How was your Black Friday shopping experience?

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

We have been doing BF for as long as I can remember. Last year when they changed the times, it ruined it for us. To be honest we HATED it. This year we decided to get up at 3, although my wife was up by 2:30. We were out the door around 3:30. First stop was Walmart and we parked about 3 spots away. It was not crowded at all. Employees and customers were all very friendly.....much more than normal!

After that we headed over to the mall. We decided we would head to Hollister first. Took us about 15 minutes to shop and another 45 minutes to stand in line. For the 200.00 I saved, it was worth it to us. We then headed to Dick's sporting Goods and again ran into people that were overly friendly and helpful. We were able to find the University of Alabama hoodie we had seen a few days prior thanks to a fellow Bama fan/employee. (ROLL TIDE) 3 minute wait in line to check out. Headed over to Best Buy where it was very quiet. By this time it was about 5:30 AM and there were no check out lines at all. Pretty much right walk up and pay. Employees here were also cheerful and helpful. After last years craziness there, we almost didn't even bother heading over there. Very glad we did.

We left the mall around 6:30 and headed to Target. Spent about 30 minutes there. Again, seemed like less people there than on any given weekend. Last year Target was our big stop. We waited inline 2 hours last year. There was a fist fight last year in the electronics department and there was blood everywhere. Like I said last year was so bad we almost didn't go out.

Last stop was Starbucks. We waited about 10 minutes. We sure didn't mind and it seemed as though the other people in line felt the same way. The employees were working as fast as they could.

We had a great experience by waiting and not being there when the stores opened. If we had a repeat of last year, I know we would have been done!

 

[emmababy]

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.

Those are $99 at Verizon!

 

[emmababy]

We were in vacation in Chicago, so didn't hit all the stores I wanted. Woke up at 6 on Friday and walked down State st to Old Navy, Disney store and Macy's, and Target. It was dead! Got fleece for family, Brave DVD, some toys at Disney.

I was amazed that on downtown Chicago, it was dead.
Then we went to Michigan Ave later that morning and saw where everyone was! And I didn't see a single deal worth all those crowds!

 

[MomToOne]

Those are $99 at Verizon!

Only if you sign up for a plan with it. The value to the VM phones are that they are no-contract. You pay for the phone up front, but unlimited service is then only $30 month if you sign up for automatic payment, and you can walk or change phones any time you want. Over 2 years (the length of contract you'd be locked into with Verizon), you save a significant amount of money.

 

[jenniy122]

Went out at midnight. First stop Kohls, no problem, maybe a 15 minute wait but no longer than on the weekends around the holidays. Then we went to Dick's. Big mistake. Waited an hour and a half in line, so not worth the $25 back.

 

[TnTWalter]

deals started Wednesday...

did online shopping at sears, bestbuy, microsoft, aeropostle, amazon, and of course got my $15 100 christmas cards online @ samsclub and a few other items.

REGRETS
I regretted not doing online at Justice; line there was crazy. I didn't ask my DD in time her favorites from her long justice list and they were all sold out online...could have gotten deal online.

I am never as organized as I want to be.

BRICK AND MORTAR STORES
GOOD
Meijer TDAY sale...always enjoyable and uncrowded. I went at night because so busy that day.

Target went mid-morning and it was nice. Got pjs, txt gloves, etc. and $10 gift card. [last year I couldn't even get in the store because of crowds].

Samsclub. So nice. Coffee & Cinnamon Rolls. Good deals to be had but didn't have Brave blu-ray [should have gone there first].

BAD

Walmart. I used to love going to walmart. Hate the times now. Went TDAY after Meijer to check it out....insane lines, chaos, unhappy people...wandered around and LEFT.

My niece did the waiting for 2 hours at Walmart for a tv, dyson and IPAD. She had a good time. But similar deals were available online...I think the hunt is fun for some.

Now I'm killing time before checking AmericanGirl cybermonday....hoping it starts at midnight....

Peace.

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

DH and I had a pretty good experience this year. For the past few years, we've hit TRU first, but this year with WM and TRU opening at the same time, we decided to go to WM first since there wasn't anything at TRU that we couldn't get online or get WM to price match.

