Never again people, NEVER again!

[Poohlovr]

My DD and I went out this morning! We (I, at least ) had a blast! Yes, the crowds are horrid and there's never enough of anything, but, it was fun anyway (maybe it's because my DD and I never get to do anything together as we work opposite shifts, so it was fun because we were together).

We went to Wal-Mart first and were able to get everything we wanted (including a laptop for her! SCORE!) and even some things that other people asked us to pick up for them. We split up and used our cell phones to talk while we grabbed those "gotta have" items and then re-joined for the less pressing things. We got to Wal-Mart at about 4:30 and left there a little after 6.

We made a few more stops after that, but there weren't any crowds in those stores by then.

I realize I'm one of the odd ones, but I enjoy BF shopping--I just wish it hadn't been so cold.

 

[LK03]

Well. I went to the military PX yesterday and found a purse I really liked but didn't want to buy it and the purses didn't look that great. Bought a few toiletries and noticed the cashier gave me a 20% discount off one item no exclusions for today before noon. Left the house at 9 am and found the purse, and a brand new one you could tell was just put out and snatched that up. Saved about $100 off retail for it. Saw a lady ahead of me get a Dyson for $270 after all her coupons. That's all the Black Friday shopping for me.

 

[ladycollector]

Sorry Walmart was so out of control. I camped at Best Buy and everything was very orderly and safe. Our Walmart had to do a lock down because a woman got trampled and fights were breaking out.

But, if you think 3am is early, I got in line at Best Buy at 10:30pm last night, and I was already #10!

It was worth it though.

 

[toto2]

I am not jocking : today is international "buy nothing" day !

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I think the people spoiling it are not our obvioiusly civilized DIS friends. It's the people who see the person in front of them fall down and justd run over them to get into the store. They are totally forgetting WHY we have Christmas. For some people it's just a big gift grab and that's a shame.
This is all the shopping I did today: I dropped DD#1 off at Kohl's, drove next door to Great Clips to get DD#2 a haircut, and then back to Kohl's where DD#1 had picked out the black pants and white shirt she needed for her Christmas concert, got in line and got out. The line on one side of the store was long, but not the line on the other side.
Robin M.

 

[peachgirl]

I wonder what it's going to take for stores to end this madness? Someone getting killed? Rioting?

It will end when customers no longer find satisfaction in freezing all night, then fighting and running over each other all so that they can brag about how they got something someone else didn't get.

Don't look for it to end anytime soon.

 

[crz4mm2]

Yep. Nuts. I went several years ago and swore I would never go again. DS asked if I could go to Target and get the Kodak camera and printer for his DF... So I got up at 6 and headed out the door. It was a 2 day sale so I figured there would be LOTS of them. I got there and there were only 4 printers left. Was it worth it? I dunno???? THat's all I got! and then I went back home. was back by 7:30.
Probably will never do it again. Do know ONE thing, you can't PAY me to go to WALMART on BF.

 

[HOGFAN]

I was one of the fools who tried to get a laptop from Walmart. Got up at 4, in line by 415, they announce at 5:03 that they are out. Next time I mention going to Walmart, somebody please and knoock some sense into me.

 

[luv2nascar]

Got up at 5:15am hit Walmart door at 6am. Got everything I wanted and then some. I wasn't looking for laptop though. Did get my Kodak Z760 camera $100 bucks off for $199 at Walmart. DH and I hit Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, and one other store done by 9:30am and onto Golden Carroll for breakfast and home by 10:30am. I thought the stores were so light compared to other years I was wondering if retail was going to be bad this season??? Maybe its just me but DH & I have gone every black friday for passed 5-6 yrs.

 

[Geoff_M]

I gave it up two years ago, and haven't regretted it since. We slept in until 8:30 today and at noon I went to a couple of stores and picked up a couple of items... and that was it. If history repeats itself again this year, on Sunday a lot of the stores will announce similar deals on a lot of the "Black Friday" items that will be in effect all next week and crowds won't be an issue.

 

[Allison]

The fight scene over the laptop in Orlando was on the news in Iowa.

I was at our Wal-Mart at 4:30 this morning to get the GameBoy. Luckily, ours is open 24 hours a day so everyone could go inside and gather around the product they wanted. They hand out maps so everyone knows where each product is. That works really well.

I was about the 6th person in line for the GameBoy and I got the second to last one. They sure don't have many of those things. It didn't help that they didn't limit the number people could get. Everyone in front of me got 3 or 4.

I heard people were waiting all night for the 15 laptops. They even called in a police office to monitor that area. All we heard as we were standing in the electronics area was a person yelling "get off me".

Then as I was leaving I heard a woman say she went to get in line and was told there were more than 15 people in line anyway so she shouldn't wait because she wouldn't get one. Her response was "watch me". She was probably the one climbing over somebody to get something she shouldn't have gotten anyway.

