Anyway, how many of you actually did that whole "i'm going to get up at 2am to act like that lady in the freaky target commercials"
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Black Friday is a referance to businesses going into the black on the biggest day for sales of the year.
Posts: 2302 | Registered: Aug 2008
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I did the Toys R Us 10pm shopping. It sucked. Worse, I didn't look at the weather. A little before I left, I went for a walk and was hot. Didn't notice the distant clods.s While waiting outsider (got in 2.5 hours after it opened), it started raining, bringing in nice cold temps (cold for Houston). I happened to have a thin jacket to toss over my t-shirt, but no shoes to replace the flip flops and umbrella. By the time I got home from that trip, I was done. I did the rest of shopping online.
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: Anyway, how many of you actually did that whole "i'm going to get up at 2am to act like that lady in the freaky target commercials"
You couldn't PAY me enough. We have entered the month in which the only stores I step into are grocery stores. And Walgreens, occasionally.
My SIL, OTOH, makes a killing on Black Fridays, starting at midnight -- but all online.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I went to the apple store to get a refund on my new MBP, which I bought three days before Black Friday and which went on sale. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. Among the easiest hundred bucks I've ever made.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I've never done Black Friday shopping before because, well, I *HATE* crowds.
However, my grandmother woke me up on Friday morning asking me to drive to our local Wal-Mart and buy a TV for my grandfather. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting to do that morning (my plans had included sleeping late), but it was my Grandma! Besides, she does favors for me all the time, so I jumped up woke the kid, and did a speed dress.
As it turns out, my grandmother had also called my mother, who didn't think she could go, but then found out she could, but wanted to get another TV so came and picked me up to go with her anyway in case they only let you get one per person. It was all very confusing, but not nearly as confusing as when I actually got to the store.
I got there, waited in line in electronics, and was told that if I wanted the TV I had to go to Fabrics. Why Fabrics you might ask? I have no idea, but she told me to go to Fabrics. So I go to Fabrics, where I talk to another service lady who looks at me like I'm insane (because, after all, who goes to Fabrics to ask for a TV!) and tells me to go to "Site to Store". So, fearing they will run out, I rush back over to "Site to Store", where I wait in another line, only to be told by the lady in "Site to Store" that I need to check Fabrics. At this point, my mother who had been parking, joins me. I remain calm and explain to the lady in "Site to Store" that I'd just checked in Fabrics and that the lady in Fabrics had no idea what I was talking about. So, eventually, I got sent back to electronics.
In electronics, the lady tried, once again, to send us to Fabrics. (What the heck was up with Fabrics???) After we explain the whole situation to her, she gets on her walkie talkie, and starts flipping through the news paper adds trying to find the TV we're talking about. After about 10 minutes of this (with a line growing behind us) we find out that we really do have to buy it at "Site to Store" after all, and they'll give us a tag to take to a trailor out back where the guys actually have the TVs. To make things even more fun, they have 40 of these things and we were the first people to even ask about them, so there was no rush after all!
Anyway, that was my first experience with Black Friday shopping. It turned out ok, but I don't think I'm eager to do it again anytime soon.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Jun 2006
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What a mess DDDasyh! I'm glad it worked out for you. I was tempted by Walmart's $200 32" LCD tv, but not enough to wake up and wait in line in the cold.
I did do a little shopping in the afternoon when the crowds were huge but the people weren't insane and I hit a few really great deals that made it worth while.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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A coworker and I do Black Friday every year but we are very low key about it. We don't go for the big electronics or gaming systems. If you steer clear of that craziness, it's usually fine.
It also helps living in the south where even the cold weather isn't too bad.
We were on small budgets this year so we really only went to Target and Walmart. We waited outside Target for three hours but it was nice weather, I brought my latest crochet project, and we were wide awake after our post-dinner nap. She got a cheap 1tb portable harddrive while I got two large area rugs for half off. Then we finished up with cheap blu rays and tv box sets and a bunch of $5 fleece pj pants.
I also did alot of online shopping this year. First three seasons of Dexter for $15 each.
But yeah, camping out for 10 hours in front of Best Buy for a cheap no name plasma tv because they have less than five for sale...never!
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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As a former retail electronics slave, I consider this day to be Satan's own holiday.
I slept in until nearly 11 a.m., and I only had to step outside for trip(s) to the grocery store, which is only a block away.
Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: Anyway, how many of you actually did that whole "i'm going to get up at 2am to act like that lady in the freaky target commercials"
You couldn't PAY me enough. We have entered the month in which the only stores I step into are grocery stores. And Walgreens, occasionally.
*high five*
Although I wasn't above giving my brother and future SIL who went out at midnight a list of sale items to grab for me if they could. Surprisingly, they got every item.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I still remember having to work until 11:00 the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, and to be back at work at 4:00 in the morning on Friday. I don't want any part of it, though I'll admit to desiring on occasion to go during such busy times for the sole purpose of being a pleasant customer, because I know the customer behavior I at times had to deal with on such days. Probably got the impulse from me mom, who still on occasion drives around busy parking lots on busy shopping days just to let people go ahead of her. It's her part in helping others to deal with stress.
