It’s not going to be long now… and if you put your ear to the ground, you can clearly hear the ominous rumble of the train coming right at you. Black Friday will be upon us in a big hurry, and if you aren’t watching the signs of sales trends and predictions, you might be working harder than you need to during the Christmas rush, in order to recoup your losses! The category lists are growing fast on sites like  toptenwholesale.com, manufacturer.com, wholesaleu.com, and offpricenetwork.com as products find their place in the ever-widening scope of goods that make their mark on the radar screen. Here’s some information that might come in handy if you’re looking to catch a few of the opportunities that come during a time of record unemployment and foreclosures, huge decreases in consumer credit, a big surge in über-frugal discretionary spending, and the audible hiss of air being let out of the tires as overall confidence lulls…

I’m predicting that consumers will spend more on Black Friday, but less overall during the 2009 holidays.

• Last year’s data shows us that this was the case then, and it will most likely be the case now. Shoppers are getting early bird-itis, and it’s already looking like the deal-hunters aren’t waiting for the waves of bargain shoppers to come crashing into them as they try to snag a few good finds with minimal fuss. Convenience will be the biggest selling point, and those who offer the goods that consumers want - at a bare minimum of effort - will be the winners.

• Quantity limits may sour the deal. I’m seeing a lot of people pointing out the fact that stores and online shopping sites who try to coerce or twist the arm of the consumer will end up feeling the pain… since there is a huge playing field, and choice is at an all-time high for those who are doing their purchasing from their armchair. I’m not talking about the people who make the trip to the mall, I’m talking about the consumers who make their buying decisions as they point and click on the sites that reward them with a feeling of security, not a take-away close… either be prepared to sell the item, or mark it as SOLD OUT, but don’t tease!

• Help them visualize the purchase… because it’s going to be the sites that show consumers what they’re getting that will reach the point of purchase! If you think it’s not worth the time and effort to post pictures, pictures, and more pictures… then you should at least be posting some entertaining video content of your goods in action! When buying dollars are in short supply, the sellers who bring the purchase into a visual context will get the sale.

• Watch out for that strange stuff coming out of strange places. I’m suddenly seeing a LOT of heavy-hitting content that raves about the great deals to be had buying discount goods from China… but some of the actual articles are almost impossible to understand. If you are reading some copy on a seller site, and it doesn’t sound like something that your third-grade English teacher would have passed with a D-, stay away. Some of the big guns (ahem, Alibaba) are literally pouring content out there, and it’s being written by underpaid college grads who don’t even know who’s going to be reading the stuff they write. I know what I’m talking about… I’ve met some of them. Times are tough in China too, and these kids are having a hard time scoring decent jobs.

• Electronics rule! Games, cameras, laptops and desktop computers, HDTV, and GPS will be too hot to handle in some cases, and it’s the sellers who make it as easy as possible to ship – for no fee – that will land the sales! These goods are everywhere, so don’t rely on the basics for getting your customer to pay attention. Be creative. Offer online demos and reviews of the hardware, to help the customer visualize and feel out the product before clicking on their shopping cart icon. On the subject of laptops, I must stress the importance of categorizing and illustrating the feature sets of these products, because the strategy this year is to educate the customer as much as possible on what they will get from their purchase, in order to avoid the dreaded returns and complaints from people who didn’t know what they were getting. If you think people won’t be quick to call customer service, just look at how many PC products are out there… and apply the math to some other popular wholesale or retail items while you’re at it.

Take care of the customer, and they will take care of you. This year is all about making sure people are feeling good about their purchase, so don’t be afraid to apply more of your efforts towards the presale. Good luck, and happy wholesaling as you continue to Find it. Source it. Profit!