Black Friday
 

Black Friday is quickly approaching. Do any of you plan to participate in this orgy of shopping?

Now, I've stayed on the sidelines for Black Friday for the past two years and am going to make a come back this year. I have my eye on one of those $400 laptops and was wondering if anyone knows approximately how early I have to show up in order to get one of these?

I still don't know what Black Friday is...

The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, aka Blitz day. The stores all have HUGE sales, and here in the states its considered the busiest shopping day of the year.

Where do they have $400 laptops? I haven't seen that one yet, and I NEED a new laptop. To get the good stuff I suggest showing up at least one hour before the sale begins.

One hour prior to sales is not nearly enough if you want the good stuff. My brothers and I went to Best Buy two years ago and at 6:00 the line went all around the parking lot. This is no exaggeration.

http://bfads.net/
http://www.blackfridayads.com/

Circuit City has a $400 laptop that is $300 after rebate.

Best Buy has a $380 laptop, but there black friday ad has been removed from all black friday sites.

Staples also has a $400 laptop.

I'm thinking of getting in line at 4:00 or 5:00am... Crazy? Maybe.

Goddamn it. I always have to be out of town for shit like this. I'm going to be spending half the damn day at an airport or flying.

Ok. So I've been asking around and it seems these laptops are extremely hard to get. Some say people start waiting in line at 8pm the night before! Can you believe it? I'm starting to question whether it's worth it.

Hm...

I boycott BF every year, no way in hell are you getting me out in that traffic and mess. I prefer to spend that day getting all my christmas decorations up

I may spend some time out and about later in the day (missing most of the good stuff). My wife and her sisters will leave around 4:30 am to get breakfast and hit the first line. I think they're crazy, but whatever floats their boat.

Same here. Especially with 2 small kids. and my husband always has to work that day, so I can't go shopping without the kids. We spend the day in our pj's, setting up the fake tree and decorating the house. Christmas music blasting. It is fun and something the kids are looking forward to.

I live in a town where ATM's are still considered innovative technology. I would have to drive, at minimum 3 hours to get to a Staples or Best Buy. If they open at 6, and I need to be there at least by 4, I would actually have to leave my house at 1am. this no longer sounds like a good deal since I can buy a laptop from my campus bookstore for $650. I just don't think $250 savings that I may or may not get are worth the aggrivation this year.

I usually wait until later in the afternoon to go out, when the lines have died down. This year we'll be in Seattle for part of the afternoon, but just to look at the Christmas decorations.

The only place we go shopping on Black Friday is Costco, which is surprisingly quiet.

Last year was the first time ever I actually went shopping on that day and I was amazed the amount of good deals you do get, its not a lie!!

Unfortunately I am broke and being 8 months preggo will not be joining the black friday crowd this year.

I totally agree with Shani & Sportswidow. No way will I go shopping on Black Friday.

most stores that have the really good price have a very finite amount of product at that price -and once it's gone it's gone... no rain checks... camping out the night before is the only way to get the product if you really want it... Personally my time is more valuable than that...

I worked too many black fridays over the years.. i'm over it... no shopping for me

I've always worked on Black Friday...and after I get out of retail, I doubt I'll be a Black Friday shopper. I'm not waiting in the cold for several hours to save a few bucks, not to mention I hate mass crowds of people, especially people who think it's ok to bite or punch the person next to them so they can get the last *whatever* that is on sale.

Most of the time, if I do participate, I usually go in the afternoon, when they are still having really decent sales but the masses have died down. Granted, all the SUPER AMAZING!!! stuff is gone, but most of the time, I didn't really figure I'd get it in the first place.

When I was at CompUSA it wasn't unusual to see people lining up first thing Thanksgiving morning. I guess cheap electronics are a lot more important than a yummy dinner with family. My boss would make it a point to drive by every couple of hours to make sure we didn't get robbed or something. I always thought he just hated his wife, lol.

