10 Cyber Monday Must-Knows

Separating frugal fact from fiction and putting the most Cyber Monday deals in your hands.

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In my continued search to save you time and money, we have some spectacular plans to put the most Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals in your hands. While I can't divulge those plans yet which kick off right here on Monday November 24th, here's what you need to know now.

              1. Cyber Monday will be better than Black Friday this year for the first time ever.I've                      been hunting deals for more than decade and while we saw the start of this trend last year,                    Cyber Monday will bring steeper discounts to the table this year.

2. More people will shop Cyber Monday which means bigger deals. Based on my deal lists last year, I saw a 105% increase on Cyber Monday over Black Friday. Last year 92 million people shopped on Black Friday while 131 million people shopped Cyber Monday. That trend is expected to continue this year.

3. Cyber Monday is not just for tech. Last year stronger, better, store-wide clothing sales appeared on Cyber Monday, for one of the first times beating out the Black Friday offerings. Stores that were offering 40% off site-wide Black Friday had 50% off Cyber Monday. Many other shopping categories will see similar discounts.

4. You need a strategy to save money on Cyber Monday. Aimless browsing and google does not get you the most deals. If you want access to the most deals in the country before anyone else, you need a strategy and for that, check out the next point.

5. SIGN UP HERE TO GET THE DEALS FIRST.I'm working with a team of deal bloggers and giant team of coupon hunters around the country. As soon as humanly possible, before Cyber Monday, you'll get access to every big Cyber Monday deal first.

6. Cyber Monday does not have the same Black Friday stock issues. Since stores are not tied to ad-scans, they can shift merchandise and offer great reductions throughout the day.

7. Appliances, gaming bundles and television deals are all better Black Friday.While we will see deals from all of these categories, Black Friday in-store or online is your better way to go.

8. Cyber Monday brings savings that are 10% - 14% better than Black Friday.That's based on my findings from last year and the trends we expect this year. Obviously there will be exceptions, but this is my prediction for many major categories.

9. Shoppers will spend more on Cyber Monday and it's something retailers notice. Last year the average shopper spent around $310 Black Friday and around $470 Cyber Monday according to an AOL Survey.

10. We see three important sale spikes on Cyber Monday. 12:01am EST when a good chunk of the deals are live. The next spike is 12:01am PST when certain West Coast retailers join the mix and the next spike is just before those office lunch breaks local time - usually between 11am and 12:30pm when most shoppers are making the most of Cyber Monday from their desks. Additional incentives sometimes appear during these three spike periods.

A reminder, if you want to get the biggest deals first for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and every day of the week, subscribe hereand feel free to follow @MattGranite on twitter.