this Thanksgiving holiday, however we wanted to get to the root of the festivities, and find what our users are truly thankful for.
So, starting today and running until midnight on Monday, casesmpl is taking submissions about what its users are truly thankful for. The author of the winning entry gets his or her choice of a casesmpl product. Submissions should be sent to grant@casesimple.com.
Craftly
Des Moines-based Craftly has yet to launch, but “the place to buy and sell handmade goods socially” published a blog post with tips — “ask for custom orders” and “bring a gift list” are among the nuggets — on how to make the most of the season’s final Market Day Iowa. Market Day Iowa, an indie craft market, is at the Kirkwood Building today from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. More Black Friday advice from the Craftly team:
Skip the mall and shop handmade! Not only will your gift be unique and made with care, but you will be supporting local artists in your community!
Hayneedle’s homepage today advertises the company’s variety of Black Friday promotions. Screenshot from hayneedle.com.
Hayneedle
Omaha’s Hayneedle has added some 150 employees and expanded the capacity of its distribution center to hold 40,000 new items. That’s all to accommodate outbound shipments that will triple during peak weeks of the holiday season, according to Donna Faust, Hayneedle’s director of marketing.
As the company beefs up its team for the holidays, it’s cutting prices. Hayneedle is providing free shipping on all Friday orders, offering an extra $15 – $60 savings on qualifying orders and providing “door buster pricing on great gifts,” Faust said.
“Our Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers provide even more savings for our customers,” she said, “and are the best offers of the year by far.”
Proxibid
According to a press release from Government Auction, Omaha’s Proxibid is helping the auction house conduct its first Black Friday Asset Auction, a one-day event which will feature over 500 items up for auction. Bidding on many of those items will start at $1.
QuickCal
The QuickCal team announced via tweet (left) today that “we’ll join in with all the #blackfriday fun.” QuickCal, whose team is led by Omaha’s Jim Boutcher, is on sale in the App Store for 99 cents today, a 66 percent discount from its normal sticker price ($2.99).
SmartyPig
Per a post on its blog, Des Moines-based SmartyPig is offering up to double the cash back for customers who use their SmartyPig cash rewards cards to make purchases with participating vendors.
The deal, which started Thursday, runs until Monday. “Black Friday Bonus Shopping is a weekend you and your family can’t afford to miss,” the blog post says, “and this year it starts early!”
Zaarly
Zaarly, which is based in San Francisco but has a sizable contingent on the ground in Kansas City, reported earlier this week that it had seen a spike in shopping-related requests. Some of the interesting figures, per a press release:
- 50+ Zaarly requests from people looking to hire Black Friday shoppers (willing to pay as much as $200 for someone to shop for them on Black Friday)
- More than 175 people have offered their services to be personal shoppers for these requests
- Best Buy is the most popular store mentioned
- Flatscreen TVs are the most popular items.
- A creative Zaarly request: Someone is willing to pay for a reserved parking spot, close to the entrance.
Zaarly’s blog also offers advice on “How to Hack Black Friday.”