We didn't know what to expect crowd-wise with the start time so early, so we got to WM around 5 pm. The first thing we noticed was the incredible amount of police coverage both inside and outside of the store! There were no crowds yet, so I guess they were just trying to be prepared. The CM's were just putting the pallets out with all of the shrink-wrapped goodies. We spent around 45 mins to an hour just walking around, scoping out where the things we wanted were located and making our game plan. Around 6 pm we split up and DH camped out by the video games and DVDs, while I stood by the $19 700-TC sheets (btw, we get these every year and they are WONDERFUL!!). There was one other person standing at the sheets when I started, but by around 7, there was a huge crowd. Everyone was very friendly, though. We all helped each other out by checking for sizes/colors. Around 7:30, I had to run to the restroom and the people around me were kind enough to hold my spot and let me back in. When 8:00 hit, it was chaos! I grabbed my sheets and sprinted to the back of the store to grab Candyland and then tried to get to DH, picking things up along the way like pjs and undies for the kids. It was impossible to get through any of the main aisles. DH got the 2 games he wanted, but we couldn't get to any of the DVDs or Blu-rays. It was just too crazy. We decided to go ahead and check out and try a different WM later on. We only had to wait about 10 mins to check out. Not bad at all compared to past years.

After WM, we headed to TRU. We waited 5-10 mins to get into the store. Once inside, I went to get our items while DH tried to find the back of the line. It wrapped all the way around the store, and there was a completely different line to even get into the electronics section, which we needed. We decided to leave and buy online, so we spent the next hour or so in the car shopping and playing on our phones. (Whatever did we do before iPhones??)

Around 10 pm, we went over to Kohls (due to open at midnight). There were already probably 20 or so people in line, so I went ahead and got in line while DH napped in the car. I had great conversations with the 2 girls in front of me, who were sisters. The time passed quickly, and when midnight hit, everyone filed into the store in a very orderly manner. All of the employees were extremely cheerful and helpful. DH went for towels and I got the $8 plush blankets I wanted. I'm so glad that I was so close to the front of the line. I was the first person to the blanket bin and before I even walked away with my blankets, the bin was already starting to empty! There were people loading up carts and strollers and shopping bags with them! After getting them home and using them for the past 2 days, I don't blame them at all. They are SO soft and warm! I took one to my MIL's to let her feel of it and we ended up going online and buying 7 more to give as gifts! Anyway, we ended up waiting in line to check out for about 30 mins at Kohls. That was the longest we waited all night.

After that, we went to a different WM to try again for movies. There were tons of carts filled with merchandise that needed to be restocked that people had decided not to purchase. We looked through them and found several of the movies we wanted. We couldn't find Brave or The Hunger Games with a Promo tag, so we picked them up off the regular shelf and checked the price, and sure enough they were ringing up at the promo price. Score! We also picked up Cars 2 and the new Tinker Bell movie to price match to TRU. We checked out through the express lane with no wait and headed home.

We had about an hour drive home and were in bed by 2:30 am. I didn't think I was going to like the new super-early start times, but I have to say, it was nice being in bed at a semi-decent hour. All in all, we had a great BF experience this year. Looking forward to next year!

 

[su_A_ve]

This year my DS15 wanted to experience his first BF. DW would stay home.

Started Tuesday night. Shopped khols online added everything to the shopping cart and then waited till 1am. Had trouble getting the cart but eventually got it and that was it.

Then about 1:30 dozed off waiting for best buy. Woke up and had missed the 2am start. But at 5am the $99 TV showed in stock and got one. A second one was too late - they were gone.

Some Amazon during turkey dinner. Then a Dell desktop and my decided on a laptop, so helped him with one.

Hit Walmart right at 8pm. Got a couple of Brave and was getting epic Mickey but got it during amazon lightning deal. Some clothes too. Lines were busy but still checked out in 15'

Got to Target at 8:55. Did the line, got in and was out by 9:40. A friend said he was at TRU, so asked him to get me a door buster.

My next stop was old navy, buts that was at midnight. Hanged out a while at sears, until,the line to the mall started to form. They wanted us to go and wait outside, but nobody did. The mall didn't open the doors until midnight! By this time it was a huge crowd waiting for the doors to open.

As soon as they did, mad rush! But made it first to old navy and scored the wii u super mario bros.

