It's all about the prep: How to get the best deals on Black Friday

Wear comfortable shoes‚ leave the children at home‚ stick to your budget and avoid spontaneous purchases.

These are some of the tips from South Africa's queen of saving to bargain hunters ahead of Black Friday on November 24.

Earning the title for creating a Facebook group with more than 7‚000 women who are stockpiling groceries in every available storage space in their homes‚ Ncumisa Ndelu warns that there is life after Black Friday.

"Set a reasonable budget bearing in mind that there is life after Black Friday. Do your homework‚ identify what you need and make a list. Avoid spontaneous purchases‚ remember children still have to go back to school‚" she advised.

And do your homework.

"A big part of your homework is knowing the normal price of an item so you can identify a bad deal. I recently bought an item where the 24-pack item marked as being on sale cost R229 and the 12-pack cost R105. It's okay to spend a minute or so interrogating the deal‚" Ndelu explained.

Shoppers who want more bang for their bucks have already started trawling the internet and emailing chain supermarkets for Black Friday catalogues.

Mandungulele Zukude plans to get catalogues online the day before Black Friday so she can compile her shopping lists.

"The lists will be sorted according to the shop. I am prioritising clothing and gadgets. I will be shopping online at midnight then‚ at 6am‚ I will be at my first shop‚" she said.

Thandi Simelane will not exceed her R6‚000 budget "no matter what Black Friday bargains I come across" when shopping for school stationery for her twins.

She plans to hit the online shops as soon as the clock strikes midnight‚ sleep and then head out to join the masses at stores.

South Africa's only digital credit product for online shopping‚ Mobicred‚ has already seen an increase in the number of applications.

"November and December are the biggest months for online shopping in the year. The Monday after November 24 is Cyber Monday where goods not sold on Black Friday are made available‚ sometimes even cheaper. Our customers have told us they stay awake until midnight‚ when many sales go live‚" founder Jason Sive said.

The average Mobicred spends R3‚000 on their first purchase and then about R1‚200 a month after becoming comfortable with online shopping.

"Most customers start by purchasing the ‘easy stuff’‚ the technology products. Once they are comfortable‚ they graduate to fashion. With fashion items‚ customers are often concerned whether the product is what they were expecting‚ will it fit correctly‚ and can they return easily and be refunded? After purchasing once‚ their frequency of online shopping increases.

"There has also been an increase in the health or beauty product sector. You can find niche sites selling everything from hair extensions‚ sex toys‚ gym products‚ baby products…anything really‚" Sive explained.