How was your Black Friday shopping experience?

[BeachLove]

I have to say mine was pleasant. Very nice people out and extremely helpful too. People helping strangers find their sizes, lots of "thank you" and "please" not pushing, etc. (Not saying it didn't ever happen, just nothing I saw) I ended up just driving by Walmart and noticing tons of police keeping lines in check.


Shopped at :

Target
Kohls -
Sears -
Macy's-
Dillards -
Victoria secret
Eddie Bauer
Pottery Barn
Pier1
Toys R Us
Old Navy
Best Buy-Crazy busy but zero issues.
plus a few other stores and every single one was great with polite staff and customers. Maybe everyone was just tired and not in fighting mode because of the late in the day/early morning start times.


The only yelling I heard came from the H&M and it was happiness from when they opened the gates. (lots of teens)

How was your shopping experience both online or in stores? Did you get what you went for?

 

[IUTBAM]

We were out for about 4 hours on Friday afternoon (we live in Denver), and I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of chaos and lines (about a 5 min. line at Kohls was all I ran into). I got the one thing I really wanted...the iPhone 4S at Target (through Virgin Mobile) for $450, PLUS a $100 Target gift card. I was shocked they had any left at 3 p.m. on Black Friday...I got the last one.

 

[BeachLove]

We were out for about 4 hours on Friday afternoon (we live in Denver), and I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of chaos and lines (about a 5 min. line at Kohls was all I ran into). I got the one thing I really wanted...the iPhone 4S at Target (through Virgin Mobile) for $450, PLUS a $100 Target gift card. I was shocked they had any left at 3 p.m. on Black Friday...I got the last one.

Yeah, I have to say my longest wait time was also at Kohls. Still a 10 minute wait is what it usually takes to check out on weekends other times of the year. Target had tons of the door buster TVs still sitting an hour after opening. That was surprising to see!

 

[gracie1]

My longest wait was at Walmart - hour and 20 minutes but everyone was so pleasant and talking in line that it was nice! Definately not the same experience as the last couple years of shoving, fighting and yelling!

 

[CluelessDisFan]

Started at wal mart at 10pm. Got the blu ray players we wanted and a couple of other things. Waited for maybe 30 minutes to check out. Went to toys r us bought couple things waited for 20 minutes to check out. Made the mistake of stopping at kohls at 1am. They were too busy we left. Went to target. Lucked out and found the last wreck it ralph for 3ds and sonic for only $15! No wait. Overall had an awesome black Friday, it was the best in years. No fighting, yelling, or much in the way of lines.

 

[theworldneedscolor]

This year was my first time going out on Black Friday. We went to Fred Meyer at six am. It was great! Crowded around the socks, but otherwise not bad. Everyone was super friendly and we found great deals. Half off socks, BOGO on kitchen utensils, $5 scarves, BOGO on board games...whoo! Then we went to Jo Anns and I got a TON of fabric 75% off, and got some xmas wrapping supplies on sale too. They were really quick at the cutting counter. Finally, we went to the mall in the afternoon. Pretty crowded. Snagged the last $10 Stila palette at Sephora, got a few $12 ties and 40% off some thing from American Eagle. Over all, I was very pleased!

 

[veraletta]

We started out at 6:30 pm to go to Walmart, My daughter wanted to get some xbox games they had for $25, we had to wait until 8 pm to buy.
There was no line, we left like 5 minutes after 8 pm.

Then we went to see how long the lines were at Toysrus. They were really long, so we decide to leave and return later on, as Toysrus always keep a lot in stock.

We then stopped by to look at the lines at Best Buy, they were already long and the store wasn't going to open until 12 am.

We then decide to stop by target it was already 9 pm and their lines were as long as Toyrus and Best buy. We decide to move on and come back later on.

We went to Kmart, woo hoo no lines, we were able to walk right in. We spent at least 3 hours there.

It was now after 12 am time for Best Buy, lines were still the same, so only my daughter and her friend went in the store. I waited in the car with my 3 year old granddaughter who fell asleep. I would say my daughter was back in one hour.

Next was Toysrus I was able to walk right in and I was able to get every thing she had on her list.