Posts: 6213 | Registered: May 2001
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I had to work Black Friday as well but I'm at a bookstore so its wasn't so bad. Mostly people complaining that we didn't have better sales.
I did go out to KMart on Thanksgiving morning to pick up a game for my Wii. I joined a group of people waiting by the cases and proceeded to play the voice of reason as people whined about not being helping RIGHT AWAY. Seriously, the game was locked behind glass. It wasn't like it was going to go anywhere.
All the retail employees got tons of "thank yous" and "you're the best" from me. I will say that Target wins for having the most organized system ever. They hand out maps and have employees stationed everywhere. I was browsing dvds with my ad in hand and an employee asked me what I needed. I showed her what I had circled and she ran off to get everything on my list. I was so shocked. Most stores aren't that helpful even on less hellish days!
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My personal policy, which has stood me in good stead for almost a decade now, is that I do not enter any store other than a grocery store during the entire month of November.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Okay enough that I'll venture out again, yeah. But the couple of days before Christmas are on my no-buy list, too.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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It might be that, where I live, it gets cold enough that by mid-December people start staying home out of necessity. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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I've never done Black Friday shopping, but I have, in the spirit of schadenfreude, driven by shopping centers on my way home from Thanksgiving festivities to see the lines. I was out around 1:30 am this year, and the lines were amusing, to say the least. Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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I've gone out for the last couple years, though last year I just hit my alarm clock and said forget it. This year they opened a lot earlier than usual, including the mall near me, which opened at midnight. I got there around two, but I was pretty unimpressed with the deals. Usually I buy clothes on Black Friday because the mark-downs and two for one specials and what not are really good, and I get a nice chunk of wardrobe for a lot less than I normally would, but this wasn't a good year for clothes.
So my room mate and I abandoned the mall and headed over to Target, which opened at 4. Now, that was a nightmare. We got in and got what we wanted, and I'm glad we did. Target sells seasons of Psych every Black Friday for $12, and usually they are insanely expensive. Finding them, especially the newest season, for less than $30 is a miracle most of the year, so I picked a couple seasons up for myself and a present for my mom. And I snagged a George Foreman Grill for a great price too. Then, all hell broke loose.
Now, every other year I've gone, stores just opening with huge lines would let a couple of people in at a time. Maybe 50 to start, then increments of 10 every few minutes, to give people inside a chance to adjust and for the line to form. Target just threw open the doors and people bullrushed the electronics department looking for TVs. After about 20 min, people were rushing all over with their carts full of TVs, but no one seemed to know where the line to the register war. I was in a line at one point that was to get to the aisle to find out where the line was! Then a rumor spread like wildfire: Go where the red balloons are. So we went over to the red balloons, which were on the back wall. After standing in that line for about a half hour, an employee comes up and says "Umm, what are you guys waiting for?" And we said we were in line, to which she said "This isn't the line, the line is in the middle of the store where the red balloons are."
We all looked back to where the red balloons had been, but they were gone. I told my room mate to stay put, and rushed over to where the red balloons had re-entrenched themselves. A woman was holding on to them saying "I'm the end of the line," but as she was saying it, people lined up behind her so fast that the line folded in on itself and doubled back. As more and more people came, she stopped saying she was the end of the line, and sent people elsewhere. Meanwhile my room mate says that her line was continuing toward the front of the store. After about ten minutes, this monstrous line was now snaking in and out of aisles all over the center of the store, and I overheard a walkie talkie from one of the managers say "What do we do? They've established their own line!" As the chaos mounted, a couple fights actually broke out as people started abandoning carts all over the center of the store because the employees were at a loss to explain how the line was working, and as they told people to abandon old lines for new ones.
My room mate kept telling me to come back to her rebel line, as it was cruising towards the registers, but I was so fascinated by the chaos that I hung back until the last second and rushed towards the front of the line where she was waiting. It was utter chaos, but frankly I was highly entertained by the whole thing. I wouldn't have found it as fun if I'd actually been stuck in the line that I abandoned. That must be what Hell's waiting room looks like.
After that I went to Best Buy and bought a GPS, but I might take it back for a slightly cheaper one that's on Amazon. Best Buy's line was mercifully well-organized and fast.
I probably won't go out again next year unless I see some better deals. I don't plan on getting another HDTV for awhile, unless something dramatic changes, and it seems major electronics are the only real reason to go out to the bigger stores. I still might hit the mall, lines weren't too bad at 2, I just need better deals to draw me out.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Blayne Bradley
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I go to shop on boxing day which is roughly the day after christmas for good deals.
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My mother and I have a tradition of shopping at Goodwill on Black Friday and congratulating ourselves on the great deals. Of course, they'd be just as good there any other day of the year, but this way we feel like we're joining in the great cultural tradition.
Also, there are never any crowds or lines.
Posts: 650 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I went out at 7:30 in the morning with the attitude that I could take it or leave it because we've been hosting friends at our house for a weekly DVD watching and it would be nice to have a larger television to present the viewings. I managed to wrangle the last of the "big sale" TVs and went home quite content.
I must confess that I did stand in line for one of the "doorbuster" black friday sales a couple of years ago. Never again.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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