Black Friday... OMG...

[DeltaDiamond001]

I decided that I needed to go Black Friday/Grey Thursday shopping at least once in my life.

The check out line was already wrapped around the perimeter of our Walmart Supercenter at 11PM. I was NOT going to stand in that for some $3.96 Blurays...

I should have followed my intuition after seeing the 10 person tents, outdoor kitchens, and satellite dishes set up outside Best Buy... on TUESDAY!

OMG...

 

[kbelle8995]

I'm going today to some black friday sales. But at a decent hour as the rest of my family says. We don't get up and do the early stuff anymore.

Plus the stores here do not stock well and if You want something big you just better order it online.

I don't camp out. I prefer indoor plumbing and comfort.

I am just grateful that I don't have to work that mess. Can you imagine being an employee?

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm comfortably waiting for Cyber Monday.

 

[DeltaDiamond001]

I'm comfortably waiting for Cyber Monday.

That's what confuses me! You can get a lot of the same deals from the comfort of your own home! What's the point of spending three hours in a check out line?

I guess some people find it fun though! I'll let them shop while I sleep!

 

[WaltD4Me]

That's what confuses me! You can get a lot of the same deals from the comfort of your own home! What's the point of spending three hours in a check out line?

I guess some people find it fun though! I'll let them shop while I sleep!

My brother was a Target last night...he called me from the check out line.
Every single thing he got was on Amazon for the same price. No lines.

 

[wiigirl]

I'm comfortably waiting for Cyber Monday.

Same here...its crazy out there today.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

You read my mind as I was just coming on here to see if anyone was going out. I absolutely LOVE the excitement of Black Friday. With this being said, I haven't gone in the past two years because there really wasn't anything good in the flyers that prompted my doing so. I am kind of bummed not going out this year. It's fun for me.

I'm going to check out the online sales today though. I know that Disney has a great one going on now - 20% off with free shipping plus items already on sale.

 

[doconeill]

Not everything is available online - yet. They may show up in a day or so.

I did not know people started camping at Best Buy several days ahead -that's just crazy. But they were offering a TV for an unbeatable price - even our local news mentioned it as a "best deal" out there. I wanted one.

We got there 3.5 hours before opening. The line was already around the corner, down the length of the building, around the corner behind the building to the loading dock, and was already doubling back when we got there. By an hour before, it was doubled back all the way to the front again and to the end of the parking lot!

I have no idea what all those people were hoping to get. The only things I know they ran out of tickets for were the two advertised TVs - and the one I wanted was LONG before it got to me.

I still picked up a few items, and my sister got everything she went for.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I went out at 10am yesterday for the first time in years. I had forgotten how bad it could get on Black Friday.

I stood in line for an hour to checkout at one store, another I walked in saw the line and walked right out again. No way was I standing in another hour long line just for 2 items that I could have gotten online.
I picked up lunch, went to one more store where the line was only 15 minutes and then gave up.

I will be doing Cyber Monday shopping instead for the few items I am looking for while I try and figure out gifts for the rest of the people on my list.

Black Friday is scary!

 

[MarineVet]

Its a lot like being there at rope drop......get in early, and get it done and then leave.

If you wait till the store has been open a few hours, all those door buster deals are long gone. The last few times I went, it was for something DEEPLY discounted and I was there very early, like in the first 10 people in line. My local Sams Club and Radio Shack are very organized and everyone is civil, so if they don't have what I want, then I won't brave the crowds at the big box stores. I wanted some new bedding, and got awesome deals from Kohl's by going online on Wednesday and got the same prices as they offered in their stores. Shipping was free and I can wait a few days to get it by UPS, I also earned the Kohl's cash.

I bought a Nexus 7 tablet and thought about saving $20 by being at the Office Depot at 5 am (meaning being in line by 3:30), but then opted to spend the extra money by getting it Thursday night at Radio Shack online -and earning $50 in Radio Shack bucks.