To the poster that said "an hour before" :


Here in North Carolina, last year, I showed up at Best Buy to get the coveted "$400 laptops" that were the rage. At 2:30 AM, there was 700 people in line at Best Buy. 700 On Black Friday.

I went to Waffle House and showed up when they opened at 6:00 AM and got in line, given up on the laptops. All I wanted was The Shield DVDs for $20 each. By the time I got inside, every single big sale item, including The Shield DVDs, were gone.


I STRONGLY STRONGLY STRONGLY recommend either 1) Get to the store you want the NIGHT BEFORE, as in 9 PM on Thanksgiving Day, or 2) Don't even try. It's not worth it. Circuit City, Target, Staples, Office Depot, Wal-Mart, they were all the same. Anyone with a hot item, such as a $400 laptop (which turned out to be hunks of junk anyway) or other ridiculously low priced items, had 100s of people outside in the early morning after midnight. I got into Best Buy, looked for the DVDs, they were gone, and I left and went home and went back to bed. When I left Best Buy, there were around 300-400 people in line to check out, wrapping completely around the store. In 5 minutes after they opened. It was then that I decided to never go shopping early for Black Friday ever again. /tear

If I didn't have to work on that day, I wouldn't even bother getting up.

I am nigh convinced that some horrid little underworld demons thought this shopping freakout up just to screw with retail workers.

I'm working it. I never shopped it. Now I know why. People are freakin nuts and they're inconsiderate.

My 1st American shopping experience besides getting food and clothing was black friday last year. Wow, I was impressed at the fact that we got to Best Buy at 4am and it was a line around the side of the building.

No 400 dollar laptop for me :(

I dunno if I am going to get down on it or not this year... I might just to pick up Xmas gifts for my family and friends back home... but the maddness... I dunno if it'll be worth it or not.

But a nice portable Harddrive might be in order

The stupid-cheap laptops should be well below $400 this year.

Google Black Friday. There are plenty of leaked ad sites. You'll also find online sales have become big the last couple years to attract people who refuse to participate in the insanity They'll start opening those sales TG day or over the weekend with some waiting until Monday. Some excellent deals, more of them, and you get to shop in the buff without being arrested.

Guy I work with used to work at Best Buy. People start getting in line at midnight.

This is a website some of you might be interested in

http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

its supposed to list tons of major retailers and what will be onsale and includes if its a rebated price, an early bird price or an online price. It’s constantly updated and can be searched categorically or by store.

Wow... black friday... I've never been shopping on BF and I certianlly won't be going this year because we're spending Thanksgiving with my husband's family and the nearest major shopping center is in Cary NC. And helll no I don't wanna go to Cary on BF. Hopefully my Father In Law will take us skeet shooting again :)

On a related note, you can check out slickdeals.com every day of the year for ridiculous crazy cheap stuff, and go to newegg.com for all your cheap computer needs. And yeah, cheapdeals.com works- myself and like, eight of my friends got somewhere in the range of $5000 worth of FREE RAM from Best Buy because they'd printed a coupon wrong and were still honoring it.

You know those video clips that show people getting trampled when the store opens its doors? That is black friday.

I've worked them for many years when I was in retail sales... it was a good day for commission, but still a major pain in the ass. I will not be doing any shopping on that day. It's nuts.

This whole thread just leaves me with a sad feeling deep down inside.

If people were going hungry, and food were being handed out at 0400 hours, I would understand the intense need to be a part of the handout.

Are American so addicted to mostly irrelevent material objects that saving a few dollars is a driving passion in life? Would any of these people get up and stand out in the cold at 0400 to help their fellow man?

Word to the wise: I'll be at the Best Buy in either Green Acres or Rego Park (Queens) and if you're in my way - old lady or not, I will knock you down.

I hope youre kidding, if you're not I hope karma finds you flattened beneath a setpic tank.


I've never shopped BFs. Not worth the hassle.

I haven't decided yet. Sometimes I do but not always. I might actually have some money this time too, maybe I will go.....

I am going to avoid the lines and annoying stupid people, by shopping online. That day should be fantastic for sweet online deals, right?

