Do not get ripped off on Black Friday...Part Four

The asterisk is there for a reason!

Well, asterisks. Keep watching the asterisks. This is especially important for cell phones and tablets, but it can apply to anything.

If a gadget is on sale for a very good price, look around that price for any asterisks (* symbols). This means there are additional terms to go with that very good price, and those terms might make that price seem much less appealing. Asterisk, by the way, is Latin for "strings are attached."

That cell phone on sale? *Requires two-year contract.

That tablet on sale? *Excludes these common variations more likely to be on the shelves.

That game system on sale? *Quantities limited, no rain checks.

The fault, dear shoppers, is not in ourselves, but in those stars.