We then realize that we had to go back to Kmart on the way home as my daughter forgot to get my grandson his jeans that were on sale.

We were home by 3 am before my daughter realize she had to go back out again to Kmart... I stayed home with granddaughter who has been asleep since 12 am.
I will say crowds were not a Walmart and Kmart but were at Best Buy, Toysrus and Target...
We saw no fights, or pushing, most people were pleasant. I would say I enjoyed going out this year then any other year...

 

[mikehn]

Best deal I found was 49 cents a pound for butterball turkeys so picked one up for christmas

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Blech. I only wanted to go to 4 stores so I went out mid morning.

Kohl's was first. Line to check out was an hour. There were lots of nice folks I chatted with in line but still - an hour wait when I should've just stayed home and ordered the items online was frustrating. By the time I realized how bad the line was, I'd invested a bunch of time and decided to just tough it out.

Then I walked into the 2nd store - Belk. Looked for the checkout lines which were another hour wait and just walked out.

Then I got lunch which was so-so. I don't know what happened that day but the potato soup at the place was not that good. Or maybe I was just grumpy. LOL

Then I went to JoAnn Fabrics and bought the items I was looking for and went home.

I completely skipped Best Buy because when I drove by on my way to lunch that parking lot was full.

It had been years since I went out on Black Friday and I won't be doing it again anytime soon.

 

[Samandmom]

I started out my night at Michael's around 8:30 walked out empty handed didn't find anything I wanted. Then over to Walmart and by now it was 9:15 I walked around the whole store browsing at a few things. I then realized I still had the chance to get in line for a 10 pm sale. I wanted the 24" tv for $79. Got my ticket and waited 25 minutes got my tv went to the check out line and out of Walmart by 10:20. Then over to Target and filled up my cart with 2 scooters, 2 DVD players, and a set of pots and pans. Went up to the front to check out and the line snaked up and down about 10-12 isles so I left. Then over to Best Buy but they were not open yet but the line snaked all around the building. I didn't wait I went over to toys r us and got three items and no lines!! Then over to kohl's had to wait about 10 minutes before they opened. I got what I wanted and tried to get in line but no one was monitoring the lines so people were all over the place so I gave up and left. We then went back over to Best Buy I took a quick walk around and the saw how long the lines were and then left.

Went back out in the morning around 11. Started out at Home Depot, we needed a few things that weren't black Friday but I was able to get the .99 cent poinsettias and also The Home Depot gingerbread house. Then back over to Target no lines today but they didn't have what I wanted.

Went to Target again today and got the scooters I wanted!!!

 

[thornton0511]

We were in line at Target at 8pm for the 9pm opening. My husband and I were able to get a 50" tv, a Nikon digital camera, a shark steam mop, and for the kids a Xbox kinect bundle with Disneyland kinect . We were out of line and in the car just after 10pm no joke. I have to say that Target was very organized in how they handled the crowds and they started letting people in around 8:30ish a few at a time so we were in a little before 9pm.

 

[foltzy]

We left at 6 pm on Thursday night. Got home at 9:30 am on Friday morning. Went to K-mart
Walmart
Target
Breakfast
The mall
Another Target
JC Pennys
Office Max
5 below

All in all a good night was had by all 5 of us who went, we started with 6 but my one niece had to work early the next morning so we took her home before Breakfast.

 

[TEK224]

There wasn't a whole lot I HAD to get this year so I didn't go out on BF until 10AM.
Went to Five Below, but left empty handed. Went to Target and got the large George Foreman Grill, PJ's for my nephew (on clearance), Disney T-shirt for my other nephew (also on clearance).
Went to Macy's and got some intimates and the 3-pack travel size Juicy Coutoure for my niece. Then hit the Disney Store for a few items and finally got a couple things at the "As seen on TV" store. Had lunch at Cheesecake Factory and was back home by 2:30PM.

Had success later in the day when I went on-line and got $185 worth of GC's by cashing in my various rewards points.

 

[MomToOne]

I got everything I wanted from Target online Thursday morning just after midnight, so I had no need to hit an actual Target store Thursday night and I decided to just go ahead and sleep Thursday night, and risk my luck with other stores in the morning. I got up about 4:30 to hit a few more places.