My Christmas shopping is already done.

My wife and I are going. Last year when we went, it wasn't bad at all, just long lines and a fair amount of people. Most of the people we were around were quite considerate, even reminding us to pick up DVD+R's for our new DVD burner. All depends on the area I guess. It is kind of funny though to sit back and watch all the people including us. I think we're going to end up going to the city around 4:30ish.
We haven't had a bad experience with it just yet. Depending on how it goes this friday, we may or may not do it again.

If you want to get one of the magnificent piece of shit laptops for $400, you'll need to get in line on Thanksgiving Day. It didn't used to be this bad, but in the past 5 years it's degraded to the point of rioting on Black Friday. If you wake up at 4 AM and think you'll cruise on in and be the first one there, you got another thing coming. Bust out the tents if you want a <I>chance</I> at the big deals. Keep in mind that most of the big deals have around 10 items per store, so 490 people that want one won't get one, and 10 will. It's seriously simply not worth it, no matter how absurdly good the deals may seem.

Y'know, the only time I've ever found it worth it to camp out before a big sale was when the REI flagship store in Seattle has its Garage Sales. Back in the day, it was just once a year... probably more often these days, but I wouldn't be surprised if people still camp out now.

When I was in college, we staked out our tents pretty early the night before, all around the store on the sidewalks (it was packed). And believe me, camping out for an REI sale was an entirely apropos activity. :) There was a kind of circus atmosphere to the whole thing, and it was pretty orderly once the doors opened... they only allowed a certain number of members in at each time (oh yeah, you had to be a member to even go in to the sale), so you just bided your time according to what time you set up camp.

Of course, everything was used/returned/floor models, but man I got some nice deals back then. $100 climbing shoes for $10 was probably the best I did. $70 Thermarest for $30 wasn't bad, either. Now THAT was worth camping out for. :) Of course, we were also on the crew team, waking up at 4:30am anyway... so "all night" was really just half the night. :)

If you're desperate enough to do it, and it's a chain, find the least populated version of the store convenient. Staples in Timbuktu would be perfect. Hit the place a day or two ahead of time and ask the mgr where they're dispensing things. Last time I was crazy enough to fight through Black Friday the sale-day-temps misdirected people like the best gas station attendants.

Unless sales are your hobby, take Lasereth's advice and save the heart attack. Adopt my silicon valley sig:

Team Telecommute: On the job in our underwear.

"Bob, mind if we do this conference without the vid?"

I'm staying the hell away from the stores on Friday.

This is the day I go to work and get a great deal done in peace. I also take my managers that work that day to a long lunch. It turns into a fun day without all the shopping crap everyone else is engaged in!

We got there last year at 3:30, and lined up around 4:30ish. At a Staples, in the middle of New Hampshire. If we don't get nearly everything we want, that's fine. We're supposed to try for a laptop, but that's not the only reason we're going. It all depends on how populated the area around you is. If you're in the middle of a large city, you bet you're ass you're going to need to be in line like now.

Here is what I bought:

Sylvania's 6620LG 20" LCD TV $320 mail in rebate $200
HP Pavilion Desktop $640 mail in rebate $450
80 Hour Tivo $219 mail in rebate $220

Total on credit card bill: 1180
870 mail in rebate
Grand Total of credit card bill after rebates: 310

19" LCD Monitor/TV - $239.99

Which is regular price. After getting up at 4am, dealing with the insane people, the long lines....it just wasn't worth it.

Things like this just confuse me. So its basically free? In fact... theyre paying you a dollar?

I understand the idea is to get you through the door to buy the regularly priced items...

But... ???

I think its funny how this day works. Its like, probably the main reason why other countries hate us.

We had a good morning, the people were not bad at all. Driving around was a bit of a fun task but it wasn't really bad at all.

No kidding, though I'd think pity would be the appropriate response.

I woke up at 5:30, walked the dog, had my coffee, and spent the day catching up around the house. Nice, quiet, productive day. Until the OSU game anyway.