After that, Macy's and my DSis at children's place. Then we hit Best Buy. DSis got the ipod touch with $50 gift card. We then went to TRU around 2am and my DSis scored a Wii U - shocked they had stock!

Stopped for coffee, and PC Richards to look at some fridges. Eventually we made it to the line at Lord & Taylor before 5am and got their coupon $20 off $40.

Penneys at 6, but a minute too late and couldn't get the toaster. It was ok cause my DW said she liked the target one better.

SAMs at 7. But line was too long and DSis missed the laptop (kept telling her to hurry up from JCP)

Finally we split with DSis, and me and DS15 went to kohls for ornaments and more kohls cash. And then a well deserved breakfast.

Got home and had a problem with one of the dell orders, and noticed there was an additional $50 off coupon so one order was redone, the other one dell gave me credit. Finally hit the bed at 10:30am.

BTW, I proudly wore my 2012 fatwallet t-shirt too...

 

[Ginny Favers]

Black Friday isn't really Black anymore. With all the people rushing out on Thursday, the long lines are usually on Thursday night. I had a very pleasant experience, everyone was so nice, holding doors open for each other, saying, "No, you go first" to each other at check-out. I started at 6 AM and went to Target, Kmart, the mall, Toys R Us, and RiteAid, and got everything I wanted except one thing.

The only upsetting thing to me was that it was widely announced that Target and others would match prices from other retail establishments, including Amazon, but that wasn't in effect for Black Friday weekend. Which to me, is silly. The Amazon price I saw for something was their normal price, always. So while I couldn't get it on Black Friday, I can just go back today and get it for the Amazon price, now. A little frustrating, but whatever!

 

[stacy347]

We went out Thursday night to our local outlet mall. They opened at 9 p.m. and stayed open for 25 hours.

We lined up for H&M first (missed out on the scratch off cards!) and got the $5 sweaters that my girls really wanted. This was our longest line, but the people were really friendly.

Headed over to the Disney Store from there, and was able to get the Brave fleece throw for $8 (giving it to my niece with the DVD) and 3 new ornaments for myself for great prices. The really nice thing was that since I was paying with my rewards card and CC, the CM checked me out with her scanner right in line. Still at least 20 people ahead of me, and I was out the door in minutes!

Also made it to:

Aerie (got my 18 year old 2 pairs of their yoga pants for $28!)

Marshall's (found the hoodie that my youngest has been wanting)

Forever 21 (did not purchase a single thing here, as I was literally tripping through the store because the floor was covered in merchandise)

Famous Footwear (nothing here either ~ terrible sale, even with my coupon)

Payless (1/2 off sale, plus I had a 20% coupon ~ found 2 gifts)

Shi (my oldest had spotted a pair of Tom's here that she wanted, but they were gone so I'll be getting those online)

Hot Topic ($10 tees all night!)

BBW (tried really hard to shop here, but there was absolutely no crowd control, and it was insane)

Coach (the line was wrapped around past the next 3 stores, so we went back at 10 a.m. on BF, and I was in and out in 15 minutes!)

Friday evening I found the TRU Groupon. Took that to our closest store to get 2 copies of Brave for $7 each after the discount!

We had a lot of fun, and I got so many things checked off the lists!

 

[Deffenm]

My mom and I started Thanksgiving Day at 6:00 AM at Mejier. I was able to get the Kindle Fire HD for DD. I was number 8 in line and they had 12. You got a $30 coupon good on anything in the store for buying. So basically I got a $30 giftcard which was the best deal I saw. I also picked up some clothes, pillows, and a few groceries that were cheap. We also went to Gander Mtn, Old Navy, and Michaels on Thanksgiving. I was surpised there was actually a line at Micheals but I got everything on my list.