I made it to Kohls about 5am. There were some other shoppers, but no huge crowds. I got the items I wanted there - some pajamas and a couple of sweaters. With coupons and discounts, I paid only $10 for 3 items I only waited about 5 minutes to check out. Everyone - shoppers and sale associates alike - was in a good mood. The only problem I had was with the cashier balking initially at taking the $10 Black Friday coupon, a $10 coupon I recieved for signing up for online billing and the 15% off Black Friday coupon - she tried at first to say I could only use one of the $10 off coupons. I just kindly asked her to try scanning them both anyway, at which point a supervisor was walking by so the cashier asked her about it. The supervisor just said "those coupons act like Kohl's cash - it's OK for her to use both" and walked away. Yeah!

I then made my way to Home Depot. I picked up 6 of the $0.99 poinsettia for only $1 out of pocket thanks to my $5 Zombie Mulch coupon. In the store, I couldn't walk 5 feet without someone asking me if I needed help. Then I headed on out to the Christmas tree area, because I wanted to use my $15 Zombie Mulch coupon on a tree (yes, I was going to buy a Christmas tree at 6:30am Black Friday - interestingly enough, I wasn't the only one!). That was where I encountered my first problem of the day - there were 2 people working, and myself and 1 other customer looking at trees. For some reason, both of the workers insisted on helping the other customer. Well, actually I know the reason - she was young and pretty. Anyway, when one worker finally left that other customer and walked past me, I asked for help and was gruffly told "I'll be back in a minute". He walked off to help someone picking up a tree they had apparently just paid for inside, then proceeded to help that person dig through discarded tree trimmings for some reason for another 5 minutes. Then he spent another 5 minutes talking to a co-worker who had walked over. Given the way this worker refused to look in my direction, etc. it was clear I was being openly ignored by him. Since I had at that point been waiting over 20 minutes for some help, I got pissed and left. Looking back, I should have gone inside and gone to the customer service desk to complain - given the attitude I encountered from everyone inside of the store, I am sure they would have wanted to know about the problem outside.

Anyway, I went home and took a nap for awhile after that. At about 11am, I started opening my packages, and realized I had grabbed the wrong size pajamas at Kohls They were one of their advertized deals, so I knew if I waited any longer to exchange them, they'd be gone, and given all of the coupons I had used it would have been a royal pain to deal with a return. So I immediately jumped into the car, and went back to Kohls. The store was now PACKED. Luckily, they still had 2 pairs of the pajamas I wanted in the size I needed, so I grabbed one and got into the 45 minute long line (They insisted for an even exchange I still had to stand in line. At least they gave that answer consistently to several other customers doing exchanges - I am happy to play by the rules, but get ticked off when the rules are different for different people.) But everyone in line was well-behaved and other than the time it took, it wasn't an awful experience.

Later in the day, I headed to a different area Home Depot to try getting a tree again. While the tree selection wasn't as big at this store, the staff there was VERY helpful. I found a good enough looking tree that is nice and fresh, and was able to use my Zombie Mulch coupon to get it for only $20.

So, all in all, a few ups, and a few downs, and a few good deals! For the effort expended, I am happy.

 

[Darcy03231]

I went to:

Walmart
Kohls
Radio Shack
LL Bean
AC Moore
Christmas Tree Shops
Old Navy
and the Mall

The only place there was any issues was at Walmart. I got there at 7:45 pm for the cheap DVDs. The crowds around them were insane. At 8 pm it was like a feeding frenzy at the zoo. Lots of pushing and shoving. A older woman was trampled (they took her out on a stretcher). Further down the aisle some men got in a fight over something and they took them out in handcuffs. There were lots of police officers stationed all over the store. I've never gone to Walmart first on Black Friday (its usually one of my last stops) and I don't think I'll go back. Oh, and I waited until the crowd cleared out from the dvds and was able to go in and get everything I wanted. They had plenty of them.

Everywhere else was fine. It was crowded, but everyone was civilized and very helpful.

 

[NYCDiane]

I'm not a "black Friday" person --- I won't go to the stores T-day night or 3am on Friday. HOWEVER, since I had to be at work at 8am Friday, I decided to go to Macy's before work to see if I could get my daughter a pair of boots she wanted and if I could get a deal since the boots were on sale. I ended up getting the boots for $99 (down from $189).

