Please pass the Kleenex... BF has me in tears!

[smkiya]

I was up at 3am this morning. Headed over to Walmart at 4am, and there were cars leaving. There was no line in front of the store. I got out of my car and walked to the entrance... the store was packed! The manager said the store was open all night! Needless to say, I didn't get the laptop I wanted... the sole reason for my early morning excursion.

I got home and perused the ads, Staples was due to open at 6am and they had a laptop (more expensive) but I went. People were leaving there too, I was there at 5am. They had already handed out tickets for everything on the front page of their ad, including my laptop.

I went home and waited until 6am to order from Staples online. Well the site was super slow, but after about 30 minutes, my order went through. At 7:30am still no order confirmation. I checked my account and my checkcard wasn't debited, I forgot to transfer more money, to this account! The order was cancelled.

Now all of the deals are gone! No laptop for dd!

 

[Shoshana]

I read an article about BF in the New York Times yesterday. It said that retailers are expected to discount even MORE deeply as the holidays near. Don't despair, you'll probably get at least as good of a price! Still, I can imagine how annoyed and disappointed you were.

 

[EvanMaddieMouse]

Honestly, this is the reason I do not do Black Friday. The stores offer these fantastic deals, but only have 10, or 20 total in the store, and people end up disappointed (or injured or dead from the stampede like last year). I watch sale ads, and from what I've seen, most stores will offer great deals as the season progresses---maybe not the rock-bottom low price today, but definitely great deals. Just keep watching, and be patient. You still have four weeks to find a great deal on a laptop. Now go put your feet up and relax!

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Don't forget to try some other stores, ones you wouldn't normally think to check. A friend of mine found one this morning at Radio Shack and it actually is a little better than a more expense one he was looking at but that had been all sold out.

 

[4Seasons]

Same thing happened to my husband even though I tried to tell him he couldn't just stroll in at 4 am and expect to snag anything. He wanted the $398 HP laptop, and there were only 15 in the store and already more than 20 people in line.
Keep looking though, especially online. I've been doing some serious pricing with the BING cashbook offers (15% cb at Walmart.com!) and can get him a comparable Acer laptop for about $25 more.

 

[branv]

So sorry, I know how disappointing it must be. But yeah, if you want BF deals, you have to practically camp out overnight. A picture in the paper showed that the line outside our nearest suburbs Target thirty minutes before opening was 200 people deep. And all the tv's with BF deals were taken within THIRTY SECONDS after opening.

Like someone else said, deals will likely be out there up to Christmas. If the numbers come in for BF as lower than hoped (which I imagine they will), the deals will start again. Best of luck to you!

 

[Poohbear5]

Mmm.. I was snug in my bed at 6am, rolled out at 7am, got a cup of coffee and ordered a few things on amazon while listeing to the rain come down outside!
I have new appreciation for the internet!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I had the Radio Shack laptop in my online cart, but by the time I went to pay for it (my own delay, no problem with the site), it was sold out.

Without stating which brand I'm seeking, has the OP checked the website for her company-of-choice?

 

[MichelleinMaine]

For kicks, we drove by the mall on the way home from my mom's last night. There were easily 100+ people in line at Best Buy 1130pm. Store opened at 5am. *insane* I can't figure how any of those past the first 25 (MAYBE) will get what they are hoping for. (They all got cold and wet after 6 hours in the rain.)

 

[Sunshineanddaisys]

Don't forget that Monday is "cyber monday" and there should be deals to be had online.

 

[dismom2-3]

Dell outlet has some great deals online....refurb and not,...I hope you get something you like...it is disappointing. I would not recommend if I didn't have luck previously. Check it out.!

 

[clanmcculloch]

For kicks, we drove by the mall on the way home from my mom's last night. There were easily 100+ people in line at Best Buy 1130pm. Store opened at 5am. *insane* I can't figure how any of those past the first 25 (MAYBE) will get what they are hoping for. (They all got cold and wet after 6 hours in the rain.)

