Walmart put a kink in my Black Friday plan

[JB2K]

Actually, I was very impressed with Walmart's overall handling of the BF experience -- they obviously did their homework after the 2008 debacle.

I shopped at one of their older 1980's-era discount stores (very small compared to a supercenter) -- plenty of associates/management easily-identified with bright yellow saftety vests with the WM trademark "spark" on the back.

Target, OTOH, was a huge disappointment -- my neighborhood store did not seem to have a whole lot of their team members on hand (maybe they were in toys/electronics?) -- I didn't see a single red shirt in the carpeted area (this was after the store opened @ 4 a.m.).

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

I am wgqual's wife. yeah, we got to Wal-Mart about 11 Thursday night and got tickets #34 and 35 out of 37. The last of the tickets were given out within minutes of us. ($198 laptops) It was kinda fun hanging out with the other people in line. I even got a tiny nap in, sitting in my chair from the camping department. We would take our bathroom breaks (15 minutes at a time) and shop/get snacks, etc. Thought it was funny when a lady came in... don't remember what time it was, maybe 3:00? and was furious that all laptops were already spoken for and wanted the number for corporate so she could call and complain... didn't realize that when a sale started at 5 a.m. she would need to stand in line HOURS ahead of time.... uh, what rock have you been living under, lady?!?!?

 

[tlbwriter]

They took your ticket and gave it back if you came back in time. So we couldn't shop the midnight sales.

That stinks, since they advertised the midnight sales as something to do while you wait for the 5:00 sales.

 

[rileysmommy]

Last year I sat up all night waiting for a TV. I didn't know anyone in line with me but chatted just the same. It was tough staying awake but somehow I managed. Too bright and noisy to sleep. This year the 3 things I wanted most went on sale at midnight. I got to the store around 11:30 and there were already about 4 people gathered around the Wii Band Hero games. We all stood and chatted and were friendly with each other while we waited for midnight. I actually enjoy it.

 

[LilyWDW]

I have never bought any of the computers that walmart always has for their bf deal. One of the reasons for that is that I always see a ton of them in the return lines after the holidays. Are the $198 lap tops really any good?? Or the desk tops?

I have a Toshiba that I paid around $600 and dd has a Dell that we paid $500 for and these are far from top of the line. So, I really am just curious if you are really getting a deal with those things.

People expect these systems to be more then they are. I have stopped listening to people who buy these cheap systems and then complain it won't do "X". No? Really?

If you buy a $200 laptop, there is a reason it is $200. Don't expect it to run current games or programs well, if at all. I saw on another thread somewhere on these boards that the laptop someone got didn't have a built in wifi. These are things that people need to look at before they go and purchase the system.

Just because something is on sale, doesn't mean one shouldn't do the same amount of homework that they would have done if it was regular price. A current top end desktop for gaming will run you easily about $1800 if not more (we build our own so we save some money). A slightly cheaper system will still run the new games, but not as well and might not last as long as newer games come out. Laptops usually run higher for equivalent systems.

Sorry OP for going on a bit of a rant! This is something that drives me nuts every year!