 

[C.Ann]

Having once worked in retail myself - and my DH working in retail for 38 years - it's common knowledge that the stores only stock a very small amount of the "big draw" items just to get the people in the stores and shopping bright and early..

9 times out of ten you can get the same items - for the same price - 2 weeks before Christmas.. I'd rather take my chances than get up at 4 am to find the store only had 10 of the item I wanted to purchase..

 

[Geoff_M]

9 times out of ten you can get the same items - for the same price - 2 weeks before Christmas.. I'd rather take my chances than get up at 4 am to find the store only had 10 of the item I wanted to purchase..

BINGO!!!

 

[Kahana-ri]

We had a great time this morning. We just went to the Target down the street. We were there at 5:50 am. DH went to stand in line and DS and I waited in the car. It was too cold to bring DS outside to stand. The doors opened, DH went off to find the deals and DS and I just browsed. We were able to get a TV, DVD player, gameboy, and a CD player for DS's room. All three of us had a ball. We were home by 7am, had breakfast and all went back to sleep. It seems like a good family tradition to keep going.

 

[binny]

Wow, I had a really pleasant morning hitting several stores and getting pretty much everything I wanted.
I left here about 5:45 I guess and walked into each store, no waiting in line, and no shoving.

I didnt see anyone who was nasty ( other than one driver on the road who got her just rewards, a major traffic jam after she cut me and several other people off ).


All in all it was a very pleasant experience, seeing many friends and chatting with others in line.


Sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[Mishetta]

I LOVE to hit the stores bright & early on BF! My DH & I used to plan our shopping trips each year & go together. It worked so well....he'd run around getting the items on the list & I'd stay put in one area guarding our cart. Then when he was almost through, I'd head for the check out lane while he finished up. Of course, those were the days when my Mom was alive & she lived with us so she'd be home with the kids.

Things have changed here so I just went alone today. I only was able to get Board games at Target. Didn't want to face Wal-Mart alone but.....the Best Buy near me started a new Pilot Program this year. They have Personal Shopping Assistants. You make your appt (early) & you give them your wish list. I went on line & found their BF ad & listed what I hoped to get a couple days ago. Then this morning, I show up at my designated appt time & am greeted by my PSA (personal shopping assistant) & she had almost all my items put aside for me. I checked out in a special room (only for shoppers who had appts & used their PSA's) so I didn't have to stand in the regular check out lines. Got a new computer (which I'm using this very moment) & some other stuff for DS for Christmas & was home within an hour without getting there super early or waiting in the freezing cold weather! What a great program! I will never shop anywhere else after this program they have set up!

So far there is only one store in MI which offered this program & there are a couple in CA & they do one step even better out there...they provide babysitting services!

I'm not sure if we were told about this program because we dropped a lot of money there this past year or not. My one cousin shops there often & no one ever told her of this program.

 

[Annie68]

Yesterday was my first time getting up early for Black Friday. I've ventured out for it before, but in the afternoon. I decided to see what it was like!

My Mom, DD & I arrived at Kohls at 4:50am. The line was moderate, not horrible but they had 2 entrances. When the doors opened at 5am, I see 4 or 5 cars that had been sitting in the lot pull up to the curb & several women get out and walk in the doors! The line of us were going in the doors to the right, I didn't realize they allowed people to come in the left doors. Seemed unfair, but lesson learned. No one was pushing, but everyone was walking very quickly to toys & the electronic/cooking area. I enter the toy area, grab the item I was looking for, turn around & am completely trapped. No one, I mean NO ONE, was worried about basic common courtesy. They were literally pushing there way into the area, cutting in front of people, reaching over shoulders. I had to force my way back out. I then headed over to the down comforters, but find that all of the twin ones are gone already. Wow! I try to get back through the crowded linen area & step out into the isle, only to discover that the line for check out stretched from the registers, all the way to the middle of the store at this point! WHAT?! I grabbed a few other things I was looking for, and hear the announcement overhead that the customer service area will be ringing people up also. Luckily I was standing nearby, so I was able to get in line with only 10 people ahead of me. I was totally shocked when we walked out at 6am, the lines for checkout stretched completely around the store . People were walking in, then turning around & leaving as soon as they saw the lines.

We went to Toys R Us, Target, Best Buy & JCPenney the remainder of the morning. Yes, the lines were long, but no place was as bad as Kohls!! At TRU the store associates were asking people in line if they needed anything else, they would literally go find things for you & bring them up! I was impressed. The Best Buy line was wrapped all the way to the back of the store, but moved quickly. The easiest store was JCPenney, they seemed to have all the registers open & lines were moving very fast.

All in all I would do it again, but would avoid Kohls at all costs!