What's funny about that is that Best Buy's website had their deals available all day yesterday. I got my doorbuster TV online yesterday from the comfort of my own home. I got my camera the day before from amazon for $0.99 cheaper than the doorbuster price at Best Buy. One of the movies I wanted was sold out already, but that's it.

 

[glitzybabes]

Sorry. You really have to be a the stores super early for the 200.00 laptops. 2 years ago, my friends was at best buy at 10:00am thanksgiving day and was 13th in line.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Check out amazon.com. They've got lightening deals with some great prices all day. While waiting for the next set to be revealed, look through their sales. Also look at bestbuy.com, walmart.com and several other sites.

I got all my Black Friday shopping done online this year. I actually got it all done Wednesday and Thursday. I didn't see any in store only sales in any flyers that were worth venturing into the craziness to get and many stores had their sales available online yesterday. Amazon has had theirs going all week.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

wait 1-2 months you can get a better computer for the same price.
Why not just order a dell?

 

[Purseval]

While it's bad you didn't get a deal it has been common knowledge for a long time that Walmart was letting people stay inside because of the man who got trampled to death last year. You have nobody to blame but yourself.

 

[tink fan]

I'm sorry to hear that! I don't think they are supposed to sell the doorbusters until 5 a.m.

I went to WM for the laptop also. They let people in the store before 5 (it's a 24 hr store), but didn't open the doorbuster pallets until 5. I couldn't find the laptop pallet (did my research for a different store) so I resigned myself to not getting one. Got the $5 barbies though!

Anyway I was in line to check out and overheard the woman in front of me talking to her husband on the cell phone asking if he wanted her to buy both the laptops. She got off, and called to a friend a few carts up to not buy the laptop. Her friend called back "What should I do with it?" I immediately yelled "I'll take it!!!" Everyone around me started laughing, but I got my laptop.

After WM we went to Sams and were amazed at the things they had on sale there for the same or better prices than Walmart had (Sony alarm clock for Ipod that was $20 less, GPS $2 less, Sony blue ray player). And free breakfast!!!

 

[Xcited4Disney]

What's funny about that is that Best Buy's website had their deals available all day yesterday. I got my doorbuster TV online yesterday from the comfort of my own home. I got my camera the day before from amazon for $0.99 cheaper than the doorbuster price at Best Buy. One of the movies I wanted was sold out already, but that's it.

Same here, I did everything online this year except the wii which I got at Target on Sunday. Many stores have had their Black Friday specials on sale since late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning and like you said, Amazon has had deals all week!

to the OP, keep checking the Budget Board. Mnay of us post deals as soon as we learn of them and also check out the black friday message boards (gottadeal, blackfriday, etc). They continuously post deals that are coming up along with direct links to the items. This is what kept me informed of all the BF deals online. Good luck. Don't give up yet!

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I agree... don't give up! It's funny, last night, I was looking at the laptops online for my mom. Well.. I was looking at the $298 laptop, and I read the reviews. A few reviews dated from EARLY NOVEMBER said "this is a great laptop for $298".. I was like, WAIIIITTTT... this isn't a BF deal, this is just a plain old sale! In fact, my mom went to WM early this morning but after the 5am madness, and she talked with a few of the electronics employees and they said "oh, it'll be on sale again a few times before Christmas."

So... just keep your eyes peeled, there are more deals to be had, I'll bet my bottom dollar on it.

 

[The Iron Giant]

I refuse to do shopping on Black Friday anymore. Too much craziness and it brings out the worst in people. Seeing people act like animals over discontinued computers and electronics at discounted prices is not my idea of a good time. God bless you if you enjoy it, but I don't get it

BTW... I believe the reason people were already in Walmart was due to the change in policy after the security guard was trampled to death in NY last year. They figure if they let people trickle into the store all night long it will avoid the stampede at the door. But I thought the items were not to go on sale until 5am - sounds like they broke their own rules. Sorry you didn't get what you wanted.