Consumer Alert: It’s Black Friday! Retailers are offering ‘epic’ deals earlier this year.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — It’s Black Friday. That’s right. Retailers are having sales right now that they say compare to deals we usually don’t see until the day after Thanksgiving, the traditional Black Friday. But every good bargain hunter is likely asking whether we might see better deals if we wait. But this year if you wait, you may not be able to get the product at all.

For weeks I’ve been telling you about the country’s supply chain issues. We have a confluence of events causing our massive shortages, not the least of which are pandemic regulations slowing progress at the ports and too few drivers to get those products to retailers.

Retail leaders say expect limited supplies of everything from toys to electronics. Here’s what is also not working in our favor. The USPS has instituted some new rules that will slow the delivery of many of your packages. With all that in mind, retailers have started deep discounts much earlier than usual.

Let’s start with that 800-pound gorilla of a retailer known as Amazon. Their sales started on Monday and everyone else has followed suit. The online giant is calling their deals “epic.” They’re slashing prices on things like tablets, Kindles, the Ring doorbell, AirPods and the hottest toys this year.

Of course, I checked that list of toys. The sale started Monday and a couple of those popular toys are already out of stock like my Squishy Little Dumpling.

It’s an interactive doll where you squeeze its little cheeks and the doll reacts. My kid wants this goofy thing, but this is an example of how hard it will be to find some of the hottest toys this year.

Here are some of the other retailers having pre-Black Friday sales.

• Amazon.
• Walmart.
• Best Buy.
• Nordstrom.
• Wayfair.
• Lowe’s.
• Target’s sale starts Sunday.

Now back to the question every bargain hunter is asking. “Might I find a better deal later?” Experts tell us shipping costs are expected to get worse for retailers as Christmas nears, which means they may not be willing to offer deep discounts. And keep in mind that if the price of your purchase drops later, many retailers will refund you the difference. It never hurts to ask.