For die-hard shoppers, the term “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” instills great excitement and anticipation for a hustling, bustling and deal-filled kick-off to the holiday shopping season starting with the day after Thanksgiving.

There are several ways for shoppers to stretch their dollars and save time as they purchase gifts for friends and loved ones during the busiest shopping weekend of the year. Scott Wainner of Dealighted.com and ResellerRatings.com, two consumer-friendly websites that offer the best up-to-the-minute daily deals and consumer-generated online merchant ratings, offers the following shopping tips:

* Black Friday deals sell out extremely fast, but the good news is that there are tons of deals to be had. The trick is finding deals that are of interest to you. To get a sneak peek of every Black Friday sale in advance, before you leave the house or make an online purchase, there are many websites that can help, like Dealighted.com’s Black Friday 2010 and Cyber Monday 2010 pages, that help you save time and money by showing the freshest and most popular daily deals, all in one place.

* Check that price. The product you want to buy is priced differently from store to store (often, with widely different prices). Several websites, including ResellerRatings.com customer reviews and online store ratings, offer price search engines that quickly generate price comparisons for a particular product at different online stores. Take advantage of this technology to make sure that what you think is a good deal really is.

* Check the reputation of unfamiliar retailers. If you find a terrific offer from an unknown merchant and it seems too good to be true, check it out. Do an online search on the business and review consumer-generated review sites like ResellerRatings.com to find out what other shoppers are saying about them. It only takes a minute, saves time and money and could help you avoid a lot of grief later.

* Share your experiences to help other shoppers. Reporting your experiences will help others to be “in the know” before making final purchasing decisions. If you have a wonderful shopping experience, let others know about it on online merchant review sites like ResellerRatings.com. Conversely, if you are unsatisfied or find a dishonest merchant, you should report that experience, as well. Many retailers are eager to resolve issues. In fact, 700 online retailers participate at ResellerRatings.com to actively monitor customer reviews and often try to make things right with reviewers.

Wainner also advises that shoppers review return and exchange policies and double-check online merchant delivery dates before making any final purchases.

For more information on how to shop smarter this Black Friday or Cyber Monday, visit blackfriday.dealighted.com or cybermonday.dealighted.com.