After the game I stopped by a couple of the big sale stores and chatted with those lucky enough to be on evening duty. Both said sales were well below goal - and lower than last year. Prices weren't all that amazing which might explain why they had plenty left of most draw product. I was able to pick up the few things I might have purchased this morning.

We were speculating this was testing the waters for a more drawn-out Black Week/Month. Given the purchasing hysteria today why should they bother cutting profits beyond what sustains the legend for next year? Makes me wonder how things went in other areas.

Oh , and to confirm the report above, both stores had two each of the cheap desktops and laptops. I could have blown off once-a-year family time last night to rush home, get the rain gear and camp at the store to maybe save a couple hundred on a low-end model? Not likely.

Ya.. why go through all that trouble for sub par electronics that aren't worth much to begin with? You get what you pay for.

I did get the TIVO free, but I still had to sign up for a subscription with the company, which added on $200. But, I am still saving around $220.

i think overall it was pretty quiet this year. i got off work at 3 that day and i did a bit of shopping to take advantage of the really good deals and i was pleased to not have to throw elbows or get one in return. I think people are wising up.

I got the evening shift (I work at Kohl's). The horrendous disaster I walked into defies description. No department, no shelf, nothing, was left intact. Merchandise was strewn as if a tornado had blown through. Customers were acting as if we were a flea market and were trying to bargain down prices! "Well, it's got a small chip, can't you take something off for that?" Uh, how about you find one without a chip....Kids were left by their parents to play with the toys as if we had daycare or they'd walk around with the stuff, then when done playing, dump it wherever. Quilt sets ripped apart and left on the floors. Wrapped merchandise unwrapped and strewn everywhere, boxes ripped open, looking like the stuff inside had exploded.
Meanwhile, next door, the manager of the Circuit City refused to open his doors at 5am as scheduled because people in the line were fighting.
All I can say is, thank the powers that be I'm a graphic artist-everyone on my list gets something I designed. One online order to a tshirt printer and, except for maybe 3 or 4 things I need from stores, I'm done!
Black Friday, my ass...HELL Friday is more like it. People are nuts....

That'd be hell. ng, I'm trying to decide which shift would be better: The early battles or the cleanup. I still vote sleep.

"Black & Blue Friday"

I'd think insurers would be looking carefully when renewing policies for these retailer. One lawsuit could quickly turn the black into red.

I got out to the black friday frenzy!, first timer!. I got a call from a friend I hadn't heard from in awhile at 1:30 am. Said she knew i'd probably be up and if i was planning on going to best buy to get there because the line already had a few hundred people. Unfortunatly I was a few hours away. When I got there, the line was maybe 500 long, at 3:30 am. I was a bad boy and kinda cut in line with my friends. I ended up getting a Sony Vaio laptop for $600 (price on the box is $899.99). I originally came for the $379 HP, but the vaio is a better laptop anyhow. After that I headed over to the sears clusterfuck. Got out of there for $169.99, with a 263(?) peice craftsman mechanics set, it was $100 off. Then I went to walmart, picked up a 1gb SD card for 13.88 and some JVC digital camcorder for $200- ended up taking the camcorder back today though, cause it turned out it was some damn made for wal-mart thing, and I could get better, cheaper elsewhere. Also went to best buy again saturday and got 2 webcams for 24.99(normal price is 29.99 each), another 1gb sd card for $14, and Battlefield 2142 for $24. All in all, I spent a fortune, and had a good time. I kind of found the massive line, and the excitement to get into the store kinda fun, will be saving up and participating again next year, but I'll make sure I show up earlier with a good book and lotsa clothes.

Tons of deals online. Screw waking up early to shop. On Outpost.com, they had a DVD burner for $40 after rebate. And a 300GB hard drive for $60!!!

Also, it just dawned on me yesterday morning. Price adjustments! Lots of store will let you buy their stuff at regular price, and when their sale starts a few days later, give you the difference from the sale price. Of course, you have to check the store's price adjustment policy. Coupons and the "10% off with your card" deals may not apply. So let's remember this for next year.