I do think it can be fun to be out chasing deals though if you have the time and patience to do so.

 

[auroralark]

I bought a lot of stuff online. I go out every Black Friday but you won't catch me near a Walmart, Target (shopped online!) or Best Buy. We went out at 8 am and I hit Babies r Us, Kohls, JC Penney, Express, Children's Place, Build a Bear Workshop, Crazy 8, Hot Topic and Hallmark. Was home around 12 and got everything I wanted. The only long line we waited in was at Express. It was about a half hour. We peeked in at Old Navy and saw it was crazy so we didn't go in.

 

[txvjc]

I always laugh at WalMart horror stories on BF because I've never had any problems...for example, this year I showed up at 6pm for the 8pm and they already had a majority of the items out in the aisle unwrapped with signs saying you couldn't check out with them until 8pm (the big stuff like TV's had well defined lines with employees at the entrance of each handing out a ticket to each person who entered)...I walked around and got everything I wanted for the first sale by 7, looked around a little bit more, and was in line to check out at 7:50...at 8 the registers opened (all of them) and I was out the door by 8:05...I came home, unloaded, got desert and a drink went back at 9 to get in line for the blu-ray player that started at 10...got my ticket, got in line, played on my phone, 10pm hit, they started handing out the players, I walked to the front, paid and was out the door again by 10:10...super painless and no having to wait for something to ship...the funniest part is that the Walmart I go to is considered the "ghetto" Walmart because of where it's at but I have never seen any problems there the last 3 BF's I shopped there...I give credit to good management for not creating a zoo like atmosphere and making sure all hands were on deck (you couldn't walk ten feet without seeing an employee with a store map and ad in hand)

 

[stindall]

I've never been as far as I can remember and I never will...at least not during the daytime. Usually after about 3:00pm some stores are still having sales and there's no one out. I went to Barnes and Noble last night around 9:00pm and got some great deals and it was deserted! It was the same way at Ulta and Target. I usually go out around that time every year but I wasn't going to this year, but I'm almost done with all my shopping! Since Cyber Monday is a thing now you can stay home and get some of the same deals.

 

[Cherinva]

We made the mistake of going out on Thanksgiving night.....walked into Sears, picked up a couple little things, saw the line and put the things back and walked out. Then, went over to Target because there was a couple things I wanted from there.......most things were sold out by the time we got into the door and the line to check out was long...but it moved fast. NEVER again will I go out on Thanksgiving. I did got out the next day...JC Penney was crazy as was Bath and Body Works...the rest of the mall was ok..then went to KMart....it was slow.....the rest I did on line.

 

[DeltaDiamond001]

We made the mistake of going out on Thanksgiving night.....walked into Sears, picked up a couple little things, saw the line and put the things back and walked out. Then, went over to Target because there was a couple things I wanted from there.......most things were sold out by the time we got into the door and the line to check out was long...but it moved fast. NEVER again will I go out on Thanksgiving. I did got out the next day...JC Penney was crazy as was Bath and Body Works...the rest of the mall was ok..then went to KMart....it was slow.....the rest I did on line.

I finally made it out LATE on Friday. The mall was packed, but the stores weren't, oddly enough.

Bath and Body Works had some GREAT deals, didn't they?

I now have Wallflowers in almost every room, and a year's supply of bulbs!

The 2 for $20 candle deal was awesome. I think I got 6 or 8 candles. Eucalyptus Mint is my favorite. My house seriously smells like a spa right now...

 

[doconeill]

By the time we got to the front of the Best Buy and were waiting to go in, I could see across the parking lots that there was a huge line still waiting to get into Target as well, wrapped around the building.

I thought it was interesting that while Target had at least two police cruisers present with lights flashing, etc., we only had two cops, no cruiser, and no problems in line or in the store at all. In fact, everyone was pretty friendly.

 

[SA mom]

I haven't been in years, but several years ago I made the 5AM cattle call at Walmart and everyone was quite pleasant.