We did not go out on BF until Friday morning at 6:00 AM. We started at Meijer and then went to Sams Club (only real line as we went right at opening), Gander Mtn again as shoes DH wanted wasn't on sale until Friday, Kohls, Target, Famous Footwear, Areopostle, Victoria Secret, Jo Anns, Barnes and Noble, Sports Authority, and Michaels again. We got everything on our list and had no lines. My mom went took the kids to Wal Mart on Saturday and they still had $1.96 movies left. I guess everything we want is never a big ticket item. Every store still had plenty of door buster items and we got to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner and a full nights sleep.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

DH and I are casual BF shoppers. We go once we wake up, whenever that is. I wanted to go to IKEA, so we headed there. Didn't buy anything. I was just looking for ideas for my craft room.
Next we headed across the parking lot to the outlet mall. It was CRAZY! Mind you, this was 12:30pm. I walked into JCP, looking for the $5 l/s shirts, but I was so overwhelmed by the amount of people and the way they had the store laid out that I walked out. The mall was about 80 degrees, by the way. It was almost unbearable. My next mission was The Disney Store. I was looking for something for my niece, but they didn't have it. I offered to buy DH a couple more shirts for our trip, but he said he was good, so we left.
We headed back to the mall closest to his parents' house. It was like a breath of fresh air (literally!). We went in Lord & Taylor for a gift card--no line. Next was lunch. We had to circle the food court a few times until a family got done eating and we could take their table. We went into Yankee Candle. The line was not that deep, but the cashiers were SLOW! Next JCP. Much less crowded, and after a bit of hunting I found the shirts I was looking for. They actually rang up at $4.90 each! From there we went to Gymboree. The line was long--only one cashier working. DH stood in line with one outfit while I perused the store for others. On to Old Navy. The line snaked around the front of the store, so we left. Another store that was mobbed that we didn't even step foot in was Bath & Body Works. Final stop was Victoria's Secret, and that's where I was when the smoke alarm went off! We made our way to the exit, while people around us continued to shop!

 

[pilferk]

Dare I say: Easy?

We did a LOT of our shopping, for the kids, online, on Wed and Thurs (Target, TRU, Walmart, Kohls).

The kicker was that Walmart did not put up much of their BF ad on line...so we had to hit Wally World, Target (for 2 things, both sold out on line but in our local store) and, we thought, Kohls.

We hit Walmart around 6:45 on Friday...and it was relatively quiet. We were really shopping for toys (not the big ticket electronics) and there was plenty of the stuff we were looking for. Our only issue was the store map was wildly incorrect on placement of certain items. Even so, by 7:15 we had our cart loaded and we got into our "pre-checkout" line, to wait until 8 PM.

We were out of the store by 8:20 and headed to Target to get in line. Target opened at 9..and we were out by 9:20.

We headed home to unload. After unloading, we decided to make a quick check of Kohls web site. We were shopping for clothes, for our kids, and hadn't found much we liked on Wednesday...or the stuff we liked was out of stock. Well, we hit paydirt online..finding the pants to match the shirts we'd already ordered on Wed. By 10:30 (and only because Kohls web site was flaky, at best) we were done, had everything hidden away, and were heading to bed.

Earliest we've ever been done on Black Friday (well, Thursday this year, I guess)...usually it's 2 AM, at least, before I see my pillow.

 

[irishsharon]

All I have to get now are a few stocking stuffers I thought I must have made a mistake when I got to toysRus on thursday 7:30pm and was about the 60th person on line Last year I showed up two hours early and the line was wrapped around the building.I got everything I needed and had NO wait in line I was at walmart at 8:30pm and got the portable basketball hoop(saved $100) a really kind older woman helped me put it in my cart as two ypung male workers watched us struggle Anyway,again no waiting on line I went to target and got almost everything on my list(they did not have some sizes I needed) I waited on line 20minutes,which was not bad I went to the mall at midnight and the longest wait I had was at the disney store 40minutes but even on a good day the disney store is slow.I have to say ac moore's 50% of deals on toys where amazing!!!!!! They had some amazing toys that surprised me look forward to next year

 

[JB2K]

...as we didn't have much in the "gotta have that, right here/right now" department, my wife dispatched me on two small trips:

• Target for their 9 p.m. opening on Thanksgiving Day
• AAFES (Military BX/PX) for their 4 a.m. opening on Black Friday

Both events were very well-run/orchestrated by their respective crews (Target was store #2330 in Belleville, Illinois and AAFES was the Main Exchange on nearby Scott AFB).

On Black Friday proper, my wife and 6-yo son made a quick trip around mid-day to a local Old Navy store -- she said there was practically no one, there (guessing they had spent all their $$ there on Thanksgiving and/or took advantage of the Wii U game giveaway).

All in all, very calm, but still got the deals we wanted...

 

[JB2K]