After Macy's, I figured I may as well go to WalMart to pick up some odds and ends for home (soda, bread, etc). While there, I thought I'd take a peek in the electronics dept to see if they still had the $89 Wii system. It was, so I picked that up for my daughter as well as the Just Dance disc (for $15!).

The lines were nonexsitent in both stores so I got my shopping done and had time to go to breakfast and made it to work with 10 minutes to spare!

 

[mward73]

Easy Peasy! I didn't go until around 7am. Hit Walmart first - parking lot was almost empty. Got the Skylanders Wii Starter pack, some rubbermaid containers, jammies, DVDs (Brave collector's edition for $8.96 - Yay!), etc. Nothing overly exciting (though I was excited the Skylanders was still there). Wandered around for maybe 20 minutes just looking at stuff. No lines to check out - many cashiers just standing around talking so they were eager to help.

Kohls is next door, so I went there next. Parking lot was more crowded, but still not bad. Got 2 sweaters for $8 and got out - didn't need anything else. No lines to check out there either.

My mom wanted a 36" tall nutcracker from Joann Fabrics, so I went there on the way to work. In and out, no issues (but it's never busy, so that wasn't surprising).

That was it for me. Well, DS (6) wanted to hit Target after work, but since we needed groceries, I talked him into Walmart instead, so we went back there. Busier than in the am, but he saw lots of his friends from school and no lines to check out.

I did Best Buy online. Just wanted the iTunes GC ($100 for $80) and some DVD. They had them without me having to go to the store.

I think this is the first year I didn't go to Target on Black Friday, but I really didn't need anything. I never go when stores open - always in the morning when I wake up and nothing is ever busy. I've always been able to get what I want (then again, I don't want the high priced things) so it's nice

 

[Lintasare]

Started Thursday evening online at Kohls.com.

For awhile it was having issues. First I couldn't view any products, then I couldn't put what I wanted in my cart. Finally I could put them in my cart but I couldn't view my cart or check out. Took half an hour but I was finally able to check out with a pair of Sonoma Ugg style boots and two 5 piece sets of Fiestaware. Bonus was when I found a 20% off code online so I saved even more.

Then went to Amazon.com and bought the single disc Blu-ray of Ironman2 and the 3 disc set of Thor with my Prime account for a grand total of $12.95. That saved me a trip to Best Buy.

Friday morning went out early and got to the mall at 7:30. It was no busier than a regular Saturday. Stopped at Old Navy for some shirts then on to Ulta for a couple Bare Minerals kits that were $10 in their ad. I found one then was told the other had sold out. A couple minutes later a sales gal put the last one they had of the second back on the shelf so I nabbed it. Also got a Stila cosmetic brush set. So got some good deals there.

Then went to JCP to buy some stuff for Adopt a Family this year. My mom bought some kids clothes and I got 3 sets of towels. JCP was the only place we truly experienced a line. Waited probably a good 20 min to check out. JCP was the only busy store we encountered.

Then finally went to Bath and Body works to use some coupons. I had $10 off a $30 purchase and two coupons for a free signature item with any purchase. Add to that they were doing buy 3 get 3 free. Boy did I get a deal there.

After that went home to watch Nebraska Football.

Then last night QVC had as their Today's Special Value a Keurig Platinum brewer with 64 K-cups, water filter and the My K-cup on sale for $149.99 with 6 easy pay. Yeah...I bought one.

 

[allison443]

Then last night QVC had as their Today's Special Value a Keurig Platinum brewer with 64 K-cups, water filter and the My K-cup on sale for $149.99 with 6 easy pay. Yeah...I bought one.

Thanks for posting about the Keurig on QVC! I ordered one for my mother-in-law. She will love it!!

 

[MikeinBoston]

The only place I went was Kohl s when they opened here at 1am. The line was about 500 people maybe more and when they opened it only took maybe 1 minute for everyone to get inside. At first people were rushing and running but after about 10 minutes "those people" left and it was calm and they still had everything in stock. Checking out only took 5 minutes with every register open. Very pleasant!