Black Friday, Anyone?

[Talent312]

Yes, its absurd to spend so much time, lose a night's sleep
and joust with the masses, all to save a few measly bucks
-- especially when many will have online sales Thursday.

But still, being there is kind'a fun, like a treasure hunt.
Here's a list I cobbled together from www.bfads.net (I will skip a few):

At 9 & 10PM... Toys R Us & Wal-Mart (electronics ~12AM)
At 12AM... Best Buy, Kohl's, Macy's, Target
At 4 AM... Penney's & Sears
At 5 AM... K-Mart & Lowe's
At 6 AM... Big Lots, Office Depot, Staples, Radio Shack (6:30)
At 7 AM... Pet Smart

 

[tiel]

If it weren't for my niece, we wouldn't leave the house on Black Friday, except maybe to see a movie. But, she loves it, the whole thing, and since that is the only time in the year we see her, we go along on the chase. I think she does see it as a treasure hunt. I'm hoping she will soon grow out of it, though she's 27 now, and shows no sign of getting over it!

My biggest issue with the Black Friday thing is that it is becoming Black Thursday too. Maybe the backlash that's occurring will help stop that backflow, but since big bucks are apparently involved, I doubt it!

 

[rhonda]

Not me. I agreed, through work, to join the "buy nothing" group that day. (I'm not going so far as "buy nothing Christmas" -- but I intend to enjoy Black Friday as a day to get lots of exercise playing with my horses in the morning followed by setting up Christmas decorations at my Mom's house.)

 

[CapriciousC]

My biggest issue with the Black Friday thing is that it is becoming Black Thursday too. Maybe the backlash that's occurring will help stop that backflow, but since big bucks are apparently involved, I doubt it!

I agree - I saw an ad yesterday saying that Kohl's will open at midnight Thursday. Getting up early in the morning is one thing, but I feel for those employees who will have to get to the store at probably 9 or 10 pm to get ready for the sale day.

I used to go every year with my mother, but lately I do almost all of my Christmas shopping online. I can comparison shop, read reviews, check out various options, all in my bunny slippers

The other issue I have with Black Friday is that by the time it rolls around, I'm 90% done with my holiday shopping. As of today I only have one more thing to pick up for my husband, and photo calendars to order for the grandparents, and then I'm done.

 

[pjrose]

I have already done most of my shopping, and with grown kids there wasn't much of that.

I will be picking up DD Friday and we'll enjoy some quiet time together at home with the foster kittens; no BF lines or crowds for us.

 

[ampaholic]

I have already done most of my shopping, and with grown kids there wasn't much of that.

I will be picking up DD and we'll enjoy some quiet time together at home with the foster kittens; no BF lines or crowds for us.

I'm just the reverse - Black Friday means nothing to me because it's way too early - I do most of my Christmas shopping on Dec 23rd & 24th.

Ain't America great

 

[pjrose]

I'm just the reverse - Black Friday means nothing to me because it's way too early - I do most of my Christmas shopping on Dec 23rd & 24th.

Ain't America great

That's DH's method - and he wants me to come with him and turn around while he goes through the checkout

 

[presley]

I've never shopped on Black Friday. I don't know how people can stand it.

 

[ampaholic]

That's DH's method - and he wants me to come with him and turn around while he goes through the checkout

Sound's like you have quite a catch there, he is thoughtful enough to ask you to turn around.

 

[pjrose]

Sound's like you have quite a catch there, he is thoughtful enough to ask you to turn around.

:hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical:

I love your positive attitude!
And yes, he IS a great catch. I used to grumble about his shopping method, but now I just smile and tease him.

 

[tompalm]

At 9 & 10PM... Toys R Us & Wal-Mart (electronics ~12AM)
At 12AM... Best Buy, Kohl's, Macy's, Target
At 4 AM... Penney's & Sears
At 5 AM... K-Mart & Lowe's
At 6 AM... Big Lots, Office Depot, Staples, Radio Shack (6:30)
At 7 AM... Pet Smart

Looks like you could use a mission, vision, guidance objective. Maybe it is too have fun. My son plans to stand in line at Best Buy starting early on Thanksgiving Day so that he can be first to get the goods when they open at midnight. The deals are good. 42 inch LED Sharp TV for $200, Slingbox for $99, external hard drive for $30, ...... He will be home before the stores use to open at 4:00 a.m.

If things keep going the way they are now, BF will cease to exist. You can order online in advance for a lot of things. Yesterday, the ASUS tablet was $250, or $150 off and a bunch of other good deals were available. Today, the Blackberry Tablet is $200, or $300 off. More deals will be out tomorrow.

 

[JeffW]

I haven't reviewed the ads yet. I'm hoping the one thing I need to get (a new digital camera), I can find and order online.

I'm still not sure I understand the concept of BF for stores like Best Buy. I've been to a few BF's there. Basically you get there, you hope to get your one or two main items, and then you wait in line for 60-90 minutes. Yeah, you're at the store for an hour+ (and perhaps more importantly, not at someone else's store). But it's not like you are going to browse the store for that hour, and buy other things. You're basically a prisoner in line for that long (unless you go with a partner).

Offering iterms online definitely helps. I guess the earlier hours also help. But it's sort of a shame that stores will likely be open earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving, that eventually, will they ever bother closing?

Jeff

 

[Sandi Bo]

I'm not willing to fight the crowds on Thursday, but I have a sister in law who thrives on it. And she takes orders

pjrose - my husband is the same way. with adult children now he will often have them do his shopping for him. but when he does go out, yikes he buys like crazy

 

[Talent312]

I'm not willing to fight the crowds on Thursday, but I have a sister in law who thrives on it.

I am not going to stand in line for hours, waiting for the doors to open.
I did that two years back, when I was after one single big-ticket item.

This year, I'm likely to wait until 30-60 minutes after opening, and then
check out whatever is leftover.

 

[klpca]

I got some great black Friday deals last year - online. My sister loves black Friday but I can't stand crowds, so I'll only be shopping online. I hope I find some more great deals.

 

[IngridN]

No Black Friday for me...never have & never will!

DH and I have settled on a shopping routine wrt his buying for me...after years of frustrations of having to stand in line to return things that didn't fit, not right color, etc., I just added me to my shopping list and made him wrap those presents. Unfortunately, he always waited until the last minute to wrap and I love looking at all those nicely wrapped presents under the tree, so I now wrap my gifts too, however, he gets surprised at what he got me . Works for both of us.

Ingrid

 

[1950bing]

95% of mine is done on line. Prices are better than last year and lots of places are not charging any freight.
The rest is done at local mom and pop stores. I never go to the big boxes.