Black Friday 2016: Where to get the top deals in the Midlands

Black Friday – the American phenomenon – has Britain's high streets on red alert with staff braced for one of the most lucrative days in the calendar.

It's that same old dilemma – you want to grab a Black Friday bargain but you can't face those dreaded queues, 4am alarm calls, and mad scramble at the tills. What to do?

Well, I'll let you into a little secret...and the high street will not like it.

There's this little thing called the internet.

It's a magical and wondrous portal to all the goodies you could ever feast your eyes on.

It's kind of a big deal these days. And it allows you to do your bargain hunting from the comfort of your living room.

Heck, you could even do it in your slippers.

So put down your brolly, have a lie-in and fire up the laptop. And, between you me and the kitchen sink, here is my brilliant guide to bag a Black Friday bonanza.

The first destination has to be Amazon.

Not the South American rainforest – but the world's biggest online retailer.

In fact, you don't even have to wait until tomorrow to take advantage. This year Amazon started its Black Friday sale 14 days early.

It's ideal for buying tech, films and books as well as a whole host of gifts from watches to clothing, and homeware.

Deals this week have included a Lenovo Notebook for £179.99 down from £249.99.

A Sony Bravia 55-Inch Android 4K HDR Ultra HD Smart TV, is now £749 from £1002.

And if it's your thing, a Remington Pro Hair Removal Device is selling for £144.99 down from £299.99.

You can group your orders and get free delivery. It's as easy as that. Secondly, the British high street staple Argos is also getting in on the act. It has started its Black Friday sales online 13 days early. Rather than wrestle for a place around the catalogues and the ordering terminals when you can put your feet up?

Last year you could have snapped up a Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity and Sleep Wristband for £39.99 (was £59.99), a Kindle Paperwhite with Wi-Fi at £79.99 (was £109.99), and GoPro Hero+ LCD Screen Full HD Action Camera for £149.99 (was £249.99).

For fashion and clothes head to mandmdirect.com.

It has big designer brands for a fraction of the high street price.

And its Black Friday sale is already under way with more than 8,000 deals.

But hurry – these deals won't be around for long and we don't want you to miss out – once it's gone, it's gone. Plus, if you spend over £75 you'll receive free standard delivery. Easy-peasy.

Similarly asos.com is already offering 70 per cent off on top clothes brands during this week. So you can beat the queues now. A House Of Holland breton midi dress that has an RRP of £220 can be bought for £145 – a massive saving.

While for the men a Rudie slim fit suit that would normally cost £129 can be snapped up for £75.

And if you are looking to traditional outlets – you can still beat the queues at home too.

John Lewis and Marks & Spencer are getting in on the act with huge discounts of up to 50 per cent to be had.

The former even has a dedicated page on its website which will go live on Friday, so no need to scramble on the train to Grand Central.

Tesco is also a must.

The supermarket giant has rolled out 11 days of amazing deals and savings – up from four days last year, as it goes head-to-head with other major high street retailers like Argos and Currys. The Tesco Direct website is already awash with deals and will be until next Thursday.

You can grab yourself (or your significant other) a Dyson V6 Cordless Vacuum for £189, a saving of £110. A Circulon 5 piece pan can be snapped up for £80, saving you £120.

And a Amefa 44 piece Cutlery set is on offer for £50 – a £70 saving. Being in the Black Country we also can't resist a bit of Beatties.

Now owned by House of Fraser you can also jump onto their website to find a great deal.

Selected premium fashion items including a £79 Linea glitter wrap dress and £300 Label Lab leather bomber jacket will be half price.

Home electricals including the Nespresso coffee machines will feature in its Black Friday sales, with the Magimix black citiz machine reduced from £150 down to £105.

A top tip is to register on its website now to avoid delays when making your purchases.

So now you know where to look, what tactics do you need to make sure you are not beaten to the punch.

Make a plan of what you actually need/want and how much you're willing to spend.

This will make it easier for you to narrow your search and hone in on specific deals quicker.

Start looking early.

Ensure you don't miss the boat on what you want by shopping around for bargains as early as possible. Don't forget to regularly revisit the Black Friday pages of your favourite stores.

Browse around midnight, or during the early hours of the morning between 3am-4am to maximise your chances of success. Bookmark relevant pages ahead of time.

If you've been stalking that 42 inch TV or Apple iPad for weeks bookmark the pages so they're easy to find when the sales launch.

You don't want to miss out because you can't find the right page. Black Friday weekend could this year could break the £4 billion barrier for the first time. And with our help it really doesn't have to be bleak Friday.

So ,what